Drawing Essentials
Drawing Essentials
Drawing Essentials
Drawing Essentials
Drawing Essentials
Vilppu Academy

Drawing Essentials

Regular price $800.00 $0.00

Starting October 21, 2024


This course covers the use of materials as well as essential skills needed as a prelude to Figure Drawing which Glenn learned at the beginning of his artistic training. He finds that this basic skill set is often missing in the training of artists today. The focus is as much on training the eye as the hand, with development of visual skills as well as how to study independently. Basic concepts in drawing and their application are demonstrated and incorporated into the weekly assignments, using the same basic materials that will be needed for the Figure Drawing courses.These concepts are applicable to any field of artistic endeavor.

 

Essentials Class Outline

Week 1
The Basics of Drawing: Materials, Physicality, Fundamentals of Line and Value 

Week 2
Drawing as a Tool: The Thumbnail, Blocking in /Lay-ins, Final Development Basic procedure of going from the general to the specific. 

Week 3
How we Study: Sources 

Week 4
Drawing from observation 

Week 5
Describing Form: Analysis of Form: Geometrical Solids, Simplification, Combining Forms along with the Modeling Tone, Indirect Lighting to discribe the forms. 

Week 6 
Creating a Sense of Realism: Direct Lighting, Core, Reflected Light, Cast Shadows

Week 7
 This lesson is overview of the use of reference material (photos, etc.) and how to use it most effectively in figure drawing. I discuss some of the basic pitfalls and problems in the use of photographs. The assignment will be to use photos/reference material in a figure drawing  of your choice.

Week 8 
In this video on using photos in drawing or painting heads I discuss some of the basic pitfalls and problems in the use of photographs in drawing heads. The assignment will be a drawing of the head from a photograph.

Week 9 
Use of the camera as a sketchbook/reference for further development of landscape subject matter.

Week 10 
Animal drawing and the use of the photo as a means of research and reference. How to work from the photograph.

 

Customer Reviews

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J
J.R.
The Beginning

This class started it all for me. In 2013 I enrolled in Drawing Essentials. Its difficult to describe in words just how important a step this was in my artistic journey. This class kicked off a never ending journey of art discovery guided by master draftsman Glenn Vilppu. Glenn is not only an amazing art instructor, he is an amazing mentor. Enrolling in one of his classes is the beginning of a serious art journey for any novice and a much needed refresher and additional step in the art journey of the avid student. Once you take this class you will never turn back, it all starts here. It did for me.

J
J.
Drawing Essentials - A Very Useful Course

This course covers the fundamentals of drawing (art materials, how to see/draw value, measure, how to shade forms with ambient and direct lighting and more). The approach taught is very practical (starting with thumbnails) while tying into knowledge from the Old Masters (Master studies). A broad range of subject matters are covered (still life, landscape, head drawing, animals etc.) as the overall approach to drawing applies to all subject matters. How to use reference materials (especially photographic references) is also discussed. There are weekly video lessons with assignments which can be submitted for review on a weekly basis. Glenn critiques the assignments personally and is able to give very helpful advice on where improvements can be made and also what worked well in the drawing. There is a surprising amount of knowledge to be gained through the course. The lessons are very helpful and I definitely learned a lot from working on the assignments. Wherever your starting point, you're likely to make progress and improve your artwork through this course. There are also weekly drawing demos by Glenn and students can submit any questions they have which will be answered every week. Glenn has a lot of practical experience drawing and working in the industry. It's very interesting to listen to his observations, anecdotes and words of wisdom. He definitely knows his craft and overall, this course is great for learning and strengthening the fundamentals of drawing.

L
Luke
Sets a Strong Foundation

This course goes over the basic skills needed to progress as an artist. The things I learned in this class have never become obsolete, but rather, I continually return to what I learned here in this course to strengthen my drawing skills. Glenn does a fantastic job presenting the concepts involved and personally reviews your work where he shows you what you did right or wrong and how to fix them. Truly an exceptional class with a Master of his craft.

M
M.W.
The perfect intro to Vilppu Academy!

Essentials is the single most meaningful art class I have ever taken. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to any artist (or aspiring artist) of any skill level. If you are a beginner, Essentials will ensure that you learn perfect technique from the start, so you won’t develop any bad habits that you need to break at a later date. If you are an experienced professional, Essentials is a rare opportunity to spend some quality time focusing on the fundamental tools that make your drawings spring to life while receiving feedback from a true master. For artists of any level, Essentials is the ideal introduction to Glenn’s overall approach to drawing and composition, as well as an introduction to the content in several of his other signature classes (figure drawing, head drawing, landscape drawing, animal drawing, etc.). Even though Essentials is not a prerequisite for Figure Drawing 1, I am really glad that I decided to take Essentials first, because the skills I cultivated there enabled me to absorb the Figure 1 material in much greater depth. I especially looked forward to the weekly critiques, and I learned as much from my classmates’ crits as I did from my own. Glenn meets each student where they are and critiques at the appropriate level for their ability, whether they are first-time students or tenured art professors (my class included several of each). He is always supportive, encouraging, and respectful, though he definitely doesn’t hold back: he cuts right to the heart of what each person needs to do to grow as an artist. I cannot recommend Essentials more enthusiastically!

A
Aaron araya
My first formal art lesson.

I remember taking this when I was younger and starting my first art journey. I remember that I didn’t quite understand how to study and what the essential tools of drawing was all about. This course, taught me what I need to practice and the basic approach for any future work. Values, basic construction, thumbnails, general to specific, rendering form and how to study by yourself. If you are beginner this course will definitely give you a good foundation.


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