Last week, we hosted our annual Staff Party that brought MTM’s faculty and staff together to celebrate the end of another successful school year. Held at our campus, we honoured the team’s hard work and support in guiding students toward creative excellence with a wholesome potluck!
Here’s a look at some of the amazing artwork from our students this 2024-2025 school year:
Artwork by 2nd Year Animation Student Karleigh Hollands – Intermediate Character Design
Artwork by 2nd Year Animation Student J’nia Brown – Animation 2A (Background Design)
Artwork by 3rd Year Animation Student Trinity Stephens – 2D Short Film Production
Artwork by 2nd Year Concept Art Student David Gu – Portrait Painting in Oils
Artwork by 3rd Year Concept Art Student Kay Lui – Advanced Props and Objects
Artwork by 4th Year Concept Art Student Vlad Craciun – Advanced Creature Design
Artwork by 1st Year Student Isabelle Albanese – Design and Composition
Artwork by 4th Year Illustration Student Rafael Fernandez – Illustration 2
Global Education Fair
On Saturday, April 26th, we were invited to the Global Education Fair at the atrium of our campus at 95 Moatfield Drive. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth!
MTM Instructor Dave Ross holding up a live drawing at the Global Education Fair.
MTM Instructor Dave Ross drawing at the Global Education Fair.
On Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 MTM College had the privilege of hosting Fadi Hakim, the visionary CEO and owner of Lev Gleason Publishing, for an unforgettable guest lecture. As the driving force behind the revival of Canada’s iconic superhero, Captain Canuck, Fadi captivated students with his passion for storytelling, entrepreneurship, and preserving Canadian pop culture.
Fadi’s journey in the comic industry is nothing short of remarkable. Since acquiring the rights to Captain Canuck in 2024, he has reimagined the character for a new generation while staying true to its roots. Under his leadership, Lev Gleason Publishing—formerly Chapterhouse Comics, rebranded in 2021—has become a powerhouse for Canadian creators. With imprints like Comic House and New Friday, Fadi has championed diverse voices and expanded the company’s reach with a U.S. office. His latest projects include a striking Captain Canuck comic variant cover celebrating Canadian values and ambitious animated and live-action adaptations in partnership with Lev Gleason Studios, VVS Films, and Muse Entertainment.
During his talk, Fadi shared behind-the-scenes stories of building a modern superhero universe, from navigating creative challenges to fostering collaboration across media. His advice to MTM students resonated deeply. He encouraged aspiring artists, writers, and entrepreneurs to embrace their unique perspectives and take bold risks in their craft.
Fadi’s visit was a reminder of the magic that happens when creativity meets purpose. MTM College is grateful for his generosity and looks forward to seeing how our students carry forward the inspiration from this incredible day.
Stay tuned for more guest speaker events and opportunities to connect with industry leaders at MTM College!
Is art one of your passions? Are you interested in turning your drawings into a rewarding career?
Then becoming an illustrator might be the path for you!
– By Emi –
What is so appealing about the illustration field, you may ask?
Illustration can be a broad term, so let’s break it down. You get to be creative on the daily, while working on projects that require your imagination to run wild; and seeing your finished product after hours of hard work is an extraordinarily rewarding feeling. You often work on a wide range of projects, working with clients from all over the world on anything from children’s books to magazines! Some of the other projects you may work on include:
Manuals
Advertising
Educational illustrations for textbooks
Narrative illustrations for a variety of literary forms
Comic Books/ Comic Strips/ Graphic Novels
Book & graphic novel covers
and anything from Greeting Cards to Album Covers
art by Haley Millman, 2016 Graduate
Who are Illustrators?
An illustrator is someone who creates images to give a visual element to an idea, narrative or text. These images can be used to provide clarity to advance written or spoken ideas by providing a visual aid. These illustrations will work with the concept, rather than distract from it. Illustrators work on a wide range of projects from comics to personal stand alone pieces! They can also be artists who bring stories and imagination to life with their work. They are often commissioned on a freelance basis or hired by companies to create illustrations for everything from commercial ads to cover art for novels, graphic novels or even art for album covers. Often, an illustrator will specialize in a particular field, while also selling personal work of their own. Many work to publish their own graphic novels and comic series! Illustrators even work in the education field, creating images for textbooks and other educational works.
MTM College (MTM) Graduates go on to have successful careers in the illustration industry, many work as freelance illustrators, some publish their own comics/graphic novels, while others are hired by large companies and publishing houses.
