UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Just in time for the holidays, Heredia Designs Studios, a new local animation studio founded by a young Santa Clarita Valley entrepreneur, will host a custom sneaker design workshop on Saturday, Dec. 17, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Students of all ages and artistic skill levels who sign up for the workshop will use pairs of blazing white sneakers as blank canvases on which to draw and paint custom designs. The $99 fee includes sneakers, some paints, and guidance expert from instructor Sole Junkie. After three hours, participants will walk out with pairs of uniquely designed shoes to keep or give as gifts.

The sneaker workshop is one of several design classes Heredia Designs, LLC founder/owner David Heredia has created for local children and adults. Located at 21050 Centre Pointe Parkway, the studio began holding weekend classes Dec. 10 and will roll out its complete program of classes starting in January.

“Our workshops are designed with two things in mind — to develop the students’ artistic skills, and to teach business practices that will enable them to generate new income opportunities from skills learned in our workshops,” Heredia said.

“In August, after being laid off from my job — my third layoff in four years — I decided to open my own animation studio in September,” said Heredia, a 1995 graduate of the High School of Arts & Deasign in New York. He went on to earn separate Associate degrees in animation and advertising at New York City Technical College, and earned his B.A. in animation from the School of Visual Arts in 2002.

Heredia then worked for Disney for four years. “It was frustrating — no growth,” he said. “I figured if I quit, I’d get the experience I needed to grow.”

Subsequent jobs with Fantasy Prone Graphics, Six Degrees Games and the South Bay Counseling Center provided a lot of the experience he was looking for, but didn’t last. “That’s when I decided to take matters in to my own hands,” said Heredia, a Saugus resident for the past six years.

Other upcoming workshops at Heredia Designs Studios include Clay Figure Creations with instructor Leslie Halberg on Dec. 18 ($40); Web Design Made Easy, a two-week course Jan. 13-20 (Heredia, $50); Cartooning, a four-week workshop starting Jan. 9 (Heredia, $100); Intro to 2D Animation and 2D Animation, six-week courses starting Feb. 9 (Herdia, $125 and $175); Urban Art and Mural Design, a five-week course starting Feb. 7 (Heredia, $150); and Skateboard Deck Design, a four-week workshop starting Feb. 7 (Heredia, $125).

The studio’s other workshops will include Custom Trucker Hat Design and Comic Strip Design.

Registration is open now for Saturday’s sneaker design workshop and the other upcoming courses at www.herediadesignsworkshops.com.

Heredia Designs Studios is also holding an art contest, inviting local artists to submit works for possible display on the company’s website. The studio is accepting submissions of cartoon, animation, comic book and life drawing art, urban and graffiti-style art through Jan. 31.