Overview

Experience the joy of drawing – a skill anyone can learn – in this brilliantly designed course that teaches you how to draw landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and more. Course No. 7770.

Like reading and writing, drawing is a fundamental life skill. Once part of a traditional education, drawing deepens your understanding of the visual world. Contrary to popular belief, the ability to draw does not depend on innate talent. This course features 36 dynamic video lessons led by David Brody, whose inspiring teaching style and expertise offer a comprehensive guide to mastering drawing.

This course takes you step-by-step through the key elements that compose the skill of drawing. Master the primary skill of visual art with rewards you will treasure for a lifetime.

Course Structure

1. An Introduction to Drawing

Explore the remarkable history of drawing and discover how learning to see analytically enhances your skills. Complete your first drawing exercise by retracing ancient artwork.

• Duration: 33 min

2. Drawing Materials for Line

Investigate the essential drawing materials, including pencils and charcoal. Learn how to set up your workspace and position yourself and your subject.

• Duration: 33 min

3. Drawing Fundamentals and First Exercises

Dive into essential drawing exercises. Grasp composition, proportion, and other foundational concepts that enable you to pursue your creative vision.

• Duration: 30 min

4. Line and Shape: Line and Aggregate Shape

Understand contour and construction lines, and discover how basic geometric shapes can help in drawing objects.

• Duration: 32 min

5. Line and Shape: Volume and Figure-Ground

Explore cross-contour lines and their role in creating the illusion of three-dimensional objects.

• Duration: 33 min

6. Line and Shape: Positive and Negative Shape

Examine the importance of negative shape in composition and practice drawing both positive and negative shapes.

• Duration: 28 min

7. Composition: The Format and Its Armature

Learn about the underlying structure of rectangles in composition and how to use diagonal lines for visual interpretation.

• Duration: 30 min

8. Composition: How Artists Compose

Study how the geometric underpinnings of a drawing contribute to its overall balance and unity.

• Duration: 29 min

9. Line and Shape: Line Attributes and Gesture

Explore the qualities of line and how they can express character and emotion in your drawings.

• Duration: 30 min

10. Composition: Shape and Advanced Strategies

Investigate visual strategies for organizing shapes in your drawings and learn about spatial organization.

• Duration: 30 min

11. Proportion: Alberti’s Velo

Begin a study of proportion using a gridded device to create accurate representations of various subjects.

• Duration: 30 min

12. Proportion: Accurate Proportion and Measure

Learn tools for achieving accurate proportions, including using analog measures and level lines.

• Duration: 28 min

13. Creating Volume and Illusionistic Space

Study the factors affecting perception of depth and learn how to represent volume in drawings.

• Duration: 30 min

14. Six Complex Drawing Projects

Apply your knowledge to complex drawing challenges, including still lifes and self-portraits.

• Duration: 30 min

15. Linear Perspective: Introduction

Discover the principles of linear perspective and how they transform flat shapes into lifelike depictions.

• Duration: 33 min

16. Linear Perspective: The Quad

Combine your understanding of perspective and draw an architectural landscape.

• Duration: 27 min

17. Linear Perspective: The Gridded Room

Learn to draw a perspectival grid and create a complete room perspective.

• Duration: 28 min

18. Linear Perspective: Ellipses and Pattern

Draw curvilinear forms and geometric patterns using one-point perspective.

• Duration: 31 min

19. Linear Perspective: Advanced Topics

Complete a believable environment from imagination, learning about two- and three-point perspectives.

• Duration: 29 min

20. Value: How Artists Use Value

Understand how tonal value influences mood and emotional response in drawings.

• Duration: 29 min

21. Value: Drawing Materials for Value

Explore the materials used to create value in drawings, including pencils and papers.

• Duration: 29 min

22. Value: Black and White and a Value Scale

Learn to create a nine-step value scale and apply these concepts in still lifes.

• Duration: 30 min

23. Value: Eight Complex Drawing Projects

Engage in value-based projects, translating color into tonal values.

• Duration: 29 min

24. Value: Side Light and Cast Shadow

Practice drawing cast shadows and their expressive value.

• Duration: 29 min

25. Value: Oblique Light and Cast Shadow

Learn to draw shadows under various lighting conditions.

• Duration: 30 min

26. Texture: Mark Making and Optical Value

Experiment with mark-making techniques to create visual texture and tonal value.

• Duration: 31 min

27. Texture: How Artists Use Texture

Study master drawings to understand the significance of texture in art.

• Duration: 29 min

28. Color: Color Theory and Color and Light

Dive into color theory and explore how color perception is influenced by light.

• Duration: 30 min

29. Color: How Artists Use Color

Observe the impact of color palettes on mood and emotional expression in art.

• Duration: 31 min

30. Color: Color Drawing Projects

Create drawings using specific color palettes to explore depth and emotion.

• Duration: 31 min

31. The Figure: A Canon of Proportions

Learn human proportions utilizing a canon of proportions and basic shapes.

• Duration: 30 min

32. The Figure: The Head, Hands, and Feet

Master drawing the human figure and developing volume in flat shapes.

• Duration: 31 min

33. The Figure: Artistic Anatomy

Study human anatomy to enhance your figure drawing skills.

• Duration: 30 min

34. The Figure: Drawing Projects

Engage in various figure drawing projects using your acquired anatomy knowledge.

• Duration: 34 min

35. Advanced Concepts: Pictorial Space

Explore how artists depict three-dimensional space on flat surfaces throughout history.

• Duration: 29 min

36. Advanced Drawing Projects

Conclude with challenging projects that integrate observation and imagination.

• Duration: 32 min