“Brad is FANTASTIC! So kind, accommodating, great with kids & insanely talented!
We've attended 3 events and our son would LOVE to come back!” -TG
Turn Screen Time Into Skill Time
Inspiring Art & Animation Camps For Young Creators
click here for
(6hrs. Ages 8-13)
click here for
(30hrs. Mon-Fri. Ages 8-13)
Coming this week!
Visit Our Other Cartoon Camp Programs:
“Best Art School in Barrie”
20+ Years of Award-Winning Professional Animation Industry and Post-Secondary Leadership Experience.
Voted “Best Art School in Barrie” & “Business Champion” in 2025.
A safe, inspiring and supportive space for all. Sibling Discount: 10% off the 2nd seat.
A Pizza Party lunch is included with every full single-day or 5-day Cartoon Camp.
All traditional materials included.
Watch to Learn About Cartoon Camp
(unmute)
*Dates presented at end are 2025 and will be updated soon!
*Please note: Cartoon Camp is not a camp. There are no tents, bears or marshmallows.
…OK, well there might be marshmallows as a treat and we might see bears, but they’ll be drawn with pencils.
Meet Your Cartoon Camp Leader, Brad
Photo credit: Laura Joy Photography
🏆 Award-Winning Experience: Heavy contributor to multiple Emmy and CSA-winning television series, including Peep and the Big Wide World and Almost Naked Animals.
🎤 Local Recognition: 2025 Barrie Arts Award for “Business Champion”, Voted “Best Art School in Barrie” (2025) and Grand Prize Winner of the HBEC Grand Pitch Competition (2023).
✏️ Industry Expertise: 20+ years of professional experience as an Animator, Designer, Storyboard Artist and Director/Showrunner.
🎓 Educational Leadership: Former Post-Secondary 4-year Animation Diploma Program Director and Instructor. Also your Founder and Director of Upchuckle Education.
Some Clients Brad’s made TV shows for:
Bring your curiosity to Cartoon Camp!
Regardless of our planned curriculum, we're here to support our students growth, understanding and passion. We’re happy to answer any questions about art, animation, production, or the secrets behind creating captivating films and TV shows. We organically adjust our planned schedule and curriculum as needed to suit the pace, understanding & interest of the group.
Summer 2026 — Single Day Cartoon Camps:
6 hour days from 10am-4pm (with an optional Extended Hours Program)
Pizza lunch and all materials included
Learn important skills directly from an award-winning pro in a safe & supportive environment
10% Sibling Discount applied to your 2nd seat to the same Cartoon Camp at checkout
Each single-day Summer Cartoon Camp offers 5 Early Creator Seats at a reduced cost (First come, first served)
Save $57 When you Bundle all single-day Summer Cartoon Camps Together (Only $85/Day!)
How To:
Draw Animals With Character
Wednesday, July 8th
Great animal character design is about much more than just drawing ears and a tail—it’s about giving a character charm, life, and appeal.
(Click + below to learn more).
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Whether drawing a lazy pig or a heroic hound, a memorable animal character comes down to a mix of personality and imagination. This Cartoon Camp is a hands-on dive into the world of character appeal, focusing on how to use gesture and performance to make your child’s creations come alive.
The Goal: We take the guesswork out of animal design by exploring shape language, silhouettes, and expression! It’s an exciting and fun challenge for students who want to move past basic drawings and start building believable characters with distinct voices. We’ll explore foundational animal anatomy while bending the rules of reality to create characters that feel truly original.
Mini Final Project: To wrap up our day, students will design their own animal character with a distinct personality that leaps from the page. A design that tells us the story of who their character is, without saying a word.
Early Creator Seat: $89!
(Only 5 available-while they last!)
Standard Creator Seat: $99
(Less than $17/hr)
Please select carefully-No price adjustments for errors
Enrollment closes:
Friday, July 3rd @ 9am
How To:
Create Flipbook Animation
(Student Work)
Wednesday, July 22nd
Animation is about so much more than just moving drawings. It’s about drawings that move audiences, and at this Cartoon Camp, your child will learn that skill and discover that joy.
(Click + below to learn more).
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From their first paper-flip, your young artist will see why the art of animation is a magical creative superpower. This Cartoon Camp focuses on giving drawings energy and movement, going well beyond the static sketch into creating characters that actually think, and feel.
The Goal: We start simply with a two-pose exercise to build an understanding of the foundation of movement. From there, your child will dive into the physics of motion by tackling the "Bouncing Ball"—the essential exercise for understanding weight and timing which all pro animators first start with. They’ll learn how to use squash and stretch to give their drawings a sense of reality and weight.
Mini Final Project: Students will design and animate their own straight-ahead story flipbook. Whether your creative child chooses to animate something silly, an action scene, or something abstract—we’ll be here to support them through every page of their journey. You’ll also receive a digital video of their finished animation the following week!
Early Creator Seat: $89!
(Only 5 available-while they last!)
Standard Creator Seat: $99
(Less than $17/hr)
Please select carefully-No price adjustments for errors
Enrollment closes:
Friday, July 17th @ 9am
How To:
Draw Monsters & Aliens
Wednesday, August 12th
Whether it’s a three-eyed, fanged space traveler from a distant galaxy or a slimy, homework-eating creature hiding under the bed, at this Cartoon Camp we explore bringing wild ideas to life as we create fantastic characters with imaginative backstories!
(Click + below to learn more).
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Take a deep dive into the weird, wonderful realm of imaginative monster and alien design! We focus on the principles of creature construction, showing students how to take those wild ideas and give them the structure they need to look like intentional, thought-out characters. Stumped on what to create? We'll also help dig you out of that rut as we explore imagination-boosting exercises, all designed to help students uncover fresh approaches to finding ideas they may not have considered before.
