Certificate in Drawing (for the Absolute Beginner) Online Course

Equipment and Studio

Have you ever wondered what kind of tools you would need to become an artist? Going into an art store can sometimes be overwhelming, so in our first lesson, we're going to take a look at the basic tools and supplies an artist needs for various projects. After you understand the tool set, you'll be prepared to confidently go to your local art store and start experimenting with supplies!

Basics of Drawing

With your art supplies in hand, it's time you get a firm understanding of drawing basics. Today, we're going to look at the importance of the silhouette and the outlining shape. When beginning to draw, it's so important that you understand the shapes you look at and how to put them onto paper. You'll also learn an amazingly fun one-eye drawing trick!

In this lesson, we'll go over the two major components of drawing for the beginner. You'll find that the first challenge you're faced with is drawing from things you see. This is, after all, how we all learn to draw. You'll gain lots of great tips on how to draw what you see, how to set up scenes for photographs, and much more.

Lighting and Shading

Did you know that there are five forms of light? That's right! Today you'll learn how to illuminate the scene and change the mood all at once. We'll go over lighting and shading so you'll have all the knowledge a beginning artist needs when learning how to sketch (and more). Have you ever drawn a picture and realized that it looked quite flat? Well, that might be because you never added light to your images. So today we'll look at how to add light, and more importantly, shading!

Perspective has always been a necessity for anyone drawing pictures with depth. If you wanted to draw a set of buildings and have the viewer looking down the road, how would you do it? One, two, and even three-point perspective is how! In today's lesson, you'll learn how to find the horizon line, create depth in your page, and even find the vanishing points of your lines.

Rendering Techniques

It's time to make a spoon "feel" like a spoon and a rock "feel" like a rock. When you're drawing objects, it's important to create the sense of realism with line work. So in this lesson, we'll go over some important rendering techniques that will give you a jump start toward understanding gradation, line weight, and stylization. All of which will get you on the road to finding your own style and creative expression.

It's all about telling your story! If you see a drawing of a big arrow pointing to the right, you'd probably look to the right, wouldn't you? In today's discussion on layout and design, we'll look at what it takes to persuade your audience to look at certain spots on your images at particular times without a big arrow. Sounds tough, doesn't it? Well, I'm going to show you some great methods and proven techniques for controlling everything you draw.

Landscape and City Rendering

It's time to put your skills to the test! In this lesson, we'll work up an entire scene with thumbnails then begin working on a first draft. Our discussion on creating landscapes will help you gain confidence in your skills that you've been working on up to this point. We'll also look at how to render your scenes with realistic lighting and shading while keeping the flow entertaining and informative.

Do pink and blue go together? Great question! What about the shadow color on an apple? What's the compliment to green? Creating images in color requires taking your artistic understanding to a whole new level. Today's lesson on color composition will be one of the most exciting and rewarding lessons in your art education!

Techno/Futuristic Drawing

In this lesson, I'm going to walk you through the future. That's right—we're going to look at and draw the techno future. You know those cool robots in movies and orbital vehicles flying around in space? Well, after you complete this lesson, you'll have a great understanding of how to create your very own future.

Today's lesson is a great chance to get up close and personal with animals because it's packed full of measurements, proportions, and basic shapes for many of the animals around you. You'll be using a lot of what you've learned from the previous lessons in this course in order to bring your animal together. We'll also look at step-by-step techniques and sketches you can use to help draw monkeys and other crazy animals. It's time to stop monkeying around and start drawing!

Creating Things on Your Own

In our final lesson, we'll explore the human brain and how it functions to create art, memorizing and interpreting the world around you and keeping everything slightly straight in the process. Today, you're going to take those images and thoughts in your head and put them down on paper for everyone to see and enjoy!