It’s not easy to learn drawing by yourself, especially as you get older. It’s better to learn from a drawing course but you know how it is, they cost money and you don’t really know how good they are.
That’s why I thought I’d list a few freebies by Brent Eviston, from his “The Art and Science of Drawing” series.
I admire his approach, there is nothing pretentious about his delivery and going by his Youtube comments and reviews his students are delighted.
This curated collection will give you some structure and let you decide if his courses are worth your investment.
I’ve added a brief summary with each video that distills the core concepts, techniques, and practice assignments from each lesson.
Get stuck in.
Disclaimer: When you buy something via my affiliate links I earn from qualifying purchases and sometimes earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. I am an Amazon Associate among others. I only recommend trusted sites.
1. Basic Drawing Skills
Summary:
Brent Eviston’s core philosophy is that drawing is a learnable skill, not an innate talent. This lesson introduces the most fundamental practice for any artist: starting every drawing with incredibly light lines.
This technique, used by master artists throughout history, allows for easy adjustments and the gradual development of a form, much like a sculptor shaping clay.
To create these initial soft, hazy marks, artists are encouraged to use the “Overhand Grip” when holding the pencil. This grip engages the side of the pencil lead rather than the sharp tip.
To produce large, fluid strokes, the lesson emphasizes drawing from the shoulder, keeping the wrist and fingers relatively still. The assignment is to practice making these light, soft lines for at least 30 minutes.
The goal is to make this gentle approach your comfortable default, ensuring a dark line is a conscious decision. A great test for this is that your lines should be easy to see up close, but if you hold your paper 10 to 15 feet away, they should almost entirely disappear.
2. Form and Space
This lesson focuses on drawing compound forms, objects made from combining basic volumes like spheres and cylinders.
A key principle highlighted is the importance of observation. Brent Eviston suggests that artists should spend approximately 70% of their time simply looking at and analyzing their subject.
The primary strategy for tackling complexity is to break down objects into their simplest foundational volumes. For example, a vase can be understood as a sphere connected to a cylinder.
For symmetrical objects, the lesson introduces the technique of drawing a vertical centerline first to ensure balance.
Another crucial practice is to draw “through” forms, meaning you sketch the entire volume (like a full sphere) even if part of it is hidden. This helps in understanding the object’s complete three-dimensional structure.
The project is to choose a simple object made of cylindrical or spherical parts and create a structural drawing of it.
Brent offers critical advice: “Be patient and choose a simple subject. One of the most common missteps for beginners is selecting subjects that are far beyond their skill level, which leads to frustration.”
3. Contours
This lesson defines and explores three distinct types of contour lines that artists use to describe form.
1. Outside contours are the lines that create the object’s external outline or silhouette.
2. Inside contours are lines that travel within the form to show volume and create overlaps, indicating that one part is in front of another.
3. Cross contours are visualized lines, much like topographic lines on a map, that travel across the surface of an object to describe its shape.
The lesson also introduces Blind Contour Drawing as a critical training exercise, not a technique for finished artwork. Its purpose is to improve hand-eye coordination by forcing you to draw while looking only at the subject, never at the paper.
It’s crucial to understand that the benefits come from the process, not the product. As Brent reassures:
“The resulting drawing is irrelevant and will likely look strange and out of proportion. You should not be worried about the outcome in the slightest.”
A variation called Partially Blind Contour is also described, which trains the artist to identify and draw overlaps.
The project is to spend 30 minutes on blind contour drawing and 30 minutes on partially blind contour drawing using a complex subject, such as your own hand.
4. Shading Fundamentals
This lesson begins with a revelation. Imagine you are in a pitch-black room; you know objects are there, but you can’t see or draw them. If you light a single candle, light streams out, revealing only what it touches.
The central idea is that artists don’t draw objects themselves; they draw the impact of light on those objects.
To best describe form, Brent recommends using a single light source positioned from above, off to one side, and from the front. This classic setup creates a clear and dramatic distinction between light and shadow.
The lesson defines value as the relative lightness or darkness of a color.
