I really love this course and think it’s wonderful. I’m only halfway through the course right now but I can’t wait to leave a review because of how exciting and good it is.

This course is in a way similar to Figure Drawing 3 because it lets me do experiments through the minds of other artists, with different kinds of tools. I love this aspect of the course because I find that having different tools laying in front of me gives drawings more potential and spontaneity and more fun.

And I realised that I’m actually discovering my own preferences and ideas by learning from these other artists, because Glenn is not teaching me to copy blindly but different thinkings that go behind each technique which make me think ‘what do I wanna do/ how does it feel like’. So naturally when I apply the techniques of each artist to my own drawing, I incorporate and adapt it with my own tendencies and each drawing is kind of a part of self discovery.

All Glenn’s courses give the freedom of self discovery by learning from others but I find this one in particular gives me the most freedom, partially because I started shifting to animal genres. And this is another good thing about the course, that it is not limited to drawing only humans. I can use what I have learnt to draw all kinds of animals I love.

So I’d highly recommend this course to anyone, regardless what genre you are interested in. And it’s super fun. Imagine your cat sitting next to you watching you drawing them and telling you ‘draw me like one of Tiepolo’s cats’. And you can :)

After Covid, my days of teaching art to kids came to a screeching halt. As I am very susceptible to respiratory infections, self-isolation was necessary. As the saying goes, "When one door closes, a new one opens." I decided it was Art time for me. One of my regrets is failing to get a master's in architecture. Not a big deal because art is my passion. Who best to study art with... Glenn and Eleanor Vilppu! I bought the Vilppu subscription and off I went, immersing in his demos and lecture...24/7. Oh, I have sleep issues too.
I did have a lot of mileage, but it was more copying and very raw. I studied Glenn's process of gesture, defining the form, anatomy before drawing eyes and ears on the damn figure! The man taught me that drawing is thinking. Analyze the model... and then analyze some more until one overpower the brain and let the eyes take over. Glenn's mantra is "There are no rules, just tools." He has all these Glennisms that if you're not paying attention, you may miss an important point. The New Masters Live streaming is one of my favorites, among many, many categories available to me. I have also been taking the Vilppu Academy classes since 2021, shortly after Eleanor persuaded Glenn to participate i my Exhibit "Structure and Soul". From my point of view, I am getting a Master's education from a true and legendary art Master. Thank you, Glenn and Eleanor for the wealth of knowledge you are sharing.

With high expectations I got a lot more than I bargained for. Not just from the Composition class itself but from generous quantity and most important quality feedback. The weekly lecture / demo structure and the weekly questions session give you a lot more knowledge and access that just your course module. Everything from anatomy, animals, drapery, landscape... you name it is up for grabs.

No art speak. No esoteric wishy washy theories. No cherry picking "methods". A straight forward, understandable and practical approach that you can build on for a lifetime. An approach of thinking that opens up possibilities.

It does require time and work. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and sharpen your pencils.

Whether you a beginner or seasoned professional with is worth it! Hands down the best I've had.

I’ve been proudly a fan, student, and friend of Glenn Vilppu for many years. Like countless other students, he transformed my skills and, most importantly, taught me how to see.

This subscription option is perfect for students or artists who may not be able to attend his weekly critique-based courses, yet still want access to his teachings. It is exceptionally affordable considering the depth of knowledge offered through Glenn’s lectures, especially his Old Master studies and demonstrations.

Remember that Glenn is a living master —a bridge between generations of artists—and a true treasure in the world of art education.

Just took this course, and it really brings together all of the elements of the other courses I've taken to form the basis of an addictive drawing practice.

Gesture, composition, anatomy, drapery, all of these are tools that you can practice anywhere with a sketchbook. This class finally got me to use many of the materials I've acquired but not had the gumption to try, like fountain pen and ink wash, and watercolors. Also, as the son of a carpenter, it gave me a new appreciation for the carpenter's pencil.

