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Drawing Academy · Drawing Studio

Drawing Studio: From First Lines to Advanced Illustration

A beginner course in pencil, value, perspective, figures and color, one guided drawing at a time

Level
Beginner
Lessons
125 lessons in 21 modules
Estimated study
About 183 hours
Format
Online, self-paced
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Monthly: $0 today with a card, then $34 on day 4 unless you cancel before then. After the trial, 30 days' notice applies. Active on-campus students have academy access included. Check your existing student account before buying another subscription.

Before you start

Review the lesson outline and any lesson-specific preparation before you practise.

Use the fixed illustrated references and printable guides.

Follow the foundation modules before the advanced illustration and manga projects.

Full study requires active Academy access. This course can be audited independently of optional assessed programs.

About this course

For complete beginners with a pencil, an eraser and a few colored pencils. Each lesson shows one drawing stroke by stroke, then asks you to draw your own variation and check it against a short list. You start with pencil grips, even tone, hatching and a five-step value scale, draw leaves and boxes, then learn perspective, light and shadow, color, landscapes, buildings, vehicles, animals, the human figure, faces and hands, and finish with original characters, manga pages and story illustrations. Every demonstration is an original drawing; the literary characters are drawn from their public-domain source texts.

What you will be able to do

  • Observe shape, proportion and negative space before adding details.
  • Construct forms and use perspective, value, light and color coherently.
  • Draw landscapes, buildings, vehicles, animals and varied figures.
  • Create original anime, manga and recognizable character interpretations.
  • Develop a portfolio through independent practice, critique and revision.

Course outline

Hold and load the pencil, make even tone, hatch, cross-hatch and blend, and build a five-step value scale you will use in every later lesson.

  1. Holding the pencil and choosing a grade30 minFree preview
  2. Even tone35 min
  3. Hatching and cross-hatching40 min
  4. Blending and lifting40 min
  5. A five-step value scale45 min

Connect lines and curves into six small pictures, then add simple values and color.

  1. A leaf1 h 30 min
  2. A mountain badge1 h 30 min
  3. A five-petal flower1 h 30 min
  4. A front-view house1 h 30 min
  5. A small sailboat1 h 30 min
  6. A friendly owl1 h 30 min

Measure envelopes, compare angles and use the spaces around objects to draw accurately.

  1. A pear silhouette1 h 30 min
  2. Scissors1 h 30 min
  3. A mug and its handle1 h 30 min
  4. A bent twig1 h 30 min
  5. A desk lamp silhouette1 h 30 min
  6. A key beside a leaf1 h 30 min

Build convincing volumes from boxes, cylinders, spheres and cones.

  1. A cube with three visible planes1 h 30 min
  2. A tin can1 h 30 min
  3. An ice-cream cone1 h 30 min
  4. A ball on a box1 h 30 min
  5. A simple toy robot1 h 30 min
  6. A turned wooden pawn1 h 30 min

Use horizons, vanishing points, overlap and compressed spacing to organize depth.

  1. A one-point room1 h 30 min
  2. Railway sleepers1 h 30 min
  3. A two-point crate1 h 30 min
  4. A corner storefront1 h 30 min
  5. A tower viewed from below1 h 30 min
  6. A stairway and landing1 h 30 min

Separate light and shadow families and distinguish cast shadows from turning form.

  1. A sphere on a table1 h 30 min
  2. A lit cube1 h 30 min
  3. A cylinder1 h 30 min
  4. A white egg1 h 30 min
  5. A folded paper strip1 h 30 min
  6. A three-object still life1 h 30 min

Add hue and saturation while preserving the values and structure of the drawing.

  1. A color-wheel flower1 h 30 min
  2. An apple in three values1 h 30 min
  3. A lemon on a blue cloth1 h 30 min
  4. A seashell in a limited palette1 h 30 min
  5. A ceramic jug1 h 30 min
  6. A sunset still life1 h 30 min

Describe stone, wood, cloth, metal, glass and leather with selective marks and reflections.

  1. A cracked stone1 h 30 min
  2. A wooden block1 h 30 min
  3. A folded cloth1 h 30 min
  4. A brushed metal cup1 h 30 min
  5. A glass bottle1 h 30 min
  6. A leather boot1 h 30 min

Construct repeated geometry, test continuity and design meaningful original symbols.

  1. A radial rosette1 h 30 min
  2. A seamless tile1 h 30 min
  3. Interlaced knotwork1 h 30 min
  4. An impossible-object study1 h 30 min
  5. A personal symbolic emblem1 h 30 min
  6. A symbolic poster1 h 30 min

Layer terrain, trees, water and sky with coherent depth and focal contrast.

