The 6 Best Online Drawing Courses in 2023 (October) – Artlex (2024)

Drawing is an art form that can be learned and practiced with time and patience. There are many ways to learn to draw, such as taking classes at the local community college or online courses.

There is a big difference between mastering the art of drawing and learning how to draw. Mastering a skill can take a lot of time. However, learning to draw can take less than a couple of months if you put in the time and effort.

Taking a college class or a presential course is not always doable. You need to consider your schedule, commute, transportation, materials, etc., and the fees that tend to be relatively high for presential education. It can be a bit of a hassle, but the internet is a beautiful place, and you can find high-value courses for less than $30 that will teach you how to draw and make your life easier altogether.

How to find the best drawing course for you?

There are some things you need to think thoroughly about when searching for a drawing course. Every drawing course is not oriented to the same audience. Some can be for beginners, some for kids, and some for professionals.

And since art is such a broad term, drawing courses are oriented to different art fields and in every medium, including digital art. Finding the perfect drawing course can be overwhelming, with so many choices.

But don’t worry, we got you!

Before considering taking or purchasing a drawing course, make sure to know what you really want from it.

This list might make your decision a bit easier.

Level of expertise

Taking into consideration your level of expertise doesn’t mean you need previous experience. You can actually start from zero. There are some excellent courses for beginners that will hold your hand from your very first line to a finished work of art made by yourself using your new skills. However, not everybody is up for learning from the beginning, so there are also courses for more experienced people or artists looking to broaden their skills or study a particular. Ask yourself these questions:

Are you a beginner? Do you have any notion about drawing? Have you practiced on your own? For how long? Did you take any drawing classes? Are you looking to master a specific skill?

When looking for drawing courses, make sure to check the audience orientation and the course contents and keep in mind that there will be some courses that start from Zero and some that require a bit of previous knowledge.

Course duration

Every course has been made by different instructors, academies, places, etc., so when looking for drawing causes, a crucial issue will always be the course duration. The course duration won’t always guarantee that you will learn how to draw by the end of the course or that a course is better than others. Some courses are designed for weeks of intense learning, and some are for days or even hours. Some courses are slow-paced and contain many demonstrations, and some are fast-paced yet very instructive on the specific skill you might be looking for.

What you have to consider about the course duration are the reviews of the course and your schedule. The reviews will give you a hint about the course pacing, and your schedule will dictate if you have the time to take a 30 hours course, a 9 hours course, or a 3 hours crash course on a specific skill.

Art Medium

Every artist takes a different and unique path with art. When it comes to drawing, you can use almost all art mediums. However, the most common are graphite, charcoal, ink, and digital mediums. If you’re interested in working with ink or charcoal, you should take a course focusing on that material. Graphite is the best start for beginners. However, depending on what you plan on doing with your art in the future, you might want to learn another medium first.

For example, if you want to be a comic book artist, then learning the fundamentals of ink instead of graphite would be the best. If you want to learn figure drawing and gesture, then go for charcoal instead of ink or graphite. The same goes for digital artists. If you plan on using a graphic tablet for your art learning journey, then joining a traditional art-oriented course won’t be as valuable as learning how to draw digitally while also learning how to use drawing software.

Some courses use several mediums, and some focus only on one. Choose the one that fits your art needs the best, and in case of doubt, remember you can never go wrong with graphite since drawing pencils are the most accessible art medium out there!

Skill focus

With a pencil and paper, we can draw pretty much anything. Most courses for beginners focus on portrait drawing, drawing fundamentals, and drawing from life. However, sometimes that is not what we need.

Skill-focused courses are more expensive than general-oriented courses and sometimes very hard to find. Look at the prices and content and check the reviews, the instructor’s expertise, and the community behind that course. If you’re looking for a skill-focused course, research needs to be done.

We can find courses for every skill we need to master. The issue wouldn’t be searching for that specific course but instead not getting caught by one that includes a bit of everything since the section we’ll need to learn will probably be very short (speaking from experience)

Price

This is also a crucial matter to consider. Art courses can go from $0 to +$2000, and it varies depending on the academy, instructor, location, contents of the course, and tutoring level. Drawing courses don’t have that much or a price range, though.

