PAYMENT, UPGRADES, & STUDIO CREDIT

FAQ

ART CLASS

ART CAMP

ADULT WORKSHOP

Choose a topic below!

Art class

What do I need to bring to class?

We provide all art supplies, but if you wish your child to use their own art supplies, you are welcome to bring them to class. Please wear a shirt you don't mind getting paint on because we use acrylic paint, this is quite hard to wash off from clothes. We have aprons but it does not cover the sleeves.

 

Do you have a cancellation policy?

Yes: any classes that are cancelled less than 24 hours before the start time, or missed, are counted against your credits. We will only waive this if your child is sick. If you need to miss a class, please try to cancel through the booking portal or app, and/or let us know well in advance.

 

Does the classes expire?

The classes have a 1 year expiry (starting at purchase date). If you are planning to have an extended absence, please email to let us know so we can put the classes on hold. We will try our best to accommodate your situation! Any purchases made before September 1, 2019 have already been adjusted to expire on November 30, 2022.

 

Do you offer drop-in classes?

We used to offer drop-ins at our old location before 2020, but now we are requiring all students to pre-register for classes through our online portal or mobile app. Due to high demand, it is extremely unlikely you would be able to drop-in for class especially on the weekends.

 

What happen if I am late for the class?

Due to the possible disruption to the flow of the class and other student's learning experience, we retain the right to ask students who are more than 10 mins late to attend another class and there could be a penalty - deduction of class credit. Please try to be on time and our door will open 5 mins prior to class and remain locked during class.

 

What's the teacher to student ratio?

We try our best to achieve a minimum of 1:6 teacher to studio ratio.
For most of our classes, the average number of students is 12 with 2 teachers.

 

My child is in between Levels, which class should I pick?

If your child is between Levels 1 and 2: we recommend that your child tries out the lower level first, and if it is too easy, then we will suggest moving up a level. The biggest difference between the levels are the level of detail we teach, and the length of the class. Our goal is to build the basics from bottom up so if a child is in between two levels, we always suggest they start in the lower level.

If your child is between Levels 2 and 3: this requires more attention on a case-by-case basis; please send us an email and we will follow up individually.

 

What do they learn in class exactly?

Students of all levels will get to explore all sorts of materials, techniques and learning goals from sketching with pencil to painting with acrylics, from paper crafts to clay modeling and from still life drawing to conceptual design. We want our students to learn breadth and depth of art and design, especially for younger students, to keep their openness to learn new things. For older students, there will be more in-depth lessons to sharpen their techniques.

 

What's your teaching methodology?

Our method grows as the student grows. It's a cycle of learning to enjoy,  to appreciate, to improve, and to create. There's merit to all methods, whether it is tracing from an image or going wild with imagination, it needs a good balance of them to develop both conceptual and technical skills, so the child has the skills to convey their wildest ideas.

 

Did my child really draw that or was it the teacher?

We get this question a lot and we're happy to say for most, it is really your child's work! Teachers usually draw separately on the board to show how to draw step by step. We'll occasionally draw on a student's work to give him/her an example and how they can improve their work.

 

Can you tell me more about the 5 class pass?

The 5 class package allows you to attend any 5 sessions of the corresponding level of class during a 12 month period. This allows for flexibility with attendance; but we encourage you to book weekly and well in advance due to high demand. Additionally, immediate siblings can make use of the class package as well (to go to the same level).

 

Can you tell me more about the trial class? I’m not sure if my child will enjoy art classes yet.

As adults, we know that children may or may not like anything they encounter, making it really difficult for parents to enroll them into classes for anything. When you register online or inquire via email, you can choose to purchase the first time trial class. Come in and try out a class for a discounted price that fits your child the best first, before you get the 5 class pass!

Note: we highly recommend doing the trial class on weekdays, as the weekend classes are much busier.

Art camp

 

What's the age range for camps?

The most suitable age for art camps are from 6 - 12 years old.

What do I need to bring to camp?

Please bring:

labeled water bottle

Comfortable shoes/ indoor shoes

Wear clothes that you don't mind getting paint on

Nut-free snacks

Lunch - for full day campers only

Masks ( and additional masks for changing throughout the day)- in effect since 2020.

We have a water machine for refills. We will send a detail reminder to all registered campers.

 

What happens if my child misses a day at the camp? Or need to withdraw from the camp, what is the return & cancellation policy?

Sorry, there is no refund to our classes or camp. Typically, missed sessions are converted into studio credit for future purchases. Please note that it may not be the full amount of credit that can be reused due to material costs and administrative fee that has already been invested at the time of cancellation.  Our camp offerings may have more detailed and specific cancellation policies; please check the camp page for the most up-to-date information

 

I registered for a camp but I haven’t received an invoice yet! What do I do?

As long as you’ve submitted the form and it says that the response has been recorded, don’t worry! Although we haven’t had the chance to send you an invoice yet; We try to respond to all registrations within 48 hours. Remember, your spot is considered fully reserved once your payment has been made., you’ve already reserved your spot for camp! Feel free to send us an email if you have any other questions.

Adult workshop

I want to do an adult workshop but none of the times work for me! How can I do the painting I want at a time that works for me?

If none of our options work for your busy schedule, don’t fret! Just send us an email, and we’ll try our best to accommodate you. The best thing for you to do is to gather up some of your best friends and plan a time together, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our art classes!

Payment, Class Upgrades, and Studio credit

Please review our updated Studio credits policy (Updated on Mar 28, 2023. The new expiry is set to be Dec 31, 2023. Read more

Is there any refund policy?

Sorry, we do not offer any refunds to our classes or camps. However, you can turn purchases into studio credit* to use towards future purchases. This way, classes can be used towards camp or vice-versa, or you could attend our family or adult workshops, etc.

Another thing that can be done if you are no longer able to use your credits, is to transfer your credits to another family. Please email us and CC the other parent, if you would like to do this.

* NOTE: camps being converted to studio credit may have some additional limitations. Please check the specific camp page for the cancellation policy.

 

How does class upgrading work?

Class upgrades are based on the price you paid for your existing classes (could be lower than the pricing today), and today’s rate for the new level of class. It is NOT between the price rates at the time of purchase; as this is not fair for the parents who have joined or renewed packages since then.

One possible analogy: our services are offered similarly to phone plans. The rate will likely increase in the long term, and if you switch plans, you will lose your existing price rate.

 

When you make a request for the conversion, we typically reply back to you with several possible ways to tackle the upgrade:

1. Pay to upgrade the existing classes for some amount of money;

2. Don’t pay anything, change the existing classes to as many of the new level as possible (likely with some studio credit leftover); or

3. Same as option 2 but if there’s studio credit leftover, pay a smaller additional amount to get one more class.

 

How does studio credit work? How do you use it?

If you’ve received studio credit at any time, you can use it towards anything Pencil Studio offers! At this time, studio credit is not slated to expire (but this may change in the future). However, please note that since prices of our services do change over the years, we recommend that you use your credit sooner. Please note that when you decide to use your credits, all changes will reflect on the the current price list to date vs. the existing value of your credits (i.e. the balance you paid at the time of purchase).

 

Other Questions

Haven't found what you're looking for? Send us an email at info@pencilstudio.ca! We're happy to answer any questions you have.

 

 

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