Thank you for another wonderful summer season!
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Our summer camps will return for 2027!
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Click to check out our Cartoon Camp options for the school year.
⭐
Thank you for another wonderful summer season! ⭐ Our summer camps will return for 2027! ⭐ Click to check out our Cartoon Camp options for the school year. ⭐
“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
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)
*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.
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)
Summer 2026 — Single Day Cartoon Camps (only 1 option left!)
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 @ 7pm
Limited seats (Max 12 per Cartoon Camp)
Children must be enrolled by their own parent/legal guardian
Updating the displayed number of remaining “Early Creator Seats” available is a manual process. Less may be available than shown.
All prices are subject to HST
Give the gift of
CREATIVITY!
Give the gift of creativity, confidence, and fun! Upchuckle Education Gift Cards are the perfect way to support any artist's journey. They can be redeemed for any of our award-winning programs, including:
Customized Private Lessons (solo or with a friend!)
See below for other important information.
Summer 2026 — 5-Day Cartoon Camps (Will Return for 2027!):
Each week is 5 x 6 hour days from 10am-4pm (30 hrs plus an optional Extended Hours Program)
All materials and a Friday pizza lunch are 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 5-day Summer Cartoon Camp offers 3 Early Creator Seats at a reduced cost (First come, first served)
Intro To:
Traditional Animation (Pose-To-Pose)
Monday, Aug 24th - Friday, Aug 28th
Intermediate Level
This week Upchuckle Education transforms into a bustling animation studio as your young filmmaker spends their week learning the steps that go into creating their own animated film!
(Click + below to learn more).
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Moving away from flipbook techniques (straight-ahead animation)—which has its benefits—we'll be focusing on planning and timing our animation through pose-to-pose animation. Instead of guessing the next move (like in flipbooks), your young creator will learn to time and plan their key poses first, then use the art of inbetweening to fill in the motion. This deliberate approach is what gives classic animation its smooth, cinematic fluidity.
The Goal: To transition from flipbooks to the professional animation workflow. Your child will learn how to use timing charts, manage spacing, and develop the physical coordination needed to "roll" pages between their fingers like a pro.
The Final Project: A polished, traditionally animated character doing an action of your child's choosing. After our week together, we’ll film the finished project and send you a digital copy of their animation debut to share and enjoy!
⚠️ LEVELING UP: This week is more intermediate than our standard Cartoon Camps because the focus shifts from "how to draw" to "how to plan and time a performance." It’s a fantastic next step for young creators who want to more polished work and develop a deeper understanding. Your young animator will learn to calculate timing and build the coordination to roll pages between their fingers—a tactile, satisfying skill used in professional studios to see movement as it's being created.
Other Notes For Our Week:
Lunch & Snacks (Mon–Thu): Please pack a nut-free lunch, snacks, and a full water bottle for your child.
Pizza Friday: Friday lunch and drinks are on us! (Please still pack their water bottle & feel free to pack additional nut-free snacks if they’ll need them through the day).
Limited seats (Max 12 per Cartoon Camp)
Children must be enrolled by their own parent/legal guardian
Updating the displayed number of remaining “Early Creator Seats” available is a manual process. Less may be available than shown.
All prices are subject to HST
“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.
We look forward to welcoming your child to