I used to take my Elite Animation Academy, Urban Sketching students to Planet Smoothie after teaching them a lesson inn one point perspective. Who knew that one month after this sketch was done the world would be locked down in a pandemic thanks to COVID-19?
On February 15, 2020, COVID-19 had infected more than 67,000 people globally, the vast majority in mainland China. The death toll was over 1,520, including four people outside mainland China. A Chinese tourist who tested positive for the virus died in France, health officials confirmed which was the first recorded death from COVID-19 in Europe. On this day there were 15 reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
Meanwhile my student and I were slipping smoothies and sketching totally unaware of the freight train on the horizon.
With vaccines now available I am finally holding out hope that one day I will once again be able to relax indoors and sketch life as normal. However today case numbers spiked up, and in general have leveled off at around 60 to 70 thousand cases a day. With the new B.1.1.7 variant of the virus taking over in Florida it is very possible that the horrors of December and January case numbers might return.
I am teaching my Elite students virtually now and I love the process. I get to sketch along with them which allows them to see my every thought as I develop a sketch. When I taught a classroom full of students they didn’t get that same level of one on one attention. My latest students have been doing some amazing work. Rather than distract or slow me down, the pandemic has accelerated my creative output. I used to sketch everyday events but events of the last year have required sketching the unseen all around us. Elite Animation Virtual Spring 2021 courses are beginning March 29, 2021.