Start here! Drawing exercises for beginners

Or anyone who wants to get back to basics

Here are my favorite classic art school drawing lessons

This is a quick guide to the foundational drawing exercises I’ve shared with subscribers. Remember: These are not meant to produce museum-worthy results! You’re not creating a masterpiece here! You’re just going to the gym—only it’s a gym for your brain, your hands, and your eyes.

Think of these more like puzzles and games, and come back to them often!

These techniques will serve you well when you actually ARE making beautiful drawings and paintings…but for now, they’re just fun little workouts that anyone can try—no experience necessary!

Contour drawing with autumn leaves

Continuous line drawings

Drawing upside down

Draw negative space

Draw with your non-dominant hand

Draw something from memory

How to start any drawing

Focus on values—a black, grey, and white drawing with markers

Tips on how to make a good composition

From there, I’d recommend rummaging around in the archive and finding ideas for whatever you’re interesting in drawing. Trees? Cityscapes? People? Food? We’ve done all of that and much more.

See the complete archive of everything that’s gone out to paid subscribers right here.

Are you in the mood to shop for art supplies?

Here’s a round-up of many posts I’ve written about my favorite materials and supplies.

And if you’re not already a subscriber? You can get weekly art lessons sent straight to your in-box, and access to the full archives, all for the price of a couple of pencils. Take a look at the options right here:

Also, you can give a gift subscription! Enlist a friend to be your artsy co-conspirator.