Here are some of MTM’s Illustration graduates and what they are working on now:
Andrew Kwan, graduated from MTM’s Illustration for Sequential Arts program in May 2014, and has gone on to make his illustration dreams a reality. Andrew Kwan writes, illustrates, and publishes his own comic series, “The Work and Gel”, a post-apocalyptic tale about an Earth where humans are no longer at the top of the food chain. He also works as a character designer for Nanomyte Studios, on their multimedia series, “Injection”, another post-apocalyptic tale.
art by Andrew Kwan, 2014 Graduate
Neiva Mateus, graduated from MTM’s Illustration for Sequential Arts program in May 2014, is now working as a freelance Illustrator for various children’s books. She has illustrated for a children’s book, written by Rachel Vander Veen, called “A Journey Down the River”. This book has been published in multiple languages and encourages children to count, and look for hidden creatures at the turn of each page!
art by Neiva Mateus, 2014 Graduate
Ana Jaimes graduated from MTM’s Illustration for Sequential Arts program in May 2018. Ana currently works as an art director at NerdyCity, a company that specializes in making board games and tabletop RPG’s that capture the imagination and transport you to a whole new world! She will be teaching a Clip Studio Paint workshop here at Max the Mutt over spring break! This workshop will introduce students to the various illustration and comic focused features the Clip Studio Paint software provides their users such as unique page formatting options, speech bubble features, unique shortcuts, and even how to utilize built-in 3D models to shortcut and strengthen your digital artwork.
art by Ana Jaimes, 2018 Graduate
Why choose MTM College of Animation, Art & Design to study Illustration?
MTM College (MTM) is a college that simulates a realistic work environment for its students so they are prepared to enter the workforce. MTM now provides a 4-year Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts diploma program with a focus on visual storytelling that teaches students the fundamentals of drawing, and trains students to work with industry standard programs like the Adobe Suite. MTM even offers a 2-semester graphic novel development course that will provide its graduates with a package that can be pitched to publishers! Other benefits of choosing MTM College include:
Smaller class sizes which offer instructors the opportunity to provide more one-on-one time with students and the chance to get to know them personally
Instructors work in the Illustration & Comics industry, who want to help their students build the skills they need to start their own Illustration careers. Like Dave Ross, who has worked with Marvel and DC Comics as a writer, penciller, and cover artist. Dave Ross teaches Structural Drawing, Penciling, and Constructive Figure Drawing for Illustration students. Paris Alleyne is a MTM Illustration 2013 graduate and another instructor with industry experience having worked as a colourist for comics such as Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles and GI Joe. He teaches MTM Illustration students a Digital Media course. Paris has won an Eisner Award for Best Colourist on a Comic Book Series.
Curriculum designed in consultation with Industry professionals. Our current 4 year Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts diploma program was updated from a three year Illustration for Sequential Arts diploma program, to meet the demanding requirements of working in the industry. We constantly consult with experts in the industry to ensure our students are receiving the most up to date skills and training.
A fun and engaging work environment that is supportive of everyone and provides unique learning opportunities. While the curriculum at our college can be demanding, we also want our students to enjoy themselves! Our college has a collegial and friendly atmosphere.
MTM College’s Illustration program has core skills as part of their curriculum. You will gain skills in penciling and inking comics, storytelling and scripting for comics, and children’s book illustration. You will also dive into topics such as graphic design and illustration for advertising skills and storyboarding for film and advertising. You will graduate from the MTM Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts Diploma Program with a solid portfolio, a web page, the skills needed to write an excellent cover letter and resume, and the confidence to perform well in job interviews. MTM College will prepare you to be the next generation of freelance illustrators, comic book, and graphic novel artists.
If you are unsure whether studying illustration is the right fit for you, check out some of MTM College’s Workshops! They are a great way to get a feel for what you will be learning while attending MTM.
To learn more about MTM workshops, contact workshops@maxthemutt.com
The important Skill of Anatomy and how young artists can Learn It
-by Grace Gardner-
Ah, human anatomy, the artist’s great friend and often foe. Almost every aspiring artist knows the frustration of drawing a hand and making it look right. We often find a way around it with a glove-like shape or just a simple circle and it passes, or so we think. So ‘why’, you might ask, should I have to learn how to draw a realistic hand, or realistic human in general, when the cartoons that I’ve already been drawing work well enough?