You can get great value from a $20 drawing course with many students but not a high tutoring level, as well as invest in a more expensive and specialized course or even get one-on-one lessons.

All of this will be entirely up to you, your time, and your budget. If you feel like it’s worth investing more in tutoring and feedback and your budget allows it, then go for it! If not, don’t sweat it. There are many resources and free courses online that you can find in this article

Time and Reviews

When looking for a course (especially online), we should always look for the publication date. Times change, and although drawing fundamentals will always be the same, new techniques, methods and tips will be much more helpful than ten or 15-year-old content, principally for skill-focused courses.

You can also take a look at the reviews and students’ testimonials and works. Some courses can be recently updated but originally posted five years ago. The instructor will probably not give feedback or review assignments anymore, so always check for the highest and lowest reviews to see what to expect.

Community

This might not be the most important issue; however, having a reliable and active community to join when learning a new skill is an excellent source of support and also a good way of getting feedback on your art. Some courses offer feedback from the instructor, but not all of them comply due to various reasons. That’s why joining a course or platform with an active and not overly saturated community might also be a good idea.

Now that you have properly considered all the conditions above, it’s time for recommendations!

After in-depth research, we’ve gathered what we believe are the best drawing courses available online, so keep reading and get ready to learn!

Our Recommendation List for The Best Drawing Courses

1. Best Drawing Course Overall — New Masters Academy
2. Best Short Drawing Course for Beginners — How To Draw From Beginner to Master (Udemy)
3. Best Free Drawing Course —Draw A Box
4. Best Skill-Focused Drawing Courses for Animation – Figure and Character Design by Aaron Blaise
5. Best Skill-Focused Drawing Courses for Perspective Drawing – CG Master Academy
6. Best Skill-Focused Drawing Courses for Gesture Drawing – Proko

#1 Best Drawing Course Overall — New Masters Academy

Selection Criteria:

• Level of expertise: Beginners
• Course duration: Indefinite
• Art medium: Variety
• Skill Focus: Variety
• Time and Reviews: Amazing reviews and the courses updated through the years
• Community: Website Forum

About New Masters Academy

This “course” is at the very top of our list not only due to the amazing reviews and outstanding student work we can see on their website or the multiple-level classes you can take on several traditional and digital mediums but mainly to the price.

The idea of getting a high-level art education for $35 per month is astounding but real. With New Masters Academy, you access 1000+ hours of video content and art knowledge from well-recognized artists and specialized instructors.

The well-structured course takes you step-by-step from the beginning, and the course includes a guide with a surprisingly good module structure for learning, as any college or art school would do. Learning how to draw is only the beginning, and you can choose to specialize in any of the 11 tracks they have. Each module takes one to four years to complete, and as long as you pay for the subscription, you have full access to not only the courses but the forum, instructor feedback, etc.

Pros

• High-level art education
• Amazing price per value
• Beginner friendly
• Great course structure
• Certificate after portfolio review

Cons

• Takes quite long to finish
• It might be overwhelming for some

#2 Best Short Drawing Course for Beginners — How To Draw From Beginner to Master (Udemy)

Selection Criteria:

• Level of expertise: Beginners
• Course duration: 1 – 2 weeks
• Art medium: Graphite
• Skill Focus: Drawing fundamentals/ shading
• Time and Reviews: Great reviews
• Community: No

About How to Draw from Beginner to Master (Udemy)

This course promises to take you through the fundamentals and give you a strong base of drawing and shading techniques so you can draw from life and imagination.

The pacing and structure of the course are great, making it easy to follow and learn from the instructor.

Though it might seem to shower for some, this course is the fastest way to draw since it will teach you the very fundamentals of graphite drawing and take your skill up to realism-level drawings.

