The Secrets to Drawing: 5 Art Skills You Can Learn in 5+ Udemy Classes

No. Don't give this a miss.

I am sure you are thinking that drawing and art aren't for you. You can't even make cute drawings of cats. Even simple drawings mystify you. I would urge you to stop right there. I want to take you back to the beginning again. When you were five years old and could plaster the walls with cartoon drawings no one got.

I want you to look at what you can do with an online cartoon and a sense of humor. Then read a bit about a certain grandmother who started painting in her late seventies.

It all comes down to observation and easy drawing ideas. And some of the best online Udemy courses can help to drive away the thoughts holding you back. Every week we highlight some of the best paid courses on Udemy. Today, we pick up the secrets to drawing and help you start off with a great hobby.

Until the end of the day on December 15, you can get all courses for $15 with the code DEC15ALL!

The Secrets to Drawing

Discover: Learn the core concepts of drawing with step-by-step guidance.

If you are looking for a bestselling course on learning how to draw, this is it. There is no dearth of instruction -- 28 HD videos with over 500 minutes of drawing instruction cover it all. The course is broken down into segments which will handhold you through the early steps.

For instance, you will start by understanding the role of line in drawing contours. By the time you graduate, you will have become familiar with drawing figures and using them in scenes for a sense of perspective.

In nearly six hours you will get the fact that drawing is a skill that can be learned. This is the only motivation you need to forge ahead with sharpening your skills and becoming a better creative. The second biggest takeaway are the 26 ebooks that add up to 178 pages with 498 color illustrations.

How to Draw Cute Cartoon Characters

Discover: How to sketch your own cute little cartoons and turn them into characters.

With the foundations of drawing in place, let's learn how to turn a few squiggles into cartoons. Is it a comedown from a more serious art? No. Thanks to social media, cartoons could be in the middle of another golden age. It is a bona fide career. This course could be an added feather if you are a game designer or coder. The drawing style follows the Japanese trend of kawaii ("cuteness"). But Ben Colefax says it's just a prelude to discover your own style.

There are exercises which will teach you how to start from the eyes and built the character around it. With the tongue hanging out of your cheek, you can make your cartoon characters speak and play your alter-