Resources Archives - Centauri Arts

Tips for Young Film-Makers

Are you the parent of a child or teenager who loves film-making? Here are some suggestions to help you encourage their interest in film: Look for after-school film-making programs in your community. There are many kinds of film-making courses available for young people in Toronto. Some are based more for film acting, others are for young people more interested in the film-making process such as story-boarding, lighting, sound, editing, use of camera, directing and so on. Some focus on editing, and others on critiquing film. Centauri Arts offers a film-making program that includes story-boarding, screenwriting, directing, DOP, audio, lighting, design, producing and acting in front of the camera. We also use clips from movies to introduce students to different film-making and directorial styles. Watch Movies! [...]

December 18th, 2023|Academy, Film Maker Resources|

Tips for Young Writers

Are you the parent of a child or teenager who loves to write? Here are some tips to help young writers keep the words flowing… Read, read and then read some more! Read widely. Fiction and nonfiction. Poetry and prose. The more they read, the more fodder they will have to help them develop a voice of their own. Encourage your writer to write for at least a 15 minute block of time each day. To find a prompt, they can simply open a novel randomly, allow their eyes to skim over the page until they settle on an interesting phrase, and write from there. The aim isn’t to produce good literature; first drafts are never ‘good’. The aim is to get creative, once per [...]

December 14th, 2023|Academy, Writing Advice, Writing Resources|

Best FREE Animation Software

With most modern animations being created digitally, there is a continual growth in demand for easy-to-use software allowing anyone to make their own animation creations. If you are taking our summer animation or digital art programs, or our year-round virtual classes in digital art and animation, you may be interested in this list of the top 5 FREE animation programs. Top 5 FREE animation software programs 1. Pixilart This is an easy to use web-based program. With a simple layout and easy to understand functions, it is ideal for anyone of any age to use for their first attempt at animation. https://www.pixilart.com/draw 2. Pencil2D Similar to Pixilart, Pencil2D is an animation program that focuses solely on 2D animation. However, since Pencil2D is downloadable, there are [...]

May 12th, 2023|Academy, Digital Art, Digital Art Resources, Resources|

Best FREE Photo Editing Software

If you love photography, or taking photography workshops such as the ones offered through Centauri Arts, you will be aware of some of the great FREE and open source photo editing software options. Whether you are a teenager looking for photography camps, or a student hoping to take our photography and digital art classes, check out our list of the top 5 FREE photo editing programs: Top 5 FREE photo editing software programs 1. Fotor A very simple, easy to use web-based photo editing program. Iif you are looking to do simple edits for social media, or create a photo album, and you don’t want anything too complex, Fotor may be the best software choice for you. https://www.fotor.com/ 2. Photoscape Photoscape is an easy-to-use [...]

May 12th, 2023|Academy, Digital Art Resources, photography, Resources|

Top Five FREE and Open Source Software Tools for Creative Writing

Google Docs! Tech Radar voted Google Docs the BEST free software for authors and poets – which is great news, since this writing software is likely the one most of us already use! https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/ Focus Writer is a great software tool for creative writers because it is designed to take away the distractions you do not need – all the traditional features of word processing software that you do not need if you are writing a novel, poetry or short stories. You see no tools or windows – just your text. If you’re easily distracted when you write fiction, this might be just the thing for you: https://focuswriter.en.softonic.com/?ex=DINS-635.2 Write Monkey also allows you to remove screen distractions and is terrific for creative writing (novels, poetry, [...]

May 4th, 2023|Academy, Resources, Writing Advice, Writing Resources|

Young Writers and Artists: Five Places to Send Your Work

If you are a young writer hoping to publish your creative writing, or a young artist looking for places to submit your work, here are five writing and art competitions you may want to check out: 1. Scholastic Magazine holds annual competitions for young artists and young writers. Check out their website for the submission details and annual deadlines: https://www.artandwriting.org/ 2. The New York Times Learning Centre has a number of writing and art awards open to high school-aged writers and artists. Check this site for their upcoming competitions, including creative writing awards, book review awards and student essays: https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/learning-contests 3. Toronto-based young writers and artists should also check out the Young Voices Magazine Published annually, this magazine for young writers and artists accepts submissions [...]

March 21st, 2023|Academy, Resources, Writing Advice, Writing Resources|

Historical Fiction Prompts for Writers

In our last blog, we looked at how online resources have transformed a writer's research process. So let's explore this idea with a creative writing prompt. Writing Prompt: Historical Fiction Write down a daily task or hobby that interests you. Now, choose a specific historic period and location. Come up with a close approximation of your interest that may fit with the period and location. Write down what you already think you know about that activity. Now, set a timer. Give yourself 15 minutes to research that specific activity online. Read everything you can about it. Look at illustrations. Become an expert in something very precise. An example for this writing prompt: Present day interest: racing cars Historic period/location: Roman Empire Approximation: Chariot racing; how [...]

January 23rd, 2023|Resources, Retreats, Writing Advice, Writing Prompts, Writing Resources, writing retreats|

Top 5 Free and Open-Source Animation Software Tools

Animation, and animation classes, are hugely popular with teenagers these days: bringing digital artwork to life on the screen can be riveting! Deciding which animation software to use, however, can be tough - especially if you are on a budget. To help you, we’ve assembled a list of some of the best free and open-source animation software tools available to digital artists today. OpenToonz - 2D Animation Software Not only is OpenToonz one of the best 2D animation software available, it has also been used by famous animation studios like Studio Ghibli and Rough Draft Studios. OnlyToonz is user friendly and great for animation students just starting out, but you may need to read through their manual to truly master its features. https://opentoonz.github.io/e/ Synfig [...]

February 2nd, 2022|Academy, Digital Art, Digital Art Resources|

The Best FREE Digital Art Software on the Market!

Starting out in Digital Art can be a struggle for teenagers, especially if they are on a budget. Programs like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity Photo or even Procreate are powerful: but they cost money. Thankfully, we all have access to free/open-source Digital Art Software - but with so many free/open-source programs to choose from, it can be difficult to choose between them. To help you, we have put together a list of the Best Free Digital Art Software on the market. KRITA - Digital Painting Program If you are a fan of Photoshop, you’ll like KRITA. With similar layouts, tools and interface, KRITA is an amazing professional digital painting program made and designed by artists. It works on all systems and [...]

January 25th, 2022|Academy, Digital Art, Digital Art Resources, Resources|