Contact Us. We're here to help...

Please use this contact form if you want to make enquiries or let us know about any issues you have with the website or course material.

If you need more detailed support, send an email via this form and we can arrange a one-on-one chat via our facebook page to work through any problems you encounter with any of the courses.

If you want to send us a file, please contact us first and discuss the most appropriate way to upload it.

About Us.

Blueberry Beetle is an online art school which teaches the fundamental art principles, no matter what your age. And you can learn in your own space and time, wherever you are.

These are the art classes designed to learn at home with the sorts of art supplies most people already have available! So, not only are our courses well-priced, but they need minimum investment to get started.

We have a range of courses, from fun and quick courses on a certain theme to more in-depth courses that will train you the way real artists are trained. It is becoming harder to find courses which teach the old school principles, practices, skills and traditions from a classical training. It is even harder to find them available at a time and place which suits you. That’s why we’re here.

Each course shows examples and gets you to practice as you go so you can build up your skills. We want to teach you HOW to draw and paint but also WHY we do it a certain way so you can analyse and check your work for yourself to become an independent artist.

In addition, our teachers are working artists and illustrators who can give you real-world tips including overcoming common problems, answering questions about art or sharing/ creating useful resources.

So, if you want a class that is:

• available when it suits you,
• is completely online,
• requires the minimum outlay of art supplies to start learning,
• is soooo much cheaper than inner-city art schools,
• has contactable teachers, and
• will teach you all the tricks, principles and tips you have always wanted to know, then

Welcome to Blueberry Beetle!

We're excited to have you here.

‘Welcome to Blueberry Beetle! We look forward to training you.’

Meg English is the principal teacher of Blueberry Beetle. She is an accomplished artist and illustrator with many years of practical and teaching experience, from Cartooning to Realism and everything in between. You can check out some samples of her works here.

We are a new art school that is adding new contributors. Feel free to contact us if you would like to Work for Us.

Hire Us.

Private Classes and Parties

We are available for in online classes and in-person classes in the North Coast of NSW. Please email us for more information and discuss your needs.

Commissions

Looking for an artist or illustrator? Please contact us here with an outline and any examples of what you are looking for to organize a commission.

Click here to see samples of work.

Work for Us.

If you would like to teach with us, please email us a CV including evidence of your active (Paid) Working With Children Check.

If you would like to submit courses online, please submit some samples of your writing and art work when you email us. We would love to hear from you.

Privacy Policy

At Blueberry Beetle, we value your privacy. We will not sell or disclose your information to third parties, except to process Creative Kids vouchers with Service NSW, or government agencies in line with Covid-19 regulations.

All forms on this site are sent directly to email. Any information that you supply to us is not kept in an online website database to prevent hacking.

We will get your permission to add you to our mailing list.

Saftey

In-person Courses

All teachers working directly with children have a current Working With Children Check.

We are a Covid safe business and will ensure that all equipment has been disinfected before use. We will supply hand sanitiser if the premise has not done so. We recommend the use of masks and observe social distancing where possible.

We will record your attendance and contact information where the premise has not done so, so that you can be contacted if there is a health alert.

Online

Our terms of service require that all content published to the site and social media pages, and in in-person classes, is kept PG. We do not tolerate hurtful or harmful behavior or content in any way. Please see our terms and services as to how we will endeavor to keep you safe.

Security

Our website has an up-to-date security certificate to make it a secure site. We endeavor to maintain a secure site for online payments and protection of personal information.

Blueberry Beetle Terms of Service

By enrolling in one of our courses, you agree to abide by these terms.

Accounts

To enrol in a course, you will need to set up an account. Please keep your Username and Password somewhere safe.

You will be responsible for this account and responsible for not giving access to this account to another person. You are responsible for abiding by the Terms of Service when using this account.

If you notice any suspicious activity on this account, please notify us ASAP.

If you are under 18, you will need to get your parent, guardian or caregiver’s permission to create an account. They will be responsible for all Terms of Service relating to this account on your behalf.

Single User

Blueberry Beetle courses are intended for use by one student per enrolment. If you would like to use any of our courses for more than one student, please contact us to negotiate a group price and group usage licence.

When you enrol, you are getting a single, individual, non-transferable, limited licence to view the content and participate in exercises, videoconferencing (where offered) and activities. You are not buying the course or any of the content. This licence means that you have no right to resell, link to, repackage or share any content of the course, such as sharing your account with someone else, sharing screenshots or downloading it to share with others. In other words, our courses are licenced to you personally to help you learn and enjoy yourself. All other uses are expressly prohibited.

All accounts must be used for lawful purposes only. This includes intellectual property and copyright law. Hacking, digital attacks, viruses, testing of our security systems, spamming and similar activities will be seen as a violation of terms and all associated accounts will be disabled without refund. Legal action may be pursued.

Copyright

All course materials, including (but not limited to) written content, illustrations, diagrams, video and video-conferenced lessons remain the copyrighted property of their content creator.