Though it follows the Sketching book pretty closely, the class is fairly open-ended in terms of what sorts of drawing you might want to do, as Glenn goes over techniques for drawing people and landscapes alike, and his coverage of composition and design applies to all types of drawings and all mediums.

The course really touches on the things that drawings can do that you can't do with a photograph. He emphasizes how to change what you need to get the feeling you want to evoke, using tools he's taught all along. And he shows how you can use your photographs as a starting point to create something unique and memorable.

This is a great class for seeing what you can do and make with what you've learned from Glenn in the past, and how easy it is to draw every day regardless of location.

Animal Drawing Part 1 is structured to have two weeks for each lecture which means you can submit two assignments (one per week) for each lecture. The benefit is after having gotten Glenn's feedback for the first assignment, you get the opportunity to make changes and deepen your approach to drawing animals for the second assignment. Glenn's feedback is very insightful: he will point out what worked in the drawing, as well as clearly identify what can be worked on next for you to improve. His guidance really helps to fast-track improvements.
Overall, the course is well structured: it starts with observing and drawing animal skeletons to understand the general structure of animals (the main focus of this course is on four-legged mammals). Then, the following lecture allows you to apply this structure by drawing mice/rats which have an overall simpler form. After that, you progress to cats and dogs which can be observed at home if you have pets. The next lecture focuses on farm animals, e.g. cows/sheep/goats/pigs. Lastly, all the previous skills can be applied to wild animals. It's really helpful for the course if you have access to actual animals (and skeletons for the first week) that you can observe, as drawing from life really helps with capturing the gesture and form.
The approach taught in this course is solid and can be applied to many different animals: by understanding the skeleton of the animal, it becomes easier to understand and analyze the complex forms of different animals and to capture them in your drawings. In addition to the lessons, there are weekly demos by Glenn in which he discusses various aspects of art, plus weekly chats where you can ask questions. The weekly demos and chats are well worth listening to as Glenn is very knowledgeable and has a lot of experience in the field. Overall, I learned a lot from this course and recommend it if you're interested in animal drawing.

Studying with Vilppu Academy has enriched my learning process. Glenn Vilppu, with his vast knowledge and success in art and animation, generously shares his process. From mastery of materials, observations, analysis and execution, he takes the student through his process. The recorded lectures, so many of them, are at my access whenever I want to study or review. I just recently viewed his lecture on Titian, to understand how to use light to define the form (screen capture below). I study at my own pace, no anxiety nor do I get overwhelmed by the subject matter. I particularly like the recorded "draw along" figure drawing sessions and to listen to Glenn's critiques.
Glenn and Eleanor are so welcoming and makes me feel like I am studying in the Master's studio.

This was an amazing course to follow! I learned so much about oil and portrait painting, and it was truly inspiring.

Another great class! If you're looking to share your imagination with the world via charcoal, pencil, ink and more then these classes are the keystone. They're analogous to setting off to make a movie and having Martin Scorsese instruct and critique your progress. Head drawing provides you with the opportunity to improve upon your skills in the areas of proportion, structural (anatomy) knowledge, expressions and drawing on the fly in real life. Can't wait to take the new Head Drawing II. Ou and just a heads up ;) make sure to purchase a mini-reference skull beforehand, Very helpful!

Best teacher ever! I’ve taken _many_ courses from Glenn; and I always learn something new from him in every lesson. The personal critiques really deepen my understanding of his words and demos

i learned so much and immediately signed up for the next course!

This course was the best thing that could happen to me and my art skills. Over the weeks I have improved a lot and learned so much things. I now look at artworks in a different way!

Glenn’s passion about art and teaching shows in every lesson, livestream and in his critique videos.
Before this course I watched a lot of videos on YouTube about composition and non of them could teach me what composition is really about. Now, after Glenn’s course I finally beginn to understand composition. There is much more to learn and so much old masters to study, I will definitely take another of Glenn’s courses.

This class was extremely fun to follow and I learned a lot about drawing nature and drawing itself. I can highly recommend it!