  1. Hills and sky1 h 30 min
  2. A forest path1 h 30 min
  3. Mountain lake1 h 30 min
  4. Rocky coast1 h 30 min
  5. A waterfall1 h 30 min
  6. A cloud-forest valley1 h 30 min

Combine perspective boxes, structural repetition and curved openings in believable spaces.

  1. A pitched-roof cottage1 h 30 min
  2. An arched doorway1 h 30 min
  3. A two-point street corner1 h 30 min
  4. A furnished bedroom1 h 30 min
  5. A greenhouse1 h 30 min
  6. An old station platform1 h 30 min

Place wheels, bodies, windows and wings inside measured construction envelopes.

  1. A bicycle in side view1 h 30 min
  2. A compact car in side view1 h 30 min
  3. A pickup in three-quarter view1 h 30 min
  4. A sports coupe in three-quarter view1 h 30 min
  5. A city bus1 h 30 min
  6. A propeller aircraft1 h 30 min

Use organic masses, branching rhythms, joints and selective texture.

  1. A fern frond1 h 30 min
  2. A rosebud1 h 30 min
  3. An oak tree1 h 30 min
  4. A perched songbird1 h 30 min
  5. A resting cat1 h 30 min
  6. A deer in profile1 h 30 min

Build varied figures from action lines, supported masses and attached joints.

  1. A standing mannequin1 h 30 min
  2. Contrapposto stance1 h 30 min
  3. A walking figure1 h 30 min
  4. A seated figure1 h 30 min
  5. A reaching figure1 h 30 min
  6. Three body types in one pose1 h 30 min

Locate artistic anatomical landmarks and explain overlap, taper and projected lengths.

  1. Ribcage and pelvis1 h 30 min
  2. The back and shoulder1 h 30 min
  3. A bent arm1 h 30 min
  4. A bent leg1 h 30 min
  5. A foreshortened reaching pose1 h 30 min
  6. A clothed athletic figure1 h 30 min

Place features on rotating head volumes and preserve identity through expression.

  1. A front-view head1 h 30 min
  2. A three-quarter head1 h 30 min
  3. A profile head1 h 30 min
  4. An expressive portrait1 h 30 min
  5. A tilted head viewed from below1 h 30 min
  6. A portrait with glasses and textured hair1 h 30 min

Connect small jointed forms, show contact and explain folds around support and tension.

  1. An open hand with five connected fingers1 h 30 min
  2. A closed fist and its overlapping knuckles1 h 30 min
  3. A hand holding a drawing brush1 h 30 min
  4. A planted foot with a visible arch1 h 30 min
  5. A raised heel and its supporting toes1 h 30 min
  6. A seated clothed figure with folds and hand contact1 h 30 min

Create original stylized characters with consistent proportions, hair and costume.

  1. Original chibi forest courier1 h 30 min
  2. Original anime head in front view1 h 30 min
  3. Same head in three-quarter view1 h 30 min
  4. A six-expression sheet1 h 30 min
  5. Hair and costume design1 h 30 min
  6. A full-body courier1 h 30 min

Control line weight, flat color, hard shadow shapes, action and panel continuity.

  1. A manga eye study1 h 30 min
  2. An inked character bust1 h 30 min
  3. The courier in cel shading1 h 30 min
  4. A running action pose1 h 30 min
  5. A two-character confrontation1 h 30 min
  6. A three-panel wordless manga1 h 30 min

Use original interpretations of Alice, Holmes and Oz characters to study recognizability.

  1. Alice with a storybook1 h 30 min
  2. White Rabbit with pocket watch1 h 30 min
  3. Sherlock Holmes at a desk1 h 30 min
  4. Dorothy and Toto1 h 30 min
  5. Scarecrow from Oz1 h 30 min
  6. A literary ensemble illustration1 h 30 min

Unite observation, characters, vehicles, environments and storytelling in worked projects.

  1. An observational glass, fruit and cloth still life1 h 30 min
  2. An explorer beside a parked car1 h 30 min
  3. A dramatic night street under one lamp1 h 30 min
  4. A rain-soaked manga city1 h 30 min
  5. A four-panel comic with consistent characters1 h 30 min
  6. Final capstone: a colored forest-journey illustration1 h 30 min

Related assessed programs

This course belongs to the following optional programs. Each has its own required course bundle, evidence review and separate fee. Each program page shows its approved fee and current registration status.

Illustration & Sequential Art: Non-accredited Cloud Forest Certificate

3 required courses · non-accredited assessed certificate