Courses

  • 6 Lessons

    “Now Featuring” Jan-Feb 2022

    This 6 week live streaming class originally ran in January and February of 2022. In it, we focus on the 4 major features of the face – eyes, ears, nose and mouth – with several short to medium length drawings and a variety of models.
  • 19 Lessons

    Anatomy of the Face

    Anatomy of the Face is our introductory anatomy course at Vitruvian Studio. Starting with a plastic skull, students learn about muscle forms by laying them on one at a time with oil-based clay – a 3-dimensional method of study called écorché. Each muscle is isolated and developed independently, and clear information about origin, insertion, action and surface form is presented along the way. By the end of the course, students will have their own model of the musculature of the face, and a greater understanding of structure that is relevant to portraiture in all media.
  • 6 Lessons

    Block-in Bootcamp Sept-2021

    This 6 week live streaming class originally ran in September and October of 2021. In it, we focus on the "block-in" – the all-important first stage of drawing the figures and portraits – with several short to medium length poses with a variety of models.
  • 24 Lessons

    Cast Drawing – The Online Course

    The discipline of cast drawing has helped artists develop their observational drawing skills for centuries, and is a staple of our sequence of instruction at Vitruvian Studio. Cast work can be challenging, and presents some clear advantages for students over working from live models. Casts never move, never take breaks, and never need to be paid by the hour. Being a consistent white local color, casts allow students to focus on the challenges of describing form, structure and light without the added distractions of varying surface colors, textures and opacities found on other objects.
  • 62 Lessons

    Drawing Basics – The Complete Online Course

    This course introduces the fundamental concepts of representational drawing that any artist must master to capture what he or she sees with fidelity. It’s what we refer to as a “skills course” because it focuses specifically on the abilities and concepts of drawing in a series of exercises – the emphasis is not on producing a finished “work of art” but rather on practice and development of a fundamental skill set.
  • 11 Lessons

    Mindy’s Anatomy Lectures

    This course features lecture material that Mindy delivered to her anatomy students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020. Beginning with the skull, she breaks down each of the skeletal structures in the body with a clear proportional system, presenting simple shapes and geometry within each complex form. From there, the musculature can be easily layered from deep to superficial tissues in distinct regions of the body, helping students to better understand the forms they see on the surface of the figure.
  • 27 Lessons

    Portrait Drawing – The Complete Online Course

    This unique course covers a comprehensive procedure for drawing a beautiful portrait. David Jamieson guides students though developing a portrait from start to finish in a video demonstration that presents nearly every last pencil stroke.

  • 8 Lessons

    Portrait Drawing Live Jan-2021

    This live streaming class originally ran in January and February of 2021. It features the development of a completed portrait drawing of Robert – an older model who we were happy to have the chance to draw.
  • 9 Lessons

    Portrait Drawing Live, March 2022

    This live streaming class originally ran in March and April of 2022. It features the development of a completed portrait drawing of our model Deandrea.
  • 43 Lessons

    Still Life Painting – The Online Course

    This extensive online course presents the complete procedure for painting a still life in oil that we've been teaching at the studio for years. Watch instructor David Jamieson develop a painting from start to finish, and work along on your own painting if you wish. The course assumes no prior oil painting knowledge or experience, and proceeds sequentially, each lesson building upon what was presented previously.