We teach kids and teens ages 5 1/2 to 18, plus college and portfolio prep students. Adults are welcome if they're committed to building strong fundamentals. Students are grouped by skill level, not age.

Apply online, attend an orientation, take our placement test, and then take a trial class. Once your child is placed, they can start right away.

Every new student takes an in-person placement test, and our teachers decide the level based on skill, not age or grade.

Because skill, not age, decides what a student is ready to learn. Two students the same age can be at very different stages, so we place students by their skill set and they improve by skill set, not by age.

Only by passing our Level 2 drawing test. Drawing a lot at home isn't enough on its own; the test shows whether a student already has the Level 1 skills needed to move ahead.

Possibly. Placement depends on how a student does on the assessment, not on their age. Older beginners often build skills quickly and move up as soon as they pass each level.

Each level has a detailed skills checklist, and students must complete at least 90% of it and pass that level's drawing test to move on. For example, Level 1 checks maturity and skills like controlling straight lines and coloring evenly within the lines. Level 3 checks skills like drawing a face with basic features, drawing background environments and adding shadows.

Level 1 builds fine motor skills and good drawing habits, like posture, holding markers correctly and knowing how to start a drawing. Level 2 adds overlapping, foreground and background, the basics of shadows and shading, and multi-week projects. Level 3 adds foreground, midground and background, storytelling, and researching and using references to illustrate a story. Level 4 and up covers perspective, proportion and figure drawing, light and shadow, and color theory.

Class length depends on the level. Level 1 classes are 1 hour, Level 2 classes are 1.5 hours, and Level 3, Level 4, AP Art and College & Portfolio Prep classes are 2 hours.

Each teacher works with no more than 8 students, and most classes have 4 to 6.

Wednesday and Thursday 3:30 to 6:00 pm, Friday 3:30 to 8:30 pm, Saturday 8:30 am to 7:30 pm, and Sunday 1:00 to 7:30 pm. We're closed Monday and Tuesday.

No. There are no fixed terms. New students can start as soon as they've finished orientation, the placement test and a trial class.

Start early. A strong portfolio takes about two years and 250+ classes, and we plan each student's timeline case by case so they're ready well before application deadlines.

Our program builds 15 to 20 high-quality pieces. Requirements vary by school; many ask for 15 to 25 pieces plus sketchbook work, so check each school's guidelines.

Our students have been accepted to RISD, ArtCenter College of Design, Parsons, Pratt, CalArts, USC, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University, among others.

Yes. College & Portfolio Prep includes essay writing, resume development and application support alongside portfolio building.

No. Students make all of their own work. We teach, guide and critique, because art schools judge each student's real skill.

Yes. Classes are taught in English and Mandarin.

Tuition ranges from $40 to $125 per hour, depending on the program and level, with a discounted rate for families with more than one child enrolled. Contact us at (626) 379-2787 or rbaaart@gmail.com for exact rates.