Crack the Trickiest Bits — the Fun Way

Hands and feet have a reputation for being the hardest things to draw, so this week we break that myth completely. The trick is simplifying complex forms into clear, manageable shapes — and once you see it, you can't unsee it.

You'll draw hands from a range of angles, get to grips with the basic structure of the foot, and use tone to give them real form and weight. It's a wonderfully satisfying class where a difficult subject suddenly clicks into place.

Eyes, Noses and Mouths That Truly Come Alive

This week we zoom in on the features that give a face its character: eyes, nose, mouth and ears. You'll learn where each one actually sits using friendly facial proportions, then study them one at a time so each feels natural and convincing.

Through relaxed feature studies you'll sharpen your observation and accuracy, and begin to capture the little details that make every face wonderfully individual. It's the perfect stepping stone to full portraits next week.

Faces Made Friendly — Capture a Real Likeness

Portraits can feel like the holy grail of drawing, and this week we make them finally feel possible. You'll learn to construct the head from clear guidelines, place the features with confidence, and shade and model the face so it reads as solid and lifelike.

Step by step, the mystery of ‘getting a likeness’ melts away. By the end of class you'll have a portrait you're properly proud of — and a brand new respect for what your eye and hand can do together.

Add the Life, Movement and Personality

A great portrait is so much more than features — it's the hair, the mood and the spark of personality. This week you'll learn to draw flowing hair and a range of hairstyles without getting lost in every strand, using tone and direction to make it feel soft and real.

Working from photographs, you'll bring genuine life and individuality to your faces. It's a freeing, expressive class where your portraits stop looking like diagrams and start feeling like people.

Fabric, Folds and Figures That Sit Just Right

This week we bring the whole figure together and dress it. You'll learn how to draw fabric and folds convincingly, and understand how clothing drapes, gathers and sits on the body beneath it — the secret to figures that look natural rather than stiff.

Working from a seated or standing model, you'll combine everything you've learned about figure and form into one cohesive drawing. It's a rewarding session that pulls the whole term together beautifully.

Bring It All Together — Your Finished Masterpiece

We're wrapping up the term with an extended drawing session from a clothed model, where everything you've learned comes together in one finished piece. Seeing, tone, proportion, faces, hands, fabric — it all flows onto the page with a confidence you simply didn't have ten weeks ago.

With individual guidance and gentle critique along the way, you'll create an artwork to be genuinely proud of. Expect a ‘wow, I made that?’ moment, a real sense of how far you've come, and a piece you'll want to frame straight away.

Pencil Games to Get You Started

We start the term with games rather than rules. You'll draw with both hands at once, draw without looking at the paper, and draw things upside down. It sounds daft, and it works.

All of it trains your eye to record what's actually in front of you instead of what your brain assumes is there. Come for the fun and leave seeing differently.

Everyday Objects, Properly Understood

Bottles, jars, mugs, tins: almost everything on your kitchen shelf is a cylinder in disguise. You'll learn to draw them so they sit solidly on the table instead of tipping off it. Get the ellipse right and the rest follows.

We'll work from real objects set up in front of you. It's the building block for every still life you'll ever draw, and it's very satisfying when it clicks.

Turn Flat Shapes Into Solid Form

This is the week your drawings stop looking flat. Working from a simple sphere and cylinder, you'll track where the light lands, where it falls away, and where the shadow gets thrown. Once you can see it, you can draw anything.

We'll set up a single light so the shapes read clearly. Simple subject, enormous payoff.

Build a Full Range of Tone

Most beginners use about three tones and wonder why their drawing looks weak. You'll build a proper value scale running from bright white through to deep black, then put it to work. The difference is immediate.

We'll cover hatching, cross hatching, blending and lifting out. Different tools for different jobs, and you'll try them all.

Fabric, Folds and the Feel of Things

Drapery is the classic test of a good drawer, and it's far more approachable than it looks. You'll draw a length of hanging cloth, following how the folds catch the light and disappear into shadow. Get this and clothing stops being frightening.

We'll break the folds down into simple shapes before you shade a thing. It's slow, absorbing work and the results look impressive.

Nature Up Close and Unhurried

Bring your attention right in close this week and draw a single leaf. You'll follow every vein, curl and dry edge, building the surface up until it looks like you could pick it off the page. Nothing in nature is symmetrical, which is exactly what makes it interesting.

We'll go slowly and really look. It's the most meditative class of the term.

One Vanishing Point, No Headache

Perspective has a reputation for being maths-heavy and joyless, and it doesn't deserve it. You'll draw a chair using a single vanishing point and a handful of guide lines, then watch it settle properly into the room. That's the whole trick.

We'll keep it to one point and build from there. By the end you'll be spotting vanishing points everywhere you look.

A Face That Actually Looks Like Someone

Portraits feel like the deep end, so we'll hand you a map. You'll learn where the features really sit, then work in charcoal, which is forgiving and lets you push and pull the tone until it's right. Smudging is positively encouraged.

We'll focus on shapes of light and shadow rather than outlines. That's the secret to a face that feels alive.

Loose, Loopy and Full of Life

Put the neat drawing away for a week. You'll build a bird out of fast, tangled scribbles, letting the density of the lines do all the shading for you. Step back and it pulls together beautifully.

A touch of colour at the end lifts the whole thing. It's quick, energetic and impossible to take too seriously.

Confident Lines, No Rubbing Out

We finish the term in ink, where nothing can be undone. You'll sketch architecture with quick, committed lines, suggesting far more detail than you actually draw. It's liberating once you make peace with the wobbles.

Everything you've learned this term feeds into this one. Bring all of it and enjoy the freedom.