Novel Academy

What Novel Academy does

Novel Academy is an Italian art education company headquartered in Torino, with a secondary contemporary art gallery operation (NAAG) located in Rivoli. The company serves hobbyist and aspiring artists across both adult and children segments, offering in-person classical art courses in drawing, calligraphy, watercolor, painting, and live model workshop formats structured as 12-lesson packages, alongside an online course catalog covering digital art tools (Procreate, Photoshop, Character Design, Artistic Anatomy) and traditional disciplines such as calligraphy and drawing. The online platform (corsionline.novelacademy.it) provides lifetime access to course material, downloadable resources, instructor support via WhatsApp, and digital completion certificates.

The underlying technology stack is a standard e-commerce-driven learning management system with course video delivery, recurring content updates, and an SEO-supported blog for organic acquisition. The business operates on a course-fee revenue model, with online courses priced at €100 each, in-person 12-lesson packages priced at higher tiers, and gift cards serving as a secondary lower-friction entry product in the €25–€200 range. Beyond tuition, Novel Academy has extended into the artist-development value chain through NAAG, a contemporary art gallery that exhibits work by lead instructors (such as Stefano Marvulli) and external artists, and through the Open Gallery program and Genesi exhibition series aimed at emerging artists. The first Novel Academy Award 2026, an international art competition, represents the company's first major branded event initiative and signals early international reach across 11 countries and 4 continents.

Customer acquisition is driven by organic search, regional word-of-mouth in the Torino market, and the reputation of the brick-and-mortar presence. With 7 employees and no disclosed funding, the company operates as a small, founder-led education brand transitioning from a single-site classical art school into a multi-vertical art platform spanning instruction, exhibition, and competition programming. The strategic intent appears to be platform consolidation: turning students into gallery visitors, gallery visitors into students, and award participants into long-term brand community members.

Name

Novel Academy

Legal name

Novel Academy

Website

https://novelacademy.it

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Novel Academy is an Italian art education company based in Torino that delivers in-person classical art courses and online digital art programs, and operates the NAAG contemporary art gallery in Rivoli, serving hobbyist, children, and emerging-artist segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Visual Arts Instruction (Drawing, Painting, Sculpture) (EDAMAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Arts & Design (Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation) (EDAMAAAB)

Keywords

• Art education services
• Classical drawing courses
• Painting instruction
• Online art learning
• Watercolor and calligraphy classes

Headquarters

HQ city

Torino

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Online Course Sales: Individual courses sold directly to consumers via the e-commerce platform corsionline.novelacademy.it. Courses are priced at €100 each (e.g., Drawing Online, Character Design Online). Students receive lifetime access to purchased courses plus exercise materials and WhatsApp instructor support. Payment via PayPal.
2. In-Person Course Fees: Twelve-lesson courses taught at the Novel Academy facility in Torino, covering drawing, calligraphy, watercolor, and painting. Each course runs 2 hours per lesson (e.g., Monday/Tuesday evenings 19:30–21:30 for Drawing; Wednesday for Calligraphy; Thursday for Watercolor and Painting). First trial lesson is free. Certificates provided at course completion at no extra charge.
3. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold in denominations from €25 to €200, redeemable toward any course. Positioned as a gift for art enthusiasts.
4. Art Exhibition and Competition: Revenue generated through the Novel Academy Award competition (prize fund) and gallery operations at NAAG. The competition generates visibility and community engagement, with exhibition participation contributing to artists' coefficients on the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Novel Academy is an art academy in Turin, Italy, that teaches classical and digital artistic skills through in-person 12-lesson courses (drawing, calligraphy, watercolor, painting, children's drawing, live model workshop) at its Torino academy and self-paced online video courses (Procreate, Photoshop, Character Design, Artistic Anatomy, Calligraphy, Drawing) via its e-learning platform. The offering is extended by the NAAG contemporary art gallery in Rivoli, the annual international Novel Academy Award competition, and digital gift cards redeemable toward any course.

