This online drawing course for beginners aims to lay the foundations that any art student who wishes to learn fine art needs to build their practice. This art course is essential for those that want to learn a set of crucial drawing skills, that will also aid those approaching painting.

This art course spans 20 lessons, grouped into Six modules; Materials and Setting Up, Line and Shape, Light and Shade, Still Life, Landscape, and Portraits.

You will follow step-by-step, high -quality instructional videos conducted by a professional, practising artist, who will draw a range of still life, landscape and portrait subjects. You will start from the very basics, and working towards high-level finished art pieces. 

This art course will also introduce beginners students to the core art-historical heritage of “Old Masters” who created some of the underlying methods and approaches to drawing that we rely upon today.

By the end of this online beginners course, students will have mastered the basic tenants of drawing, and be ready to develop their own more advanced compositions and styles, or move on to explore a different medium.

Module Descriptions

MODULE 1: Materials and Setting Up (Lessons 1-3)

The first module of this course will help students to familiarise themselves with the fundamental tools of their trade. This module will explain different paper types, graphite pencil grades, the use of rubbers and blending stumps, and the most comfortable and effective way to set up your drawing space. 

Lesson 1: Introduction to materials 

 Lesson 2: How to hold a Pencil

 Lesson 3: Setting Up 

MODULE 2: Line and Shape (Lessons 4-5)

This module will begin to outline the way in which the student should approach the process of looking at a subject. Students will learn to build a solid structure on paper by breaking the subject into simple shapes and mastering an understanding of accurate measuring and proportion techniques.

Lesson 4: Blocking in a drawing

Lesson 5: Measuring Techniques

MODULE 3: Light and Shade (Lessons 6-9)

In the completion of this module, students will become proficient in the use of varying degrees of pressure to create a range of tones and shades. They will also think about perfecting the process of shading to capture different light and shadows in a naturalistic way. 

Lesson 6: Introduction to tonal range.

Lesson 7: How light behaves.

Lesson 8: Practice shading

Lesson 9: Explore Light options. 

MODULE 4: Still Life (Lessons 10-12)

At this stage in the course, students will begin to apply the drawing skills they have learnt so far to a Still Life subject. Lessons will guide the student through the selection and composition of a Still Life subject, or group of subjects, as well as taking students through step-by-step studies first in pencil, then in charcoal.

Lesson 10: How to compose a still life

Lesson 11: How to draw a still life with pencils.

Lesson 12: How to draw flowers with charcoal

MODULE 5: Landscape (Lessons 13-16)

Moving on, students will focus on the skill of drawing landscapes.  This module will introduce more detail on the process of perspective and will explore the ways in which charcoal can be used effectively to capture the varying tones of a landscape composition. Lessons 15 and 16 will provide in-depth, focused looks at the mastering the art of capturing sky and water.

Lesson 13: Introduction to Perspective

Lesson 14: How to draw a landscape with charcoal

Lesson 15: Drawing the sky

Lesson 16: Drawing water

MODULE 6: Portrait (Lessons 17-20)

In the final module of this course, students will use all the skills that they have acquired in the course to focus on an accomplished execution of a portrait. They will follow the entire portraiture process, from choosing a picture reference and investigating facial proportions, to undertaking the completion of the portrait in either pencil or charcoal. 

Lesson 17: Choosing a good picture

Lesson 18: Proportion in portraiture

Lesson 19: How to draw a portrait with charcoal

Lesson 20: How to draw a portrait with pencils