By enrolling or participating in any Blueberry Beetle course, you agree to not reproduce, re-use, copy, link to, re-package, sublicense, redistribute, transmit, broadcast, sell, rent, share, lend, modify, adapt, edit, create derivative works of, or otherwise transfer any course content, icons, images, layout or logos in whole or part unless we give you explicit permission to do so in a written agreement signed by the content creator.

The content creators and logo owner asserts all rights in regard to all content. The author of the website code also asserts all rights. Any copyright infringement could lead to legal action and suspension of account without refund.

In addition, all work submitted under your account should be your own. Please do not publish content that infringes on another’s copyright or intellectual property rights.

If you submit work to be published by us or that will be publically viewable on social media, we will take that as (your or parental/ guardian/ caregiver) permission to publish that work. In other words, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty free licence to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute your content (including your name and image) in any and all media or distribution methods (existing now or later developed). You retain copyright and we will credit your work.

Safe for Children

Blueberry Beetle provides courses for children. As such, all materials posted to social media accounts, via the Moodle platform, in class (in person and online) or in any public forum must be PG rated. Swearing, indiscreet or pornographic content, hate speech, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, ageist, sexist, racist or other content with may cause harm to others, especially children, will not be tolerated. Students will be given the opportunity to remove content or leave video conferences but a second infringement or a failure to remove or withdraw content or remarks will result in removal from classes and suspension of accounts without refund.

Non-Violent and Abuse-Free Environment

Similarly, Blueberry beetle is intended to be a safe, non-threatening environment. Abuse, stalking, rudeness, hostility, threats, name-calling and slander will not be tolerated from students, their care-givers or anyone else interacting on any of our platforms or speaking of us in the public domain. Such behaviours will lead to suspension of accounts without refund and may lead to legal recourse.

We will do our best to create interesting courses that teach your children or yourselves valuable art skills, across the internet or in class. Please understand though, that despite our best efforts, technical issues or other issues may arise. While we will endeavor to address any potential complaints quickly and to your satisfaction where possible, complaints need to be addressed in an appropriate and respectful tone in order to comply with our terms of service.

Course End Dates

Some of our courses have specific start and end dates. This means that the content may not be available two weeks after the course finishes. Please organise completion before this date.

Other courses may be closed if the course has not been accessed within 30 days. Please contact us if you need more time.

Payment

Payment for course fees can be made through Paypal. When you agree to pay for the course, you authorize us to charge your paypal account.

If using a Creative Kids voucher, you agree to record all information needed to use that voucher faithfully and accurately. You agree to not attempt to use a voucher more than once. Children will not be enrolled until their voucher has been approved by Service NSW. Please allow time for processing before the beginning of the course. This may take a few days.

If for any reason you gain access to a course without payment, you agree to pay the full amount owing within 14 days of any notice from us.

Refunds and Exchanges

We offer a wide variety of courses with different methods of teaching. We are happy to discuss these with you and make recommendations before you enrol.

If you are not happy with your course, please contact us so we can make the experience better for you.

Where there may be technical or content issues that were our fault, we are happy to provide refund credits equal to the part of the course affected. We will assess this at our discretion. Please evidence this in your email when you email us. In addition, we will endeavor to correct any faults as soon as possible. Refund credits can be used on other courses. Creative Kids Vouchers cannot be refunded, sold, changed into credit or money or transferred to other courses or other students.

As we sell access to specialized content, we are unable to provide a refund for change of mind or where students have already accessed the majority of the course.

If you violate any of the terms of service, then your account may be disabled and any unfinished courses will not be eligible for refund.

Disclaimer

The Services and their content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. While we will endeavor to protect your information, provide security, fix technical issues and provide the best content we can, from time to time we may experience issues like technical glitches, cyberattacks or make errors, among other unforeseen events.

We make no representations or warranties about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, security, lack of errors, or accuracy of the Services or their content, and expressly disclaim any warranties or conditions (express or implied), including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We make no warranty that you will obtain specific results from use of the Services. Your use of the Services (including any content) is entirely at your own risk. You accept that you will not have any recourse against us in any of these types of cases where things don’t work out right. Some jurisdictions don’t allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

We may also decide to change or update content, or take down courses from time to time. We will do our best to give notice and make alternative arrangements with you. It is also possible that other unforeseen circumstances outside of our control may interrupt service, such as sabotage, natural disaster, internet or power outage or government restrictions. We will not be held liable for these interuptions to service. We will do our best to continue service and catch up any delays.

Indemnity

If your behaviour while using our site or social media pages gets us into legal trouble, we may exercise legal recourse against you.

You agree to indemnify, defend (if we so request), and hold harmless Blueberry Beetle and its owner or employees from an against any third-party claims, demands, losses, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from (a) the content you post or submit, (b) your use of the Services (c) your violation of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any rights of a third party. Your indemnification obligation will survive the termination of these Terms and your use of the Services.

Updating These Terms

We may update these services as we grow and develop. Blueberry Beetle reserves the right to change these terms of service at any time. We will do our best to keep you informed of these changes.

If you continue to use our services after these changes have been made, we will assume that you accept these changes. All changes to terms supersede all previous terms.

