Art by April: Drawing Realistic Animals, Weekly Class
This is an ongoing class where we will learn to look and draw what we see. Each class there will be a new animal to draw realistically using pencil.
April Taylor, Prek-12 Art Teacher
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(665)
Star Educator
Popular
What's included
1 live meeting
45 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
Beginner - Intermediate Level
Thanks for checking out my class! In this weekly class, students will learn how to look at what they are drawing with an artist's eye! We will break down each animal into its most basic shapes, in order to "map out" the whole figure before adding details. We will look at relationships for scale and proportion, and also for darks and lights, as we practice different shading techniques. This class is perfect for someone that wants to draw things that LOOK REAL! Each class, I will demonstrate, step by step, how to sketch each animal and add dimension by shading and using different types of line weight. Your learner will get a great sense of space, shape, composition, balance, contrast, and much more. If your child is a perfectionist like me, this is a great place to hone in on their skills and learn that many mistakes are fixable. Great art takes hard work, practice and flexibility. Artist pencils are welcome as I will introduce different hardnesses of pencils, but regular school pencils are sufficient! As always, with all of my classes, I like the atmosphere to be light and fun but also have a level of seriousness to make it a rich learning space. Topics: 2024-2025 School Year 9/1-9/7 Pig *Wednesday class only 9/8-9/14 Parakeet 9/15-9/21 Lion Cub 9/22-9/28 Roadrunner 9/29-10/5 Aye Aye 10/6-10/12 Emperor Penguin and Baby 10/13-10/19 Tadpole stages 10/20-10/26 Dog-Rat Terrier 10/27-11/2 Great Blue Heron 11/3-11/9 Chicken 11/10-11/16 Rhinoceros 11/17-11/23 Dog- Golden Retriever 11/24-11/30 MONDAY and WED CLASS ONLY, Thanksgiving Holiday—Parrot (Green Cheek Conure) 2025!!! 12/1-12/7 Seahorse 12/8-12/14 Panther 12/15-12/21 Dog- Coon Hound (Looks like a Beagle!) 12/22-12/28 Holiday Break- No classes 12/29-1/4 Capybara 1/5-1/11 Panda 1/12-1/18 Polar Bear 1/19-1/25 Dog- Black Lab 1/26-2/1 Horse- Clydesdale 2/2-2/8 Cat 2/9-2/15 Giraffe 2/16-2/22 NO CLASS 2/23-3/1 Quoka 3/2-3/8 Dog-Goldendoodle (Maezy) 3/9-3/15 Baby Bobcat 3/16-3/22 Dog-King Charles Cavalier Spaniel (Opie) 3/23-3/29 Cockatiel 3/30-4/5 Dog-Australian Shepherd 4/6-4/12 Chinchilla NO CLASS MONDAY 4/13-4/19 Spring Break- No Classes 4/20-4/26 Bunny 4/27-5/3 Dog-Shitzu/Pomeranian (Greenlee) 5/4–5/10 Cat standing 🐈⬛ 5/11-5/17 Baby Chicks 5/18-5/24 Highland Cow 5/25-5/31 Dog- “Evie” mixed breed 6/1-6/7 Emperor Tamarin Monkey 6/8-6/14 Lion 6/15-6/21 Rockhopper Penguin 6/22-6/28 Sloth 6/29-7/5 NO CLASSES Requests: Praying Mantis Llama USA Summer 2025 7/6-7/12 Elephant 7/13-7/19 Blue Jay 7/20-7/26 Lamb 7/27-8/2 Duck 8/3-8/9 Walrus 8/10-8/16 Frog 8/17-8/23 Hamster 8/24-8/30 Fox 8/31-9/6 Robin Fall 2025 9/7-9/13 Zebra 9/14-9/20 Seagull 9/21-9/27 Fossa 9/28-10/4 Cow 10/5-10/11 10/12-10/18 10/19-10/25 10/26-11/1 11/2-11/8 Requests: Peacock Whale Kingfisher Porcupine Pelican Pole Cat Bald Eagle ------------------------------------ 