Nothing seems to have been left behind in this modern era, not even learning. Self-teaching has become a viable way of acquiring knowledge using the many platforms currently available. In fact, if you are dedicated enough to do intense research, you can acquire more information compared to attending traditional physical classes.
With so many free online courses mushrooming up every day, even the most difficult subjects can be learned from a distance. The process has been made as simple as batting your eyelid. For instance, drawing is something you wouldn’t expect to learn online but it is actually very doable.
Here is a comprehensive list of some of the very best online classes for drawing which you will find helpful, career-wise.
Proko
These video courses are done by none-other than Stan Prokopenko, an accomplished fine artist. Besides teaching in Watts Atelier in California, he is also the school’s alumni. Stan publishes lessons which anyone can watch for free. When you are eventually ready to move to the next level, you can get the premium version.
Some of the benefits of joining the premium version of the course are that you will be able to access extended lessons that come with awesome extra features. In his videos, Stan teaches the techniques that he has learned over the years. Besides that, Stan uses high-quality videos that are mostly available at no cost via his YouTube channel.
However, these free videos are only available in small portions from the full premium courses. If you are interested in following the step-by-step courses, you must subscribe to the premium videos. These videos which are mostly about human figure drawings are very easy to comprehend that an even outright beginner can follow. The course offers plenty of details. Plus, Stan is a gifted teacher and his lessons are motivating and easy to follow.
Paintable
This site is very comprehensive on everything about digital art. This is the ultimate site to start your digital art course. There is a world of things you will learn from Paintable a few of which include animation, concept art, and webcomics, amongst others. All these require you to learn digital painting.
When you pay your monthly subscription, you will be able to access their entire course. The course library has an amazing outline that is very simple and easy to navigate through. The well-organized videos are split into sections covering every single topic.
They also have mastermind classes available. This means that you can ask questions, share ideas with other student artists, and get feedback from them as well. Art is not a lone ranger’s journey. You want to share and borrow ideas. Besides that, what better way to learn than through critiques and technical advice?
Udemy
To start with, Udemy will not make you buy expensive art materials with unpronounceable names you have never even heard of. Secondly, there is no difference between your normal physical campus classes and its online courses. The course is armed with 63 lecturers and 11 sections of learning which otherwise you would term as units.
There is a lot to learn from this course starting with the fundamentals of drawing. As you progress, you will learn about perspective, texture, drawing human faces and figures, space, value, and contrast among other subjects. You will also get to enjoy an animation-style art bonus video. But even at that, the fee per course unit will depend on an individual instructor. But sometimes, they can decide to offer them for free.
The course will also touch base on the various art supplies you will be expected to use in your drawing career. You are also most likely to encounter a landscape course where you will assemble a field sketch journal. If your main focus is on pen and ink, Skillshare is where you will love Udemy the most. But what is so amazing, and seducing is the life-like portraits. All in all, this is an online course you will hate not to take.
Pencils Kings
Even the best artists use this online course to sharpen their drawing skills. Why would you not use it too? Major studios such as Marvel and DreamWorks are some of its famous users. That should not scare you a tiny bit though when you hear such staggering names. Do not worry. Even if you have never even held a pencil to draw an amateur image of a cat, Pencil Kings is beginner-friendly as well as suited for the advanced artist.
Professionals tap into this site’s knowledge from time to time to expand their horizons. Some of the courses you will encounter and choose from include fundamentals of arts, modern digital paintings, and traditional drawing/painting, amongst dozens of courses available. In layman’s language, this is basically an art school with fee prices that are a steal.
Participating in their art forums is one of the best things you could ever ask for. However, this can only be accessed by premium members. There is a lot to benefit from this. You will get honest critiques of your work. Besides that, you can solicit advice for practice regimen while interacting with their best instructors. Did we mention that they have more than 70 courses? Well, they do.
New Masters Academy
This academy will teach you, how to draw with a deep focus on the fundamentals. This academy will set you from being a very raw beginner and launch you right through to being an advanced and proficient artist. Wow! It sounds like magic. This is not merely sales talk because the great and mighty creatives from Disney and Pixar benefits from New Masters Academy.
In the journey from one skillset or another, there is no escaping the traditional steps. Watching the masters work from this academy will help you through those baby steps. They dedicate 10hrs just to make you learn how to draw hands. If that shocks you out of your seat, what about the 48hr-series on head drawings?
A post suggested that this academy is more like Proko on steroids. The only gapping difference is the academy largely covers the traditional art courses. Their billing cycle is monthly. However, you can sign up and get a free account for trial purposes. And even while at that, you will not be deceived into believing that they only focus on hours and hours of learning how to draw different body parts. That’s not true. There are many other interesting topics you will find in the academy.
Vitruvian Studio
David Jamieson created a platform for fresh beginners to launch from. This incredible studio covers the fundamentals of art. Before you start your drawing journey, you should realize that every type of art requires you to know the basic fundamentals. Whether it is the traditional painting or the webcomics you are pursuing, this studio will offer you just that on a silver platter.
There are subjects that you will not get, such as the live classes of figure drawing. But even with that, you will still be able to enjoy and follow the classes with absolute ease. Their cast drawing, which focuses on realism, is the best place to start.
If you are attentive enough, you will not only be able to study from real life but to translate what you see into a drawing. This awesome library of traditional art will definitely improve your skillset regardless of your projection.