To gain control over value, students create a five-step value scale, ranging from the pure white of the paper (value 1) to the pencil’s darkest black (value 5).
The lesson also covers using toned (gray) paper, where the paper itself acts as a middle value. The assignment is to create two five-step value scales, one on white paper and one on gray paper, and practice creating each value until it becomes second nature.
5. Measuring Proportions
This lesson introduces techniques to help artists measure their subjects, removing guesswork and enabling them to draw with accurate proportions.
Proportion is defined as the size relationship between the different parts of an object. The core technique is proportional measuring, which involves holding a pencil at full arm’s length with a locked elbow and closing one eye.
The artist then uses their thumb to mark a basic unit of measurement on the pencil, such as the width of the subject.
This basic unit is then used to measure other parts of the subject (e.g., “How many widths tall is this object?”).
While measuring, it is absolutely critical that you keep your body in a single position. Do not move forward, backward, or side-to-side. Even subtle shifts in your position will invalidate all of your measurements.
The assignment is to choose five simple objects, measure their width-to-height ratios, draw a light proportional box based on those measurements, and then sketch the object inside.
6. Dynamic Mark Making, Part 1
Part 1 explores the idea that every line serves two purposes: to describe a form and to express an idea or emotion. Brent Eviston uses two powerful analogies to explain this.
First, a line is like a letter in the alphabet; just as letters form words and stories, individual lines combine to create the full narrative of a drawing.
Second, line quality is like a person’s tone of voice; how you say something is as important as what you say. The quality of a line communicates feeling beyond the form it describes.
The lesson explains how viewers instinctively interpret lines: vertical lines feel strong, horizontal lines feel calm, and oblique (diagonal) lines feel dynamic or unstable.
To build a rich vocabulary of marks, the “ever-changing line” exercise involves drawing one continuous line that constantly changes in pressure, speed, and quality.
The project is to create three “ever-changing line” pages and then practice replicating 3-6 of your favorite marks from the exercise.
7. Dynamic Mark Making, Part 2
Building on the previous lesson, this session focuses on how to intentionally communicate specific emotions through abstract lines, rather than by drawing representational images like facial expressions.
The recommended process is to first consider an emotion and ask introspective questions that translate feelings into line qualities.
For example, to draw “nervousness,” an artist might ask, “When I get nervous, I don’t feel bold; I feel small.” Therefore, the resulting line should also be small and contained on the page.
The lesson includes an exercise where viewers draw abstract lines representing emotions like anger, calm, sadness, and excitement.
It notes that while every individual’s interpretation is unique, there are often surprising similarities in how people visually express these core emotions.
The project is to continue this exploration by translating more emotions into abstract lines, perhaps by pushing the expressions further or doing the exercise with family and friends to compare the results.
Basic Drawing Lessons : Final Thoughts
This series gives you a clear plan for learning drawing in a steady and practical way. Each lesson builds on the last, so you always know what to focus on next.
The mix of simple tools, step by step exercises, and daily practice helps you improve without feeling lost.
When you follow the process, you learn how to see better, draw with more control, and understand what your marks are doing. It is a strong foundation for anyone who wants to take drawing seriously.
Now find all the drawing courses by Brent Eviston in one place. Perfect for the total Beginner
I’ve got a few articles related to this that are worth checking out:
- Are Drawing Books Worth It? Can You Learn From Books
- 4 Reasons to Take an Online Course
- Are Proko Courses Worth It? A Review – Pros and Cons
- Is Skillshare Worth It? The Pros and Cons for Creatives
- Are Drawing Tablets Worth it? Pros and Cons Guide
- Is The Procreate App Worth it For Beginners? Get the Facts
- 25 Platforms for Artists to Sell Their Art Online and Make Money
- Is Print on Demand Worth it? The Pros and Cons for Creatives
PIN THIS
Hi, I’m Kevin Hayler
I’ve been selling my wildlife art and traveling the world for over 20 years, and if that sounds too good to be true, I’ve done it all without social media, art school, or galleries!
I can show you how to do it. You’ll find a wealth of info on my site, about selling art, drawing tips, lifestyle, reviews, travel, my portfolio, and more. Enjoy