2021-2022 Week 1: 9/5 - 9/11 Chameleon Week 2: 9/12 - 9/18 Blue Jay Week 3: 9/19 - 9/25 Dog Week 4: 9/26 - 10/2 Turtle Week 5: 10/3 - 10/9 Koala Week 6: 10/10 - 10/16 Cat Week 7: 10/17- 10/23 Dolphin Week 8: 10/24-10/30 Chicken Week 9: 10/31- 11/6 Sloth Week 10: 11/7- 11/13 Hummingbird Week 11: 11/14- 11/20 Piglet Week 12: 11/24 Squirrel Week 13: 12/1 Baluga Whale Week 14: 12/8 Frog Week 15: 12/15 Meerkat Week 16: 12/22 Deer Please note: There is NO CLASS 12/29 Week 17: 1/5 Penguin Week 18: 1/12 Axolotl Week 19: 1/19 Bunny Week 20: 1/26 Hedgehog Week 21: 2/2 Caracal Cat Week 22: 2/9 Swan Week 23: 2/16 Kangaroo Week 24: 2/23 Toucan Week 25: 3/2 Lemur Week 26: 3/9 Baby Elephant Week 27: 3/16 Flamingo Week 28: 3/23 Otter Week 29: 3/30 Sea Turtle Week 30: 4/6 Iguana Week 31: 4/13 Peacock Week 32: 4/20 NO CLASS Week 33: 4/24-4/30 Owl Week 34: 5/1-5/7 Guinea Pig Week 35: 5/8-5/14 Alpaca Week 36: 5/15-5/21 Gecko Week 37: 5/22-5/28 Dove Week 38: 5/29-6/4 Lamb Week 39: 6/5-6/11 Camel Week 40: 6/12-6/18 Hamster Week 41: 6/19-6/25 Big Horn Sheep SUMMER 2022 6/26-7/2: Cow 7/3-7/9: Chimpanzee 7/10-7/16: Elk 7/17-7/23: Octopus 7/24-7/30: Pygmy Goat NO CLASS 7/31-8/6 NO CLASS NO CLASS 8/7-8/13 NO CLASS 8/14-8/20: Cobra 8/21-8/27: Seahorse 8/28-9/3: Parrot 2022- 2023 Sept 4-10 Ferret Sept 11-17 Ostrich Sept 18-24 Blue Heron Sept 25-Oct 1 Giraffe Oct 2-Oct 8 Kitten Oct 9-Oct 15 Chinchilla *No Monday class for Columbus Day Oct 16-Oct 22 Rockhopper Penguin Oct 23-Oct 29 Barn Owl Oct 30-Nov 5 Fox Nov 6-Nov 12 Dog "Shishon" Nov 13-Nov 19 Turkey Nov 20-Nov 26 Bunny *No class Friday for Thanksgiving Holiday Nov 27-Dec 3 Sloth *No class Monday 11/28 for teacher appt. Dec 4-Dec 10 *NO CLASS- TEACHER MEDICAL PROCEDURE Dec 11-Dec 17 Komodo Dragon Dec 18-Dec 24 Cardinal *Please note: There is no class ____ for Winter Holidays Jan 1-Jan 7 Dog-Pomeranian Jan 8-Jan 14 Polar Bear Jan 15-Jan 21 Chinstap Penguin Jan22-Jan 28 Eagle Jan 29-Feb 4 Rhinoceros Feb 5-Feb 11 Red Panda Feb 12-Feb 18 Dog-Husky Feb 19-Feb 25 King Cobra *PLEASE NOTE: There is no Friday class 2/24 Feb 26-Mar 4 Kitten Mar 5-Mar 11 Mouse Mar 12-Mar 18 Baby Chick Mar 19-Mar 25 Sloth Mar 26- Apr 1 Guinea Pig Apr 2-Apr 8 Snow Hare Apr 9-Apr 15 Walrus Apr 16-Apr 22 Pelican Apr 23-Apr 29 Horse Apr 30-May 6 Puffin May 7-May 13 Giraffe May 14- May 20 Cassowary May 21-May 27 MONDAY and WEDNESDAY CLASS Tiger (Closeup), FRIDAY CLASS Bunny Slug and Sea Slug May 28-June 3 NO CLASS MONDAY, WEDNESDAY Chicken NO CLASS FRIDAY June 4-June 10 MONDAY and WEDNESDAY Sugar Glider, FRIDAY Tiger Eyes (Closeup) June 11-June 17 MONDAY and WEDNESDAY Pig, FRIDAY Chicken Summer 2023 6/18-6/24 French Bulldog 6/25-7/1 Ram (Bighorn Sheep) 7/2-7/8 Monarch Butterfly 7/9-7/15 Deer laying down (buck with antlers) 7/16-7/22 NO CLASS ALL WEEK 7/23-7/29 Red Panda 7/30-8/5 Llama 8/6-8/12 Anteater 8/13-8/19 Peacock 8/20-8/26 Lemur 8/27-9/2 Stoat Fall 2023 9/3-9/9 Japanese Beetle 9/10-9/16 Dachshund 9/17-9/23 Dolphin 9/24-9/30 Cat (Abyssinian) 10/1-10/7 Iguana 10/8-10/14 Quetzal (male) 10/15-10/21 Platypus 10/22-10/28 Bat 10/29-11/4 Capybara 11/5-11/11 Goat 11/12-11/18 Red Eyed Tree Frog 11/19-11/25 Fox 11/26-12/2 Horse (head only) 12/3-12/9 Ashera Cat 12/10-12/16 Moose 12/17-12/23 Kangaroo 