Iva Mikles

Hi there, I am Iva (rhymes with "viva") and I'm a full-time illustrator, teacher, and nature enthusiast.I have more than a decade of experience in the creative industry as an illustrator, character designer, art director, and branding specialist focusing on storytelling, concepts, and animation. I am the founder and host of Art Side of Life®, a Podcast and YouTube channel that has reached over a million views & listens. I interview inspiring artists about their artistic journeys and life story. I am also teaching art and have worked with businesses in the field of social media and visual communication.I love illustration in all its forms and my goal is to bring you to a world full of happiness, color, and wonder in the form of fun and helpful classes.I always aim for a fun, positive, actionable, and inspiring creative experience in all my classes, because I'd love for you to have fun while learning.When you share you had many “AHA” moments, gained confidence in your skills, that it is much easier for you to illustrate what you imagine and you are very proud of your finished work, I am absolutely delighted ♡.I want to help you on your art journey with what I learned along the way by simplifying the complex topics so you don’t have to spend years figuring things outs. The lessons are packed with practical information, lots of examples, useful tips, and ideas for a different way of doing things.Here is what some of the students share about the classes:"Thank you for this amazing class. You have explained a huge amount of art theory in such a fun and engaging way. I really appreciate how well you have shown these concepts by using your lovely examples. Highly recommend this class to anyone looking to improve their artwork. Thank you again :)" - Misha"This class is very inspiring, thank you very much, Iva! It was my first lesson on Procreate ever (I’ve learned to use it by myself so far) and I have learned quite a few useful tips although I considered myself quite advanced in my knowledge of the software. I like how we are able to test a different way of doing things and make a project in our own style if we wish. And seascapes are such a good subject because you can do pretty much anything with them. This class is definitely suited for all levels." - Lara"This class felt like a treasure trove! Iva gives so many examples and you'll already learn a lot by just drawing along. I really like that the course is organized based upon poses ( sitting, running, etc.) both in the 3/4 view and front view. The organization of lessons makes it easy to just follow parts of the course and save the rest for later. I would definitely recommend the class if you want to practice your character drawings and especially their poses" - MarjetI hope you will find a lot of inspiration and learn something new from my classes. If there is something special you would love to learn, please let me know.♡ Iva