Product overview

Novel Academy is an art academy in Turin offering in-person courses and a digital learning platform. The in-person offerings at Via Rochemolles 14, Turin include: Corso di Disegno (Drawing), Corso di Disegno per Bambini (Children's Drawing), Corso di Calligrafia (Calligraphy), Corso di Pittura ad Acquerello (Watercolor), Corso di Pittura (Painting), and Workshop con Modella (Live Model Workshop). The online platform (corsionline.novelacademy.it) provides self-paced video courses including Corso di Procreate Online, Corso di Anatomia Artistica Online, Corso di Photoshop Online, Corso di Character Design Online, Corso di Calligrafia Online, and Corso Disegno Online. Free resources include Tutorial Procreate, Tutorial Photoshop, and Disegni da colorare (coloring pages). Associated sub-brands include NAAG (Novel Academy Art Gallery) in Rivoli hosting exhibitions and the Novel Academy Award international competition. Gift cards are available as an add-on product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corso di Disegno a Torino (In-Person Drawing Course) Structured 12-lesson in-person drawing course taught at the Novel Academy facility in Torino, covering fundamental drawing techniques from basic rules to portrait copying for beginner through intermediate adult learners.
• Corso di Disegno per Bambini Torino (Children's Drawing Course) In-person children's drawing course held in Turin, designed for school-age children to develop artistic skills in an engaging weekend format.
• Corso di Calligrafia Torino (In-Person Calligraphy Course) Structured 12-lesson in-person calligraphy course taught at the Torino academy on Wednesday evenings, covering calligraphy fundamentals through English Script, Brush Script, and Gothic styles.
• Corso di Pittura ad Acquerello a Torino (In-Person Watercolor Course) Structured 12-lesson in-person watercolor painting course taught at the Torino academy on Thursday evenings, covering watercolor techniques for adult learners.
• Corso di Pittura a Torino (In-Person Painting Course) Structured 12-lesson in-person painting course taught at the Torino academy on Thursday evenings, covering acrylic and oil painting techniques.
• Workshop con Modella a Torino (Live Model Workshop) In-person figure drawing workshop held at the Torino academy featuring a live model for realistic drawing practice.
• Corso Disegno Online (Online Drawing Course) Self-paced online drawing course for beginners priced at €100, taught by Stefano Marvulli, with lifetime access, practice exercise materials, and real-time WhatsApp instructor support.
• Corso di Procreate Online (Online Procreate Course) Self-paced online course teaching the Procreate digital painting application for iPad, distributed via the Novel Academy e-learning platform.
• Corso di Anatomia Artistica Online (Online Artistic Anatomy Course) Self-paced online course covering artistic anatomy as applied to drawing and painting the human figure, distributed via the Novel Academy e-learning platform.
• Corso di Photoshop Online (Online Photoshop Course) Self-paced online course teaching Adobe Photoshop for digital art creation, distributed via the Novel Academy e-learning platform.
• Corso di Calligrafia Online (Online Calligraphy Course) Self-paced online calligraphy course covering the English Script style, distributed via the Novel Academy e-learning platform.
• Corso di Character Design Online (Online Character Design Course) Self-paced online course teaching the principles and tools for designing credible and well-structured characters for illustration, with instructor Ennio Caglià.
• Gift Card Digital gift cards available in denominations from €25 to €200, redeemable toward any Novel Academy course, positioned as gifts for art enthusiasts.
• Novel Academy Award (International Art Competition) Annual international art competition open to artists worldwide, celebrating merit in contemporary drawing and painting. Free participation, monetary prizes up to €1,000, and exhibition opportunity at NAAG gallery for winners.
• NAAG – Novel Academy Art Gallery Contemporary art gallery in Rivoli (Torino) operated by Novel Academy, hosting exhibitions of student work, emerging artists, and Novel Academy Award winners, plus the Open Gallery live-artist program. Functions as both exhibition space and sales gallery.

Quantifiable outcome

• 460+ artists participated in the first Novel Academy Award from 11 countries
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NABA - Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti: NABA is a major Italian private academy of fine arts, design and communication based in Milan with a Rome campus, offering accredited degree programs in painting, visual arts, and design. It is directly comparable as an Italian private art education institution, though at significantly larger degree-granting scale.
• IED - Istituto Europeo di Design: IED is one of Italy's largest private art and design schools with campuses in Milan, Rome, Turin, and other cities, offering programs in visual arts, illustration, fashion, and design. It is directly comparable to Novel Academy as a private Italian arts educator, but at multi-city degree-granting scale.
• Proko: Proko is a popular online figure-drawing and anatomy education brand offering video courses, tutorials, and figure-drawing reference tools. It directly overlaps with Novel Academy's 'Corso di Anatomia Artistica Online' and drawing courses on subject matter (figure drawing, anatomy) and target learner, but operates at much larger scale on English-language YouTube.
• Domestika: Domestika is the leading global marketplace for online creative courses (illustration, design, calligraphy, Procreate, Photoshop). It directly competes with Novel Academy's online catalog on language (Spanish/English), course pricing model, and target hobbyist-to-professional artist learner, but at significantly larger scale.
• CGMA - Computer Graphics Master Academy: CGMA is an online academy specializing in digital art, character design, and illustration courses for aspiring professionals. It directly overlaps with Novel Academy's online 'Character Design', 'Procreate', and 'Photoshop' courses on subject matter, professional-leaning target learner, and online delivery model.
• Skillshare: Skillshare is a subscription-based online learning platform with deep catalog in illustration, drawing, watercolor, and digital art (Procreate, Photoshop). It overlaps directly with Novel Academy's online courses on subject matter and target learner (aspiring/hobbyist artists) but competes via an unlimited-subscription model rather than per-course purchase.
• Florence Academy of Art: Florence Academy of Art is a classical realism art school offering structured, atelier-style in-person programs in drawing and painting. It is comparable to Novel Academy's classical in-person courses (drawing, watercolor, painting) on pedagogy and target learner (adult hobbyists/aspiring artists), but is US-based with atelier-format programs.

Broad incumbents

• Udemy: Udemy is a global online course marketplace with thousands of drawing, painting, calligraphy, Procreate, and Photoshop courses. It is broadly comparable to Novel Academy's online courses on format (pre-recorded video, perpetual access) and learner self-selection, but operates as a broad marketplace across all subjects rather than specializing in fine arts.
• Coursera: Coursera is a major online education platform partnering with universities and companies to offer courses, specializations, and certificates. It is adjacent rather than directly competing, but represents the established incumbent in online learning that any specialized art education platform must position against for learner attention.

Regional players

• Scuola del Fumetto di Milano: Scuola del Fumetto is a long-established Italian private school focused on comics, illustration, and character design. It is comparable to Novel Academy's character design and digital illustration courses on subject matter and Italian regional market, but specializes in comics/illustration while Novel Academy spans classical and digital fine art.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCYFJAsfe5kiClsRk2FSEB1g
• Facebookfacebook.com/novelacademytorino
• Instagraminstagram.com/novelacademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novel-academy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Novel Academy