12/24-12/30 NO CLASS 12/31/23-1/6/24 Skunk Winter 2024 1/7-1/13 Hammerhead Shark 1/14-1/20 Aardvark 1/21-1/27 Raccoon 1/28-2/3 Groundhog 2/4-2/10 Mama and Baby Brown Bear 2/11-2/17 Corgi 2/18-2/24 M/W Giant Panda/ FRI NO CLASS 2/25-3/2 Pheasant 3/3-3/9 Eyelash Viper 3/10-3/16 Chameleon 3/17-3/23 Eagle 3/24-3/30 Highland Cow 3/31-4/6 Alligator head 4/7-4/13 Closeup Elk 4/14-4/20 Fennec Fox 4/21-4/27 Western Diamondback Rattle Snake 4/28-5/4 Meerkat 5/5-5/11 Seal 5/12-5/18 Axolotl 5/19-5/25 Rottweiler 5/26-6/1 Warthog 6/2-6/8 Donkey 6/9-6/15 Poodle 6/16-6/22 Wolf 6/23-6/29 Sheltie Summer 2024 6/30-7/6 Otter 7/7-7/13 Snapping Turtle 7/14–7/20 NO CLASSES 7/21-7/27 Koala 7/28-8/3 Ring Tailed Lemur 8/4-8/10 Hummingbird 8/11-8/17 Barbados Black Bellied Sheep 8/18-8/24 Gorilla 8/25-8/31 Beaver
Other Details
Supply List
Drawing paper Pencil Eraser
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined October, 2020
5.0
665reviews
Star Educator
Popular
Teacher expertise and credentials
New York Teaching Certificate in Music/Theater/Arts
2 Degrees
Master's Degree in Education from State University of New York at New Paltz
Bachelor's Degree in Education from State University of New York at New Paltz
Hello Outschool community!
I am April Taylor. I live with my amazing family in New York and I have been teaching visual arts on Outschool for 3+ years. I’ve been told I was “born to teach”. On Outschool, I teach art classes for children ages 8 and older. I I have classes in acrylic and watercolor painting, realistic drawing, and clay work. I hold a Bachelors degree in Art Education and a Masters degree in Professional Studies, where I focused on Humanistic and Multicultural Educational practices. I have 18+ years teaching experience in Prek-8 in virtual and in person settings.
As a teacher, I like to keep class fun, upbeat, and flexible. During classes, I encourage balance, in terms of focus and discussion/communicating with myself and classmates. Interaction, open discussion about planning, and ideas/suggestions for their own or other's art is highly valuable, as is, quiet focus and concentration. In every class, I teach using a step by step approach to demonstrate how to do the skills and use the materials. I feel this provides a solid foundation for students to master skills and then put them to practice once they become more confident and independent. I also encourage creativity and encourage students to add or omit elements from their work that make it unique to them. I would much rather have 8 different drawings at the end, than exact replicas of mine! If a child wants to take their project in a different direction, I fully support and encourage them to do so!
When I am not painting and working with clay, I love being out in nature, spending time with my husband, two hockey loving boys, and our dog child.
I look forward to meeting your child and helping them grow their love for art and learning. I hope to see your child in my classes soon!
***If this will be your FIRST CLASS on Outschool, please use my code APRILTA2020, to get $20 off of your first class!Reviews
Live Group Class
$17
weekly1x per week
45 min
Completed by 240 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-14
1-10 learners per class