The answer is quite simple. Understanding human anatomy offers an artist the fundamental building blocks for correctly drawing other people. Otherwise one could wonder why anyone would start to learn how to draw humans, which wouldn’t be that big of a deal, if we weren’t surrounded by them. But really, if your plan is to pursue a creative career, you’ll need to have a diverse skill set and knowledge of proper human anatomy as it is expected by default and is a bit of a hard skill to fake.
art by Concept Art student, Cai Ritter
Given that anatomy is essential for understanding how to build proper humanoids, it is a skill you should be learning pretty early on. But there are people who either don’t bother to learn anatomy at all or have difficulty fully grasping it the first time someone tries to teach them. For these reasons students commonly give up learning this skill before they begin.
Yet understanding human anatomy and how to use it properly is a very important skill to have. Anatomy gives students a 100% chance of improving their ability to draw a human form. In Anatomy courses, like the ones offered at Max the Mutt College through our diploma programs, you’ll learn the human body’s bone structure, then how muscles connect to those bones, how those muscles work for movement, act and react. Understanding those concepts help students to improve how their characters move and will assist in creating a less awkward looking form. Anatomy also helps a student understand how to give a human form weight and knowing this helps to make even a 2D person seem more alive.
Taking workshops that focus on figurative drawing like those of our Portfolio Development programs will give you more insight into how to draw a human form.
As a wise artist said: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist” – Pablo Picasso
characters by 2022 Animation Graduate, Melodie Litwincharacters by 2022 Animation Graduate, Melodie Litwin
You’re probably wondering why in the world it is so hard to draw humans considering not only are we human ourselves but we are constantly surrounded by them. Well it may be surprising to know that the reason IS exactly that, we are constantly surrounded by humans making them very hard to draw.
You see, our brain has made short cuts for us to make processing the world around us easier and an often used social shortcut is to break down and then interpret the details that make up the people around us. Our brains aren’t fully recognizing the exact shapes and contours of our hands or how many wrinkles a person has on their face. The brain sees this information and changes it into generalized ideas of a person, like when you say someone has ‘soft features’ or they ‘looked old’.
Our brains do this for better social communication and is the reason we can see strange looking comic humans as humans. It takes the features we unconsciously process and exaggerates them to give us an impression of what that person is like.
This is why understanding and putting proper anatomy into practice is so hard. You have to un-train the brain of your old social shortcuts in order to really see what humans are made up of for the first time.
Anatomy by 2022 Animation Graduate, Daniela JungAnatomy by 2022 Animation Graduate, Jordan Marshall
Where do you even learn anatomy nowadays?
Well many people now try to learn it casually online by picking up techniques and instructions on how to draw humans here and there through other artist anatomy tips. This will give you an idea on how the body could be drawn in the artist’s style but it lacks that teachable understanding of how the bones and muscles interact to make a human form pose or move.
art by Animation student, Nolan Chew
The best way to fully understand the fundamentals of anatomy is to take a hands on course like ones offered at MTM College. For example, workshop courses like Single Session Life Drawing or any of our Portfolio Development programs which give students the tools to help understand the concepts as well as assist to build their portfolio. Those looking for a more independent approach can follow the teachings of our Constructive Figure Drawing instructor, Dave Ross through his book, Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators, which provides a thorough approach to practicing figure drawing. Or for the student choosing to enroll in a creative diploma, like any of MTM College’s diploma programs in Animation, Concept Art or Illustration, they would definitely be taught anatomy and other important basic building blocks in order to improve their skills.
Whichever path you choose, we know that mastering anatomy from the inside out will give a boost to any artist looking to make any characters or creature designs.
1st place Entry for Ubisoft NEXT 2021 from Sergi Iranzo
Sergi Iranzo, Year 4 Concept Art for Animation & Video Games Program student, has been awarded the 1st place Finalist for the Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards 2021 competition.
Ubisoft Toronto NEXT is an annual competition designed to display the talent of video game development students in Ontario, and to kickstart their careers in the industry. With paid apprenticeships in hand, winners of each category receive the opportunity to learn from top talent and further hone their skills.
The 1st place Finalist winner receives a paid 3 month Apprenticeship position at Ubisoft Toronto studio and a $300 prize package. The apprenticeship is set to begin at the end of May 2021.
A compilation of all Finalists and their work from all Categories can be seen here:
Branko Bistrovic, Team Lead Concept Artist – Concept Art Department – Ubisoft Toronto and a former Max the Mutt student, who has been a part of the NEXT competition since it’s founding had this to say about Sergi Iranzo’s submission for the competition:
“For the competition, Sergi Iranzo’s entry for Concept Art category, execution-wise, knocked it out of the park. A ‘Space Opera’ on a grand scale.
