Most of us wish to be born with two skills: to sing and play in tune, and to draw with ease. Unfortunately, most of us can only stare with envy as some of the gifted ones give their talents a bigger stage.
Lucky for us, technology can help. Even if you skip art school, you can always learn how to draw online.
So it’s never too late to dust off the years and take up lessons on how to draw. Think of the websites below as your free online drawing and art classes. Brush up on your skills, and get started!
1. Drawspace
Unique Feature: More than 500 classes for all levels.
You can learn how to draw and sketch with this one site. The person behind the site is Brenda Hoddinott. It’s not only the variety of things you can learn to draw or the well-supported discussion board that makes this site great, but it's also the user-friendly layout that lets you gradually build up your skills.
There are both free and paid classes, and enough free drawing tutorials (about 15 percent) to give you a running start.
You might like the high-quality downloadable PDF tutorials that are detailed with illustrations and steps. You can also view them online without a download. If you doubt your caliber as an artist, download and read the lesson titled Understanding Talent. To access the lessons in full, you need to register (free).
2. Drawing Coach
Unique Feature: Dive into the art of cartoons and caricatures.
As a child, you must have wanted to make your own comic strip. It takes a special kind of talent to combine cartoons with a sense of humor. You can't do without both. Drawing Coach has drawing tutorials of all types, but it leans more towards cartoons. It will teach you everything step-by-step—from drawing people to tracing tattoos.
The site is a singlehanded effort, but you won't have anything to complain about. The tutorials are light in theory but heavy on technique. If you like a bit of bedrock, look into the Drawing Techniques section.
3. Arty Factory
Unique Feature: A growing section on art appreciation you should study alongside.
This is a clean and free online resource for anyone who wants to learn how to draw, paint, and understand more about design too. Some of the illustrated step-by-step tutorials are one of a kind. You can learn how to design your own tribal masks. Or take pop-art lessons in the style of Chuck Close.
I spent some time on the aerial perspective lesson and even tried my hand at it. Try it yourself; it's a simpler skill but leaves a beauteous impact.
4. Drawing Now
Unique Feature: Thousands of cartoons, manga, people, animals, and more easy lessons.
Drawing Now is a user-driven site that’s simple and not overwhelming for the beginner or the intermediate user. The tutorials are easy to follow. What makes them even better are the accompanying screencasts, along with the step-by-step instructions.
You can also create your own tutorials, thus teaching others how to draw. There's also a built-in tool that lets you draw online.
5. Daily Sketch Challenge
Unique Feature: The largest art community on the web.
If you've just taken up the paintbrush or the pencil, it will take you a while to reach Deviant Art. The best platform for sharing art can overwhelm you with images of what's possible when you have serious art skills. But you can take up the Daily Sketch Challenge anytime because it welcomes all skill levels.
The challenge was started in 2015. The instructions are simple—check the group's Journal every day for a new subject to draw (e.g. "Scary Godmother") and post your drawing of that subject each day. As the site says, it's all about the act of drawing each day as a habit.
6. Ctrl+Paint
Unique Feature: Bite-sized videos on digital drawing and painting.
Keep the sketchbook aside. It's time to pick up a stylus because this neat website is all about digital painting. The procession of videos is organized like a curriculum so you can learn complex subjects in small chunks. Each video is just five minutes long.
Take a look at The Drawing Habit first. Then dive into the different topics. For instance, chapters two and three cover traditional drawing. The site notes that basic drawing doesn't seem as exciting as digital painting, so it's often skipped by beginners—don't make this mistake!
7. Pinterest
Unique Feature: Find and save drawing lessons on your own boards.
Type "drawing tutorials" in the Pinterest search bar and see how many results get displayed. Someone like artgirl67 has a board with 968 lessons on "How-to-Draw." That's just one drawing buff. Pinterest is a launchpad for more.
Pinterest is a visual smorgasbord. In 2021, the social site has more than 450 million active users a month. And as it is a conclave for creatives, you can expect to find links to drawing tutorials you can check out with a glance.
8. YouTube
Unique Feature: Create your own playlist from an almost infinite catalog.
As great as text-based guides can be, one of the best ways to learn to draw is to watch someone else. And these fantastic channels on drawing skills are just the tip of the brush.
Use the power of auto-suggestions in the search box. For instance, "drawing lessons for beginners step by step" is a better keyphrase than just "drawing lessons". Even the former nets you nearly four million results.
9. Creative Bloq
Unique Feature: A regularly updated collection of basic drawing tutorials to follow.
On this art and design magazine site, you'll find a selection of drawing tutorials for beginners. These include videos and written guides that teach you how to draw a cat, a dog, a dragon, people, and more.
Creative Bloq is also a useful resource if you want to learn about the latest design software and news. There's also a jobs section if you feel like your skills are good enough to go pro.
10. Adobe
Unique Feature: A comprehensive guide from the most popular design software maker in the world.
Adobe has a pretty good guide to drawing, especially for beginners. This guide includes the fundamentals of teaching yourself to draw, advice on what to draw, and loads of step-by-step tutorials.
As you work your way through, the guide links off to more guides. There's enough there to keep you going for quite some time, making it definitely worth checking out.
Turn Yourself Into an Artist
We all were artists once. In the journey towards adulthood, our crayons were forgotten. Thanks to the web, all of us can come back to this skill.
The benefits of drawing are many. Right off the bat, a drawing habit will improve your observational skills, and having it as an outlet might even make you a happier person.