Society of Visual Storytelling

What Society of Visual Storytelling does

Society of Visual Storytelling (operating as SVSLearn and formerly School of Visual Storytelling) is a privately held, founder-operated online education platform founded in 2013 and based in Provo, Utah, governed under New York law. The company serves aspiring and working illustrators by delivering a tiered product portfolio: a recurring subscription membership (Desk and Studio tiers) granting access to a self-paced 24-class Essentials Curriculum, community discussions, and live events; short 2-3 week workshops such as Watercolor Essentials, Sketch Smart, Paper Stories, and Dynamic Comic Covers; and premium 9-10 week Pro Classes including Children's Book Pro and Graphic Novel Pro.

The platform is built on the Circle community software from CircleCo, Inc., which provides member accounts, discussion forums, direct messaging, and AI-powered community engagement features. Content is anchored by a small named instructor team including Jake Parker, Lee White, Will Terry, Samantha Cotterill, and Anthony Wheeler, whose personal brands drive distribution through the weekly 3 Point Perspective podcast (200+ episodes, distributed across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube), an Instagram presence, and recurring live events such as Office Hours, Freaky Friday draw-alongs, Hot Seat portfolio reviews, and Pro Demos. The company monetizes through subscription auto-renewals (monthly or annual), one-time workshop purchases (e.g., Paper Stories priced at $399), and annual Pro Class intensives, with separate refund windows for each product type. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the svslearn.com website, serving a global, primarily individual learner base in the picture book and graphic novel illustration niches; the "clients" displayed on the site (e.g., Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House, Cartoon Network) refer to instructors' portfolio clients rather than SVSLearn's paying customers.

Name

Society of Visual Storytelling

Legal name

SVSLearn

Website

https://svslearn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Society of Visual Storytelling (SVSLearn) is a privately held, online illustration education platform founded in 2013 that delivers subscription memberships, workshops, and Pro Classes to aspiring and working picture book and graphic novel illustrators worldwide, supported by an instructor-led community and podcast.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Art Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Standalone Creator Course Platforms (Branded Schools) (MPACALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Membership Communities with Learning (Community-Led Education) (MPACALAF), Course Bundle Subscriptions & Learning Membership Marketplaces (EDAFAIAI), Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)

Keywords

• Illustration education
• Online art courses
• Creative workshops
• Video tutorials
• Artist community

Headquarters

HQ city

Provo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Membership: Recurring subscription membership (Desk and Studio tiers) providing access to self-guided illustration courses, community features, live events, podcast access, and monthly art challenges. Auto-renews on a monthly or annual basis.
2. Workshops: Short, focused 2-3 week classes targeting specific skills with livestream instructor sessions and built-in peer groups. Purchased separately from membership as one-time payments. Includes Watercolor Essentials, Sketch Smart, Paper Stories, and Dynamic Comic Covers.
3. Pro Classes: In-depth 9-10 week intensive courses highlighting specific illustration fields with weekly livestreams and peer groups. Currently includes Children's Book Pro and Graphic Novel Pro. Runs once per year as one-time purchases outside membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SVSLearn operates an online illustration education platform offering a tiered membership subscription that grants access to a 24-class self-guided Essentials Curriculum, live events, community discussions, the 3 Point Perspective Podcast, and monthly art challenges. It also sells standalone short Workshops (2-3 weeks) and longer Pro Classes (9-10 weeks) focused on specialties like children's books, graphic novels, watercolor, and comics, taught by professional illustrators.

Product overview

SVSLearn (School of Visual Storytelling) is an online illustration education platform offering a tiered product structure. The core offering is the Membership Subscription, which provides access to the 24-class Essentials Curriculum (self-guided foundational courses), live events, community discussions, the 3 Point Perspective Podcast, and monthly art challenges. Additional paid offerings include Workshops (2-3 week focused classes like Watercolor Essentials, Sketch Smart, Paper Stories, and Dynamic Comic Covers) and Pro Classes (9-10 week intensive programs like Children's Book Pro and Graphic Novel Pro). The platform also hosts community events including Freaky Friday draw-alongs, How To Fix Your Art sessions, Office Hours, Pro Demos, and Podcast Live recordings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Subscription Recurring subscription membership providing access to self-guided illustration courses, community features, live events, podcast access, and monthly art challenges at Desk and Studio tiers. Auto-renews monthly.
• Essentials Curriculum A 24-class self-guided curriculum designed as a complete learning experience where each lesson builds on the previous one, helping students develop foundational illustration skills with clarity and confidence.
• Workshops Short, focused 2-3 week classes targeting specific skills such as Watercolor Essentials, Sketch Smart, Paper Stories, Dynamic Comic Covers, and Comic Book Creator, featuring livestream instructor sessions and built-in peer groups.
• Children's Book Pro An in-depth Pro Class for children's book illustration, running 9-10 weeks with weekly livestreams with instructors and built-in peer groups.
• Graphic Novel Pro An in-depth Pro Class for graphic novel illustration, running 9-10 weeks with weekly livestreams with instructors and built-in peer groups.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CircleCo, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationCircle provides the community platform technology powering the SVSLearn online community. The platform enables member accounts, discussion forums, direct messaging between members, and AI-powered community features. SVSLearn operates its community on Circle's infrastructure.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Proko: Subscription-based online art education platform built around named instructor Stan Prokopenko, with a large free YouTube funnel feeding into paid courses and memberships. Closely comparable to SVSLearn in model: a single branded school with a charismatic instructor, free content for acquisition, and paid structured courses.
• Domestika: Global creator-led learning platform selling courses from individual named instructors across creative disciplines including illustration, with one-time purchase and bundle/subscription options. Highly comparable business model and customer profile to SVSLearn, though Domestika is a multi-instructor marketplace rather than a single branded school.
• New Masters Academy: Subscription-based art education platform offering structured video courses from multiple named instructors across drawing, painting, and illustration. Directly comparable to SVSLearn in pricing model (subscription), instructional format, and target learner.
• Schoolism: Online illustration school founded by Bobby Chiu offering workshops and term courses from named industry artists in concept art, character design, and picture book illustration. Direct historical peer to SVSLearn in format and audience, now folded into New Masters Academy but operating as a comparable offering.
• Ctrl+Paint: Digital art education platform with a library of structured video courses and a free video library that funnels into paid content. Closely comparable to SVSLearn in its single-instructor-led, subscription/course-hybrid model targeting digital illustrators.

Broad incumbents

• Skillshare: Large subscription-based creative learning marketplace with thousands of courses across illustration, design, and adjacent creative fields. Comparable audience and subscription mechanics but a broad, multi-creator marketplace model versus SVSLearn's single-brand curated approach.
• CreativeLive: Online learning platform offering courses from named creative professionals across illustration, photography, and design, with subscription and one-time purchase options. Overlapping customer base with SVSLearn but operating at a much broader category scope.
• Gnomon Workshop: Entertainment-industry-focused art training from the Gnomon School, offering video courses on concept art, VFX, and digital illustration from working professionals. Adjacent to SVSLearn in model (named instructors, video courses) but skews higher-end and more technical.
• CGMA: Online concept art and game art school offering term courses from working industry artists on a cohort basis. Comparable cohort-course mechanics to SVSLearn's Pro Classes, but oriented toward concept art rather than picture book/graphic novel illustration.

Emerging players

• Drawspace: Smaller online drawing and illustration education platform offering structured lessons and courses. Comparable in instructional format and target learner (aspiring illustrators) but smaller scale and less community/engagement infrastructure than SVSLearn.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/jakeparker44
• Instagraminstagram.com/jakeparker
• Xx.com/SVSLearn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Society of Visual Storytelling