An interesting design, solid composition, simple yet striking lighting, that’s very important for a space scene, thanks to the intelligent use of the clouds along with the leading angles of the ships and the actual structure. This still image of a docking bay in the thermosphere has a strong sense of motion and energy which is very impressive. The scale is also exceptionally well-handled. It feels as if the structure is absolutely vast. Well done Sergi! You are our number 1 pick for all of those reasons. Be proud. You earned it!”
Sergi Iranzo had previously entered and had been awarded the 3rd place Finalist for the 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards competition for Concept Art category. Since he was only in Year 2 of the Concept Art program, at the time for the competition, his 3rd place standing was very impressive.
Check out Sergi Iranzo’s Student Profile to see more work from him.
Congratulations to all Finalists for this years competition. There was some amazing work for sure!!
The Rookies — known for its creative community and school rankings in creative media and entertainment categories — recently released its 10th annual ranking lists naming the Top 50 schools offering programs in game design, animation, visual effects, concept art, motion graphics and architectural visualization.
Over 500 International Schools Apply for this Award
We are honoured to say that Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design made the cut. Over 500 International Schools submitted their student work to the Rookie Awards 2020, which were reviewed by industry professionals, so it means a lot to be included in the rankings and to be recognized as one of the Top Schools in the World!
Dave Ross, comic book artist and a long time instructor at MTM, loves to tell stories, not with words, but with pictures. That’s why he became an illustrator – specifically, a comic book illustrator.
“Tell a story, whether it’s your own or someone else’s”, advises Ross
MTM Director of Outreach, Natalie Kauffman, “sat down” (virtually, that is) with Dave Ross to chat with him about his career as a comic book artist, his teaching career, his book and more. So what does Ross, who has worked for Marvel, DC Comics and Darkhorse, amongst other publications, and has drawn such well-known characters as Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man, Batgirl and Daredevil (and many more), recommend to those who want to make it in the big leagues? “Get out there and get yourself published.” Start off with an Indie comic, or self publish. “Tell a story, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, but show publishers that you can put together a visual story from start to finish – that’s the key.”
Ross was instrumental in the design of MTM’s Illustration Curriculum
As one of the founders of the Illustration and Storytelling for Sequential Arts diploma program at MTM, Ross has been instrumental in helping to design the curriculum over the years. When asked why Illustration should be a four-year diploma program for a college (upgraded from our original three-year diploma program), Ross has a simple answer: we teach everything you need to know in order to have a life long career in illustration. “It’s a really broad base of skills that you need”, Ross explains. “With a fourth year, we’re able to diversify some of the learning”. He goes on to explain that he’s now able to spend more time on teaching areas of study that there wasn’t time for before, which serves to make students stronger in the field and ready for a wider variety of potential career options.
Dave Ross’s book is used by art students all around the globe
Ross also talks about making his book, Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators, which has been widely received, translated into several languages (Japanese, Korean, Mainland Chinese) and has had him tour places such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He has essentially crafted the book around courses that he teaches at MTM – constructive figure drawing – and has designed the book to be like a text book with exercises after each chapter. Ross loved meeting art students from around the globe, and can’t wait to get back on his book tour again, once it’s safe to do so. “You can go to the other side of the world and essentially be dealing with the same challenges with the students there,” Ross comments. Speaking of these artistic challenges, Ross notes that “the struggle is a universal struggle” – a struggle that he is happy to help students overcome!
This is a must-watch interview for anyone wanting to pursue a career in illustration, particularly in a comic book or graphic novel illustration. It’s also great for any of the multitudes of comic book lovers or fans of Dave Ross!
Michele Assarasakorn, a.k.a. M.Sassy.K, has come full circle in her work as an illustrator. She started off her diploma at MTM in Illustration for Sequential Arts, then switched to Concept Art (which she graduated from in 2011) and now primarily works as a comic book artist. She thought that background art for video games would be where she would have ended up, but she came back to her love of comics. So skeptics beware, there is money in the comic book world!
It is possible to have a career as a Comic Book Artist?
Is it possible to have a successful career as a comic book artist that also pays the bills? “It is!”, says Michele from her home in Vancouver, “And it’s a lot broader than you think.” She goes on to say that “all the skills you learn in school with the foundations…it’s so broad that you can just leap into different careers as you progress as an artist”. There’s a lot of crossover in the industry so it’s not like you are stuck with the diploma choice you made, and the training at MTM prepares you for this kind of flexibility as a career artist.
