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Drawing

Learn to see, then learn to draw what you see.

3levels, ending in portraits that look like people
40 mina Step, on average
$36to start Level 1
FreeLevel 1, always

The path

  1. 1
    Level 1Free

    Lines and Light

    A fully shaded still life from real objects

    15 Steps, about 40 minutes each. Anyone who thinks they 'can't draw'. If you can sign your name, you can learn this.

    1. Chapter 1: Lines and forms. Confident lines and ellipses, contour drawings, boxes in perspective, and a mug drawn from life.
    2. Chapter 2: Light and shadow. A smooth value scale, shaded spheres, cubes and cylinders, accurate proportions, and a fully shaded apple or egg.
    3. Chapter 3: Your still life. A still life planned in thumbnails, laid in, shaded and finished: a drawing you'd frame.
    1. 1
      Confident lines
      A page of straight lines and a page of ellipses, drawn with the ghosting method.
      Show your group
    2. 2
      Contour drawing
      Two blind contour drawings and one careful contour drawing of your own hand.
    3. 3
      Boxes in one-point
      A page of boxes drawn in one-point perspective from a single vanishing point.
    See all 15 Steps
    1. 4
      Boxes in two-point
      A page of boxes in two-point perspective, seen from the corner.
    2. 5
      Draw a mug from life
      A careful line drawing of a mug from life, with correct ellipses and proportions.
      Show your group
    3. 6
      Value scale
      A smooth 7-step value scale with your pencils, plus a hatched one.
    4. 7
      Shade a sphere
      A shaded sphere with a highlight, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow.
    5. 8
      Shade cubes and cylinders
      A shaded cube, cylinder and cone, all lit from the same side.
    6. 9
      Measure proportions
      Two objects drawn side by side with their heights and widths measured using your pencil.
    7. 10
      Shade an apple or egg
      A fully shaded apple or egg from life, with a cast shadow, on good paper.
      Show your group
    8. 11
      Set up and thumbnail
      A still life of 3 objects set up and lit, and six small thumbnail sketches of it.
    9. 12
      Lay in the still life
      Your chosen still life laid in lightly on good paper, with correct proportions and placement.
    10. 13
      Block in the shadows
      All the shadow shapes in the still life shaded in one even, light tone.
    11. 14
      Build values and texture
      Middle tones, core shadows and surface textures built up across the whole drawing.
    12. 15
      Finish and sign
      The finished still life with highlights, final darks, a signature, and the drawing protected.
      Show your group
  2. Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

    Faces

    Your first portrait from life

  3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

    Figures

    Gesture and figure drawings of people

Where it ends: portraits that look like people

Free lessons in Lines and Light come from Drawabox, Chris Wilson Studio, The Lightbox, BYU-Idaho Art 110, Ctrl+Paint, Proko, Circle Line Art School, The Drawing Source, Envato Tuts+, Art Prof. We link to their work and never copy it.

Cover photo by Jill Dimond on Unsplash

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