PITTSBURGH – WQED Education expands its offerings to students, parents and teachers with the fourth season of the innovative and fun digital series, “Cartoon Academy with Joe Wos.” This award-winning series was created to support the WQED Education and PA PBS’s “Learning Neighborhood” initiative.
Pittsburgh cartoonist Joe Wos takes viewers of all ages through the creative steps of drawing cartoon characters while sharing artistic terms, skill development tips and educational facts about the characters and scenes. Beyond drawing, each episode is packed with additional educational opportunities on subjects ranging from math and science to social-emotional learning.
This season will consist of six short episodes exploring two themes: environment and habitats and social-emotional learning.
Season four will be released digitally throughout November and December on WQED’s YouTube channel and at wqed.org/cartoonacademy, with a television broadcast marathon on WQED-TV of all six episodes of season four planned for early 2024.
Cartoon Academy has been recognized with four regional Emmy® Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-Atlantic Chapter. In 2022, in the categories of Education/Schools Short Form Content and Talent/Host; and in 2023, in the categories of Education/Schools Long Form Content and Talent/Host.
Funding for this season of Cartoon Academy was provided by the Hans and Leslie Fleischner Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation.
“We believe in educational programs for kids, and the Cartoon Academy is a wonderful teaching tool and also a lot of fun. When I saw an episode online, I was quite impressed and said, ‘Yes, let’s do it!’” said Leslie Fleischner. “My grandson, Andrew, and daughter-in-law, Dawn, love cartoons. They’ve gone to cartoon museums and various cartoon shows, so I guess it runs in the family!”
CARTOON ACADEMY SEASON 4
The Habitats
“The Everglades”
A flamingo, turtle, and manatee co-exist in Florida’s tropical wetlands. Joe emphasizes the beauty and diversity of Florida’s wildlife, while sharing artistic advice on the three planes of art.
Premiere Date: Monday, November 20, 2023
“Rainforest of Costa Rica”
A sloth, toucan, and tree frog “hang” out among a lush canopy of trees. Students will also learn the importance of protecting habitats they may never visit. Composition and design are the creative lessons.
Premiere Date: Tuesday, November 21, 2023
“Sky Islands of the Desert”
High above the Arizona desert, a coyote, rattlesnake, and hummingbird dwell in a unique, often-overlooked habitat. Joe explains how stylistic choices can be influenced by the region’s environment and culture.
Premiere Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Be the Best You Can Be
“Diversity & Acceptance”
What makes us the same? What makes us different? Friendly monsters with different body shapes, sizes and other variables teach an important lesson in social and emotional learning. Artistically, Joe teaches how variations on basic design can create new characters.
Premiere Date: Monday, December 18, 2023
“Emotion”
Joe shows how we express our feelings through facial expressions. Viewers will also learn how emotion is used to help define a character’s personality.
Premiere Date: Monday, December 19, 2023
“Relationships”
What makes a good friend? Helping one another is “step one” to building good friendships. This is shown by the symbiotic relationship between a rhinoceros and bird – two very different species who depend on each other. Size and scale are used to create a balanced scene.
Premiere Date: Monday, December 20, 2023
About Joe Wos
Joe Wos is an internationally syndicated cartoonist. He has been working professionally as a cartoonist since the age of 14 and has been teaching cartooning for more than 30 years. Mr. Wos has performed with symphony orchestras, established a world record, and performed live at over 1,000 venues worldwide, including visits as the guest cartoonist of the Charles M. Schulz Museum for 20 years. Awards and honors for Mr. Wos include four Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy® Awards for Talent, and Educational Content – Long Form and Short Form.
About WQED
WQED Multimedia starts conversations and creates experiences that educate, entertain and inspire our neighbors in Pittsburgh and across southwest Pennsylvania. Founded in 1954 as an experiment in educational community-supported television, WQED was a forerunner to PBS.
Our content creators produce impactful stories that delve into the rich mosaic of our region’s past, present, and future. We cover a wide range of topics, from arts and culture to pressing societal issues that impact our lives. We profile remarkable individuals and organizations who work to strengthen our communities. Our Learning Neighborhoods support children, in partnership with area schools and libraries, and extend to high school students exploring media careers through the WQED Film Academy. Known as “The Voice of the Arts,” WQED-FM provides a vital platform that amplifies our vibrant and diverse cultural assets, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
WQED Multimedia operates WQED-TV (PBS); WQED World; WQED Create; WQED Showcase; WQED PBS KIDS Channel; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel; plus various streams, apps, and interactive experiences.