Michele is the colourist on the comic book Isola, co-created by Brendan Fletcher (MOTOR CRUSH) and Eisner Award-winning storyteller Karl Kerschl, which just launched volume 2 (July 2020) in its series.
Understand what the market wants
Michele stresses how important it is to do your research before embarking on your career. Start your research before graduation, so you know what path you want to apply yourself after graduation. “You are your own business person so you have to understand what the market wants,” she emphasizes. As a freelancer, it’s critical that you set out with plan – even if you end up deviating from it. You have to choose your own direction and start working towards it – you cannot sit there and wait for someone to approach you.
It is because of the feedback of alumni like Michele, and others in the field, that the Illustration and Storytelling for Sequential Arts program was expanded in 2018 from a 3 year to a 4 year program to make sure that graduates were better prepared for a career as a freelancer, and to increase their general versatilely as visual storytellers, giving them many potential career options in areas such as Background Painting, Storyboarding, Layout and Visual Design for Marketing alongside freelance or published work in Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Children’s Books.
Want to work in Canada after graduation? Don’t forget to do your research!
MTM is very welcoming to international students – we offer a unique international student orientation, we offer support throughout your time at MTM, and we have one of the lowest international tuition rates of animation, concept art or illustration program in North America.
Michele was one of our international students. When asked about her experience of what it was like to come to Canada as an international student, she says “it was a long journey… but it was definitely worth pursuing”. Michele believes that this country is full of opportunities for illustrators – comic books or concept art – and it’s worth the time and effort to make Canada your home to have the career that you love. Just don’t forget to research the permit process and what you will need to do post-graduating to stay in Canada!
Watch the full interview for helpful tips for any current students pursuing illustration, or for graduates looking for some pointers in starting your career. You’ll also see lots of Michele’s artwork too, a must see for any of her fans!
Taneikah Anderson could have given up after she got rejected the first time she applied for the Sean Michael Stewart Memorial Scholarship at Max the Mutt, but instead, she took it as a challenge to improve her portfolio and apply again. Good thing she did as the second time around was what made the difference! Here’s why Taneikah chose Max the Mutt to foster her skillsets towards building a creative freelance career.
Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts Program
Taneikah is the recipient of this year’s scholarship which is awarded to a first-year student entering one of our diploma programs; she is going into the Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts (ISSA) program. Taneikah took the time over the past year to improve on her skills and keep pushing herself, a quality that is necessary to have in this field if you are going to make it, especially if you want a creative freelance career. She took the time to develop herself as an artist, to get over some of her anxieties, and “focus on getting better as an artist”, she says in our video interview from her home in Toronto.
Thriving Environment and Catered Art Classes
Taneikah chose MTM because of the small class sizes and the environment that the school provides. “When I went there (for the Open House) I just really liked the environment, I liked the vibes; it just seemed like a really cool place to be”. She also did her background research and was impressed with the instructors who teach at MTM and the courses that are offered. “The programs they had were super specific”, Taneikah commented, as compared to other schools where there were many art skills combined into one class, much “too generalized” for her. She recognizes how this attention to honing distinct art skills is what will set you apart in your art career and better prepare you for success.
Building a Creative Freelance Career
Asked about where she envisions herself after she graduates? “I want to be making my own comics…I want to have my own store where I’ll be selling my own prints”. Taneikah sees herself as an entrepreneur. Which was another reason why she chose MTM as her first choice of college, as one of the courses that are taught to ISSA students is Freelancing and Self Promotion.
Taneikah knows that she has a lot to learn and explore as a young art student, but she is clear about two things: “I love to tell stories and I love to draw”. Well, we can’t wait to see where she will take this passion of hers.
Congrats Taneikah and welcome to MTM!
Watch the full interview:
Do you see yourself as a freelance illustrator or are you looking towards building a creative freelance career? A comic book or graphic book artist? Do you love telling stories with your images? Then check out our ISSA diploma program or contact our admissions counsellor to learn more about how you could become a student who, like Taneikah, follows their passions to pursue the career of their dreams.
Michele stresses how important it is to do your research before embarking on your career. Start your research before graduation, so you know what path you want to apply yourself after graduation. “You are your own business person so you have to understand what the market wants,” she emphasizes. As a freelancer, it’s critical that you set out with plan – even if you end up deviating from it. You have to choose your own direction and start working towards it – you cannot sit there and wait for someone to approach you. 
