Ok. Thanks for your reply!

Is it possible to find some folks who have taken the Survey Class before, and have a chat with them? Art, including art instruction, is all things to all people – may meet your needs, may not. You’ve mentioned it’s expensive – if that means it’s a serious stretch on precious resources, would you be very disappointed on that count if the course didn’t meet your expectations? Or, would you just think it’s an experience regardless?

As a beginner I’d suggest pushing yourself to draw/sketch thoughtfully every day. Every single day. Doesn’t mean of course in detail a fine finished piece, but rather drawing/sketching ~ however simply, or quickly ~ in a thoughtful way.

There are so many excellent, brilliant on-line videos that are free, as well. Good luck with your choice! It would be wonderful to hear about your experience. Cheers!

Thank you! yes, it is almost $700 and I would be disappointed if it doesn’t meet my expectations. My personal issue with online classes is that I lack the motivation if I am learning by myself. I find myself learning and doing more when I am in a group. I am a bit hesitant because the class won’t cover anything in depth and I don’t know if this would be a good way to start learning. Unfortunately, I don’t know any students who had taken that class before. The instructor says that he got excellent reviews on his class, but then again, it is the instructor who is saying that.

While there is much to be said for individual instruction, I’m not so sure spending a lot of money at first is the best answer. Not everyone likes drawing and you could find that you do not after spending the money. We offer [URL=https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=335]free drawing classes here[/URL] which may be a better place to get your feet wet without spending any money. Online classes also generally come with some sort of tuition and tend to teach you their style of drawing. There are a great many different methods to do the same thing. For instance, Darrel Tanks of the Five Pencil Method uses razor sharp pencils. I find I can get more detail from a dull tip than a sharp one. Neither one is right nor wrong or better than the other – just very different.

Drawing does require a fair amount of self discipline depending on the style you wish to learn. My drawings, for instance, often take well over 100 hours and I know of some professionals who take hundreds of hours more for each one. As has been suggested daily drawing will get you into the “doing” and for the initial learning period basic classes such as offered here ought to be sufficient. Don’t negate drawing geometric shapes as they teach you about light and shadow which are part of any marginally realistic art. Remember it’s not the class that will teach you how to draw .. it’s the practicing which you must do yourself.

And you have to learn to work with graphite or charcoal itself which only you can do. And how the paper affects it – and each paper will be different. Things like layering can be taught but only after you are comfortable putting graphite or charcoal on the paper initially. This all takes a certain amount of time and you have to figure out how to do some things for yourself through practice. And only then can you really begin to understand the shapes and relativity of feature placement. So I think individual instruction in drawing is more valuable after the student has a little experience with the medium first.

Thank you for your reply! when you say ” individual instruction”, do you mean the class I am referring to? or do you mean private sessions with an instructor? the class I am referring to is a group and they meet once a week for about three months. I have thought about starting out with a private instructor but it was too expensive. Thank you for the link!

My experience is that an instructor will go around and help students individually if it is a group which is probably enough. In the end it is you practicing that makes the improvement – not the method or the instructor.

Thank you! you have a very good point. Practicing is very important. It all boils down to the amount of work I am willing to put into this.

Yes, it all comes down to your desire .. but always keep in mind that drawing is nothing more than a skill. It’s not some magic talent that only a few are born with – drawing well is within the reach of everyone. Take a [URL=https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1419202]look at this thread[/URL] to see what I mean.

I don’t know if I have the desire. to be honest, I am doing this to honor my dad who used to be a great artist. He passed away a few years ago and I thought I could learn drawing to honor his memory. I found another great beginner class that is NOT a survey class and I am thinking about it.
I have to say that in order for me to start learning, I need to be in a group. At the least in the beginning.