During the last 35 years Bill has worked in the animation and film industry on over 42 films, TV shows, DVDs, short films, and video games. He began his film career as a layout artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation on Oliver and Co. and continued a string of hits Including Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, layout lead on Rescuers Down Under, and art director on Aladdin. Learn more.

🏆 NMA Curriculum Specialist

Catherine Bobkoski is a New Masters Academy Instructor and still life and figurative artist whose work celebrates the quiet beauty of ordinary things. Her delicate paintings of flowers are exhibited nationally, including at the Oil Painters of America 2021 National Juried Exhibition. Learn more.

Charles Hu is a figure painter and notable art instructor for New Masters Academy. In 2007, he co-founded his own fine art school, 3Kicks Fine Art Studio in Pasadena, California. Learn more.

🏆 NMA Curriculum Specialist

Joshua Jacobo is a fine artist and educator specializing in drawing, modeling, and sculpting the human figure. Currently, Joshua is developing a marble carving studio with his wife, sculptor Johanna Schwaiger, out of their home in Southern California. In 2011, Joshua founded New Masters Academy. Learn more.

Patrick J. Jones is an award winning artist, author and teacher. His work has featured in major U.S. exhibitions, both in NYC and Pennsylvania, and his oil paintings reside in private collections worldwide. He has worked for most major publishers, ad agencies and film studios such as Lucasfilm, Disney and Warner Bros. Learn more.

🏆 NMA Curriculum Specialist

Marian Littlejohn is an award-winning artist, educator and an active member of the NMA community. You may know her well as Stem! Portraiture was her passion at school and convinced her that she wanted the arts to be a core part of her life. Marian graduated from Glasgow School of Art with a First Class Degree in Fine Art Printmaking, having worked across many media including, drawing and painting, lithography, etching, screen-printing and bookmaking. Learn more.

🏆 NMA Curriculum Specialist

Alex is a portrait artist and art instructor from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He received his BFA (Printmaking) from UFRJ, School of Fine Arts, and a Technical Degree in Mural Painting (Fresco) from Fiocruz (OEM). Learn more.

Renae Wang is a California-based artist working in oil. Her subject matter focuses on nocturnal landscapes and “non-places” like gas stations, diners, and airports. Her work is characterized by vibrant colors under artificial lights and immersive compositions with first-person points-of-view. These nocturnal paintings explore the universal human condition of isolation, as well as its relationship with public spaces of transience. Learn more.

Britt Snyder is a figurative painter currently showing through DK Gallery in Marietta, GA and Robert Lange Studios in Charlottesville, NC. Britt has shown his work through Arcadia Contemporary, Principle Gallery , Sloane Merrill Gallery, Maybaum Gallery, the Delaware Art Museum, The Fitchburg Art Museum, Meyer Gallery and many others. Learn more.

Diego Lucia is a highly skilled and experienced drawing teacher specializing in training artists and animators for the entertainment industry. With years of experience in the field, Diego has worked with some of the biggest names in animation, film, and gaming, helping to hone the skills of their artists and designers. Learn more.

Iman is a digital and traditional artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Ringling College of Art and Design. At her hybrid role as a Hallmark Artist, she combines sculpting, illustration, and hand-lettering to create unique and memorable images from concept to execution, exploring intersections of 2D and 3D art in a wide range of styles and mediums. With opportunities to design products for major licensors like Marvel, Disney, Lucasfilm, and many more, Iman has a lot of insight to offer about life as a professional artist in the industry and is looking forward to sharing that with NMA students. Learn more.

Kiley Ames lives and works in Los Angeles and Oakland, CA. She received her BA in History from UCLA, a BFA from Art Center College of Design and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Learn more.

Laura Sonnek is a rural Minnesota native, happily transplanted in sunny California. She began attending college at the age of 16 to cultivate her budding interest in the fine arts of drawing and painting. She moved to the West Coast in 2019 to further her formal education and received her MFA in Painting from Laguna College of Art and Design in 2021. Learn more.

Pegah Samaie is an American-Iranian artist who was born and grew up in Tehran, Iran. Pegah’s art moves through the shadow of her past life. She uses art as a tool to face the experiences she and other women have encountered in a culture dominated by patriarchal governments and households. Her early experiences in Iran changed her perception of the role of women in society; they motivated her and influenced her way of talking about women. Learn more.