Become a Pro at Realistic Pencil Drawing!
This is a self-guided, 8-video course that will give your child the tools to draw realistically. They will come away from the class with four complete drawings, as well as the ability to draw from any reference they choose.
New on Outschool
What's included
8 pre-recorded lessons
average 46 mins per video8 weeks
of teacher support6 hrs 11 mins
total video learning hours1 year access
to the contentAssignments
1-2 hours per week. Students will be asked to do a few initial drawing exercises, as well as produce four completed drawingsCertificate of Completion
Drawings will not be graded, per se, but I will be available to meet with each student via video call to review their drawings and offer tips for improvement!Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 9
Beginner - Intermediate Level
Is your child interested in drawing? Would they like to be able to draw realistically, and to make their subjects look three-dimensional? In this 8-lesson course, featuring over six total hours of step-by-step instruction, I will explain what drawing materials are needed (as well as which would just be nice to have), what everything does, how to shade, blend, create shadows and highlights, and more. Throughout the course, each student will produce four complete drawings - a sphere with shadow, shiny hardware, a human eye, and a dog portrait. As they draw along with me, they'll be able to see each step of the process, and watch as the artist (me) begins with a blank sheet of paper and winds up with a realistic end product. While this is a video course, I am offering students the opportunity to follow it up with a free, one-hour one-on-one video call with me, to go over their work and suggest ways to improve, as well as answer any other questions they may have!
Learning Goals
Identify a multitude of drawing tools and be able to explain the purpose of eachBe able to create gradients from light to dark and dark to light
Syllabus
8 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
The Tools of the Trade
After a brief introduction, I will teach you about all the basic tools you'll need in order to be able to draw realistically, as well as show you a few basic exercises to learn about values, blending, and shading. 26 mins of video lessons
Lesson 2:
Grid Method
Many artists use the Grid Method to transfer a reference image to their paper. I will walk you through the process, step-by-step, as we begin our drawing of a bolt and nuts. 36 mins of video lessons
Lesson 3:
Blending and Shading
We will continue our drawing, while learning about how to use blending and shading to make a subject look realistic. 50 mins of video lessons
Lesson 4:
Shadows and Highlights
We will finish our drawing of the hardware, focusing on concepts of shadows and highlights to really make our subject pop off the page! 61 mins of video lessons
Other Details
Supply List
Absolutely required materials: A few standard pencils, pencil sharpener, erasers, paper, tissue paper and/or Q-tips. If your child wishes to take fuller advantage of the course, my recommendation would be to purchase a basic set of drawing pencils, a couple of black colored pencils, a kneaded eraser, a Tombow Mono Zero eraser, drawing paper, a blending pencil, a starter pack of blending stumps or tortillons, and a white acrylic paint pen. Certainly, none of these are necessary, but they will all be referenced in the course, and the more tools your budding artist has, the higher quality their work will be!
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined January, 2025
New on Outschool
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have been an artist all my life, and have been working professionally in the field for the past several years. I have given private art lessons to children, and worked for years as a writer and Creative Director for Shmoop - an online education company that specializes in making learning material as fun (and funny) as it is informative. Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$18
weekly8 pre-recorded lessons
8 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content
Ages: 10-14
