Learn to draw the human figure through gesture studies and more detailed observation!

In this video series, artists Melissa Forman and Paul Richmond teach the fundamentals of figure drawing through quick gesture drawings and longer, more detailed studies. The course is designed to help beginners learn the basics of figure drawing and more advanced artists sharpen their observational skills. This course is broken down into thirteen video lessons, each one approx. 10 minutes.

Learning the fundamentals of figure drawing is beneficial for all artists. This course is great for artists at every stage, from beginners to advanced. Learning the basics is important because it gives artists a foundation to build on. This course will start at the very beginning and walk you through the steps and techniques of creating a series of gesture studies and two more detailed figure drawings, with an emphasis on improving observational drawing skills.

Students can apply the skills learned in this course to create more drawings of any subject matter and in any style. The sky’s the limit once you learn the basics!

This class is for everyone - from beginners to more experienced artists - with an emphasis on foundational skills. As professional artists and teachers, Paul and Melissa have met many artists who commonly face a lot of the same issues when creating their art. Learn how to use simple tools to create beautiful results. It’s never too late to get back to basics!

Materials

You are welcome to work with any drawing materials you'd like, but here's a list of everything Paul and Melissa will be using in this series:

Drawing pencils
Eraser
Drawing paper
Pencil sharpener
Vine charcoal
Micron pens
Ruler

Lessons

Introduction
Projects
Materials
Gesture Drawings 1
Gesture Drawings 2
Gesture Drawings 3
Project 1: Rough Sketch
Project 1: Refine Sketch
Project 1: Finalizing Drawing
Project 2: Grid and Start Sketch
Project 2: Continue Sketching
Project 2: Refine Line Drawing
Closing Thoughts

About the Instructors

Paul Richmond is an internationally recognized visual artist and activist whose career has included exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States as well as publication in numerous art journals and anthologies. His work is collected by individuals around the globe. As an illustrator, has created over four hundred novel cover illustrations. He is a co-founder of the You Will Rise Project, an organization that empowers those who have experienced bullying to speak out creatively through art.

Melissa Forman spends her time creating a richly visual world filled with characters created from an opulent, mysterious, and often eerie imagination. Her lovely, idealized figures seem lost in their own worlds, drifting between the 16th, 18th, 19th and 21st centuries. Melissa has been drawing and painting commissioned portraits since she was 14. She attended the Columbus College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in 2002. She now lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio. Her personal work has been shown in galleries around the world, from New York City to Seattle to Los Angeles to Berlin, Germany to Bristol, England.

Cristina Caraman

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