Lessons - Drawspace

It's Saturday, which means a day set aside for lesson work. I ran across a site yesterday called Drawspace, a wonderful resource created by Brenda Hoddinott, a former portrait and forensic artists. Drawspace offers free art lessons that can be read online or downloaded. There are also classroom courses available. From the website:

In 1998, Drawspace.com was launched by Brenda Hoddinott and Jeff Baur, and has since become the fastest growing art education website on the Internet. In 2009, Drawspace reached its initial goal of having over 200 free art lessons (by Brenda Hoddinott) published on the site.

As of March, 2011, students have an opportunity to earn a certificate in drawing within innovative virtual classrooms in the Drawspace School of Art. The Drawspace Beginner Certification Program is open to all adult learners, and teaches the diverse skills and techniques needed to support whatever personal and (or) academic aspirations students may have. In addition to writing the curriculum for all required courses within this program, Brenda is also enjoying teaching these courses to students all over the world.

In addition, Drawspace continues to bring the world's very best art-related authors and art educators together as teachers within Drawspace's virtual classrooms and authors within Drawspace's bookshop.

While the classroom courses sound interesting, I thought I'd try going through the solo learning lessons first. As a result, I'll be spending some time on Saturdays working through the full set, from the beginning.

Today I read through section A.




This set was filled with information rather than actual activities, so I don't have any work to show. Still, it was interesting. The section included a quick overview of various art terms, supplies, how to sit properly, and even a set of instructions on how to build your own portfolio - a physical portfolio, not which of your work to put into it. The information is presented in a clear and friendly way, so if you're looking for a bit of help getting started, this may be a good site to check out.

The sections go from Beginner to Intermediate to Advanced. I decided to start at the beginning because I'm sure that I'm missing some of the basics and I figured it couldn't hurt. It looks like the hands-on drawing lessons start in the next section, so I'll have something to share with you next week. Hey, sometimes lessons will be about reading and less about drawing.

I really liked how she uses three-ring binders to organize her reference files/morgues.




I should start doing that. It wasn't so bad when the computer and the drawing desk were in the same room. But now that the studio is downstairs, I often forget what I came up here to research. Loosing time is bad. Spending a bit of time now to save oodles of time later is good.

Tomorrow will be for more lesson work - Saturdays for Drawspace and Sundays for the Kubert course. I also want to get back to showcasing books and materials from the morgue/studio. I liked doing those types of posts. Hopefully they were entertaining as well.

Ooo, so many ideas buzzing around in my brain. So much I want to do and share! If there's anything specific you'd like me to write about, please let me know. While this blog is meant to be a record of my learning process, I also want it to be interesting and informative. Thanks guys!


"We decided that humility was defined not by self-deprecating behavior or attitudes but by the esteem with which you regard others... Generally, you can be humble only if you feel really good about yourself - and you want to help those around you feel really good about themselves, too."
-- Clayton M. Christensen