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.

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.

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.

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.

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.