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[arnoud3272]

Welcome to the classroom.
This classroom is still open. There are no "terms", you can join any time, and take the classes in your own pace.
The "101" classes are beginners' classes. You will find classes on all kinds of drawing skills. The "102" classes are on a more advanced level.
Look in this thread List of 101 & 102 Class descriptions and links for links to all the relevant class threads.

The remainder of this introduction applies to beginners.
Classes 1 through 5 are to be taken, in that order as the basic foundation of the course. Afterwards, you can choose from the other classes, in any order.
If you want to upload homework for comments and advice, this is how to "sign up":

Introduce yourself in the "Pre-Class Assignments" thread. You are free to decide what information about yourself you want to share, but at least you should post a drawing illustrating your current level. It is also useful to give some idea of what you're aiming at: realistic drawings or illustration, comics, ...
These classes are mainly aiming at realistic drawing, but understanding the principles and the acquired skill in handling the pencil and other tools, will be of great value in any style.

Each class has its own ongoing thread. The assignments for each class are in the first posts. Post your homework only in the relevant thread for that class. For most classes, the assignments are also collected in PDF files, without the student input, which can be downloaded from here. Many thanks to Ann Buckner for hosting them and also, along with Deborah Leger, producing them.
If in doubt about how to understand the assignments, look at a few recent posts to see how other pupils did. There are also a lot of common problems and questions, for which the answers may have already been given. It helps the tutors to avoid the broken record syndrome.
These classes were developed along the lines of "How to Draw What you see" by Rudy De Reyna, with kind permission of the author. Having the book yourself - or another book for that matter - can help you with additional information, but is not a requirement. The classes are self-contained.
It is advisable to post partial assignments when ready. It is discouraging to find out that you were on the wrong track after working on the whole lot.

Finally:

-- some information in the first post of the "Pre-Class Assignments" thread is no longer current and is replaced by what you are reading now.

-- see the next post for more information on the contents of the first classes.

We look forward to your participation .

[arnoud3272]

In classes "101" 1 through 8 you will learn the basic principles of drawing. The other classes build on that foundation to teach specific aspects of different subjects or genres, and to introduce you to new media.

What you will learn in the first classes.

Class 1
Basic handling of the pencil, different holding positions. These will be practiced by drawing straight lines. You will also try to find out what is your "natural", most accurate stroke direction. So that you know how to turn the paper for difficult corners.
Drawing the spheres, chair and pre-class drawing "with straight lines" was only clarified in a later post, consequently lacking from the PDF file. Don't try to force curved outlines and features into a series of broken lines. What is meant is that you complete the outlines with shading - shapes of light and dark - done with straight lines. Either sharp lines, "hatching", as in engravings, or with broad lines, made with the side of the lead.

Class 2
Basic perspective. A bugbear for many. Take heart . In this introduction we treat only 2 obvious principles:
-- further away looks smaller
-- on any particular moment, your head is in only one position
That said, you will learn some tools that help you apply these principles accurately without the need for extensive measuring.

Classes 3 through 6
Learning to decompose objects in terms of simple 3D geometric forms.
Drawing the objects based on visualizing the underlying abstracts forms.
Introduction to modeling the 3D form with light and dark ("shading").

Class 3: rectangular forms (cubes, boxes)

Class 4: cylinders

Class 5: spheres

Class 6: cones

Class 7
Consolidating what you learned up to now. And a first exercise in creativity: changing the reference, augmenting it with a personal note.

Class 8
Theoretical background: the different kinds of shadows, and how they relate to forms.
Skills: faithfully reproducing the gradations in light and dark.

A general advice:
These classes are about skills, not about "self-expression". You will get the most out of it if you seek to copy the reference as correctly as possible. No need to rush. Consider them to be calisthenics .