Overall

By using the Blueberry Beetle site and enrolling in courses, it is taken that you accept these terms. Please contact us if you have any further enquiries. Welcome to Blueberry Beetle.

How to Enrol

To enrol now, Go to our Log-In Page and set up an account. This will be your account while you are studying your course(s), so that you can come and go as you would like and you can save your progress.

Create a username and password. The password needs to have at least 8 characters, using at least one digit (a number between 0 and 9), and at least one lowercase letter.

Make sure you write or save this somewhere so you can log in again easily.

Find the course you want to do and enrol in that subject using paypal for paid courses or enrol for free.

If you have any questions, please email us and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, contact us via Facebook. This may take up to 2 working days.

Enrol Using your Creative Kids Voucher

To get a Creative Kids Voucher, (for kids in NSW, Australia), click here. Children are eligible for one voucher per child in a calendar year. New year? Apply again!

To use your Creative Kids Voucher, simply fill out the form below. Follow the information on your Creative Kids Voucher exactly. We will do our best to get you enrolled within 2 working days.

Alternatively, contact us directly and we’ll get you sorted out in person.

Troubleshooting, Help and Support

For any issues with the courses, including course material, enrolling, payments, technical problems or anything else, please contact us and we will endeavor to contact you back as soon as possible.

Common Questions.

Are classes 100% online?

Yes, classes are 100% online. Most classes are a mix of illustrations, diagrams and written content. Many have video content and video conference sessions as well. In addition, teachers are available to answer questions, give feedback and help with courses through our Facebook page or email (within reason – we have many students!)

How long do classes go for? What is involved in classes?

These varies from course to course.

Our How to draw courses will take you step-by-step how to draw a particular thing. These usually take less than an hour, depending on how complex the subject and your drawing experience.

Our short courses usually have a theme where you will draw more than one thing in a theme, such as cute food, robots, rockets, fairy gardens etc. This may take a few hours and you may want to come and go from these courses.

We also have more involved classes which teach art fundamentals and principles. These are more detailed and involved, and are focused on training you to be a real artist (though all practice is useful). These tend to run over a few weeks. These involve you reading the written content, watching the videos and doing the practice exercises. Many have one hour a week included where you can video-conference the teacher to ask questions, see examples, solve problems or get feedback on your work.

What art supplies or equipment do I need?

For most of our drawing courses, you will need:

• Internet access, preferably on a device that has access to a printer to print off worksheets (however, these can often be copied onto your paper);
• Clean paper to draw on. Printer paper or an art book is fine;
• Sharpened pencils (and a sharpener). We recommend 2B pencils but HB are fine;
• Erasers are recommended;
• You may want colour pencils to finish your artworks.

In other words, we try and limit the art supplies you need to what most students have in school supplies or in their home office.

You can also fill in worksheets directly onto a drawing tablet if you have the equipment and applications.

Other courses will have different art supply requirements, and these will be listed in the information before you enrol.

Our courses are specially designed so that you do not need to outlay lots of money on art supplies and equipment. We always endeavor to minimise your art supply investment, and will recommend cheaper alternatives and tricks where we can. We want to focus on the training, not swamp you with expensive art supplies.

Do you accept Paypal?

Yes, we accept payment by Paypal, for your security. This is a secure online payment method with acts as an intermediary between customers and businesses, for more online protection than using your debit or credit card details directly. If you don’t have a Paypal account, you can set one up here.

Can I use my Creative Kids vouchers?

Yes, you can use Creative Kids Vouchers if you are eligible and live in NSW Australia.

We have specific courses which meet the requirements of the Creative Kids Vouchers. These teach drawing, painting and animation fundamentals, and go over a series of lessons. These will be marked in the Course Information section.

These are usually priced at $100, which makes them free with creative Kids vouchers.

More courses are being added all the time.

How do I enrol?

There are two ways to enrol - setting up a user account and accessing free courses/ paying with paypal, and enrolling using your Creative Kids vouchers. For more information, click here.

Why do I need to create an account to enrol in courses?

Courses are offered on the Moodle platform. This requires an account before accessing. Having an account means that it will save your progress as you go and that you can come and go as you have the time. As such, our courses will fit into your busy life.

You may wish to set up a guest account to familiarize yourself with the setup, though these have limited functions.

What skill level do I need?

The age limit shown for classes is a suggestion of the sort of skill level needed to gain from and enjoy the course. This is based on the level most children are at at this age.

Where classes are more challenging or involved, the age limit goes up, or it will be indicated in the individual course information.

Can children younger than the recommended age enrol?

All courses involve written content and this has been adjusted to the reading age of the recommended age limit. While we recognise that many children have a higher level of skill, talent or interest for their age, the reading level may present a problem. Parents/ guardians and caregivers can overcome this by reading aloud or explaining the written content to younger students. However, please keep in mind that they may not enjoy the material, have the ability or have the focus to do courses for older age groups. You take responsibility for enrolling them in courses that are recommended for older children.

Does my child need to be able to read to enrol?

All courses have written content. If your child cannot read, they will need someone to read for them and explain the material.

Children may also enjoy watching our free drawing videos, where they can copy the artist.