Pros

• Strong fundamentals base
• Shading techniques
• Quick results
• Best for complete beginners

Cons

• It might be too fast for some
• Not for experienced artists or seasoned beginners

#3 Best Free Drawing Course —Draw A Box

Selection Criteria:

• Level of expertise: Beginners
• Course duration: 6 – 18 months
• Art medium: Ink
• Skill Focus: Drawing fundamentals
• Time and Reviews: around ten years, great reviews
• Community: Patreon and Discord

About Draw A Box

Some of you might’ve heard about Draw A Box. This complete course is one of the most commonly used learning resources available online. Unlike other drawing courses that focus on observational drawing, this very intense course focuses on building your constructional drawing skills as well as drawing fundamentals. And it’s free! So… what’s the catch? It is a bit hard. Some might say a lot.

This fantastic course it’s structured to make you have an extremely solid base of the fundamentals of constructional drawing, so you can not only draw from life but from your imagination as well. However, the complexity and extension of the exercises and assignments have made many students give up in the first units of the course.

Pros

• Strong fundamentals base
• Constructional Drawing
• Strong community
• Best for complete beginners

Cons

• It might take a toll on your mental health
• It’s rigorous in the methods and materials to use

#4 Best Drawing Course For Animators — Figure and Character Design by Aaron Blaise

Selection Criteria:

• Level of expertise: Beginners
• Course duration: 1 – 2 months
• Art medium: Digital
• Skill Focus: Character Design
• Time and Reviews: Amazing reviews
• Community: Website Forum

About Figure and Character Design

Aaron Blaise is a recognized artist, animator, and film director with an impressive career. He is also one of the best instructors you could ever find if you’re into animation and character design. This course bundle is one of the many courses offered on his website, and it’s a vital asset for those who want to work in the entertainment field. The price is a catch for the amount of knowledge and experience and for the honor of learning from Aaron himself.

Pros

• Skill-focused and career-oriented
• Beginner friendly
• Amazing instructor

Cons

• You need previous knowledge to get the best of the course
• You might need a graphic tablet

#5 Best Perspective Drawing Course — CG Master Academy

Selection Criteria:

• Level of expertise: Intermediate
• Course duration: 8 Weeks
• Art medium: Digital and traditional
• Skill Focus: Perspective
• Time and Reviews: Pre-recorded lessons with feedback and mentoring, great reviews
• Community: Class Forum

About CG Master Academy

CG Master Academy offers one of the most complete perspective courses available right now, the classes are top-notch, and the instructors are very talented and dedicated to teaching. The weekly Q&A session is one of the most valuable assets of the course since you get to solve any doubt with your instructor in a live session. The only downside would be the price. However, if you need to learn this skill, I must say it’s worth the investment.

Pros

• Skill-focused and career-oriented
• Amazing instructors
• Live Q&A sessions

Cons

• It is quite expensive
• You need to enroll and wait for the course availability.
• The time zone might be an impediment for some.

#6 Best Gesture Drawing and Anatomy Course — Proko

Selection Criteria:

• Level of expertise: Beginner and Intermediate
• Course duration: – –
• Art medium: Graphite and Charcoal
• Skill Focus: Gesture and Anatomy
• Time and Reviews: Amazing reviews, +5 years old course
• Community: Website Forum

About Proko

Stan Prokopenko is a name most artists know. We’ve all seen his highly instructive youtube videos. There are many good courses on figure drawing, gesture, and anatomy, but as far as I know, no one beats Proko’s. Although the free content is already great, to begin with, for those who are looking for a complete education on anatomy and gesture drawing, the premium content is a must-have.

If you want to have a more precise notion of what you’ll find on the course, you can check the YouTube videos, which are short versions of the actual lessons. Even if the price is a bit high is worth the investment, especially if you’re looking for pro-level education,

Pros

• Very extensive and skill-focused
• Amazing community
• Weekly content

Cons

• It is a bit expensive
• Some might find it overwhelming

Conclusions

Finding the perfect drawing course is a task that the ones willing to learn must go through. However, learning how to draw is more of a personal journey than an academic one. Even after taking a course, you might find yourself dissatisfied with some of its aspects or teaching methods. You might have to invest a bit in your education and go through some courses that might not be for you since we all have different ways of learning.

Many free and paid online resources will give you hints on the kind of instruction you need and can also complement your education if you want to take it further.

The perfect course doesn’t exist as well as the perfect student doesn’t either. Your education will always be completely up to you, to the hours and effort you put in it, and to the practice and perseverance, you keep in the future.