The Goal: To turn a single spark of imagination into a character that feels solid and purposeful. We'll explore expression, silhouettes, fur, and costume to give creatures a sense of depth, weight, and storytelling. It’s a challenge that encourages students to take any trait they can imagine—animal, robot, or totally original—and organize those wild ideas into a believable design.
Mini Final Project: To wrap up our day, students will develop their own signature monster or alien character, complete with its own unique history and complementary side-characters. Whether your child dreams up a friendly space-bot, a swamp-dwelling mutant, or a bizarre creature from another dimension—we’ll be here to guide their vision and creativity through every weird and wonderful detail they draw.
Early Creator Seat: $89!
(Only 5 available-while they last!)
Standard Creator Seat: $99
(Less than $17/hr)
Please select carefully-No price adjustments for errors
Enrollment closes:
Friday, August 7th @ 9am
How To:
Design GREAT Characters
Wednesday, September 2nd
What makes some characters stick with us our entire lives? Designing these icons isn’t just random luck—it’s about having a well-equipped toolkit of skills and knowing what makes a character’s design and personality speak to an audience for a lasting impact.
(Click + below to learn more).
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We’re giving your creative child a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making great characters unforgettable. From the shapes we use in our designs, to how we pose them (and everything in between!) tell a story of who that character is—and ultimately, why an audience might feel that indescribable connection with them.
The Goal: To give students a reliable introduction and skills to help them draw great characters long after our day together is done. We’ll practice structure, helping our characters look consistent from any angle or pose as well as "visual acting" to push expressions beyond the basics and learn how a character’s proportions can communicate their entire vibe in a single glance. It’s a day of exploring the balance between personality and structural design, giving students the confidence to bring their most ambitious ideas to life.
Mini Final Project: To wrap up our day, students will apply what we've learned to create their own Character Model Sheet. This professional tool features images of their original character in various poses and signature expressions. Whether they’ve designed a bumbling raccoon detective or a mutant princess from the future, they’ll leave with a complete visual guide that defines exactly who their character is and how they express themselves.
Early Creator Seat: $89!
(Only 5 available-while they last!)
Standard Creator Seat: $99
(Less than $17/hr)
Please select carefully-No price adjustments for errors
Enrollment closes:
Friday, August 28th @ 9am
Limited seats (Max 12 per Cartoon Camp)
Children must be enrolled by their own parent/legal guardian
All prices are subject to HST
5-Day Summer Cartoon Camps are COMING THIS WEEK!
Thank you and stay tuned!
“Brad was great! My little brother didn't even know he was into drawing. He got an opportunity to attend Cartoon Camp, and he learned so much! I noticed he's gained more confidence over the week too. We will definitely return next year!”
—Tracey
Your Cartoon Camp Questions, Answered
(Click your question from the list to see the answer)
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We appreciate that every student is an individual and don’t believe in "one-size-fits-all" solutions. Our full-day Cartoon Camps are 6 hours long, which can feel quite demanding for younger or inattentive students.
As a specialized art and animation school, we do not have alternative activity spaces or non-art backup programs. If your child is outside our stated age range but is passionate about creativity and thrives in a focused group setting, please reach out to us at Education@Upchuckle.com to discuss if Cartoon Camp would be a good fit.
Some Cartoon Camps may have built-in exceptions to the age range. See their info pages for details.
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Absolutely! For your convenience, we offer a flexible Extended Hours Program for our full-day Cartoon Camps (10am-4pm) to help accommodate busy family schedules.
It allows for drop-off as early as 7:30am and pick-up as late as 5:30pm while your child enjoys inspiring and fun supervised creative time.
Click here for rates & information. Registration for the Extended Hours Program takes place separately once the Cartoon Camp registration process is complete.
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Yep! We love seeing families create together.
We offer a Sibling Discount: 10% off the 2nd seat when registering two children for the same Cartoon Camp. This discount is automatically applied during the checkout process.
Note: Sibling discounts do not apply to packs, passes or other bundles, as those are already adjusted to provide our maximum savings.
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Due to our limited seating and heavy administrative and prep work that goes into making every Cartoon Camp great, cancellations 8+ calendar days prior to the event are 50% refundable (+ payment processing fees, if applicable).
Cancellations 7 days or less prior to Cartoon Camp are non-refundable.
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Once you purchase admission through our website, there is one final step to officially secure your child’s seat at Cartoon Camp:
Within 1 business day of your order, we’ll email you a mandatory Student Information Form to help us ensure the health and safety of everyone at camp. Please watch your inbox (and spam folder) for this email from Education@Upchuckle.com—adding us to your contacts is a great idea!
The form will arrive with a clear deadline for submission (Usually about 3 days—sooner if we’re nearing the registration cutoff date). Because we have to manage our limited seating carefully, missing this deadline will result in cancellation of your order and be subject to our refund policies.
Once we’ve reviewed your form, we’ll reach out to either ask for clarification or confirm your child's seat with us is officially secured.
2–3 days before the event, we’ll send your Cartoon Camp Welcome Package with all the extra details your child will need to join us!
Take a look at the fun memories & creative artwork from Upchuckle events, lessons, workshops & Cartoon Camps!
We coordinate with local charities to provide creative-learning opportunities for students who are experiencing various forms of hardship. Upchuckle matches EVERY sponsorship, automatically doubling it’s impact!
Cartoon Camp In the news…
Note: Dates & location in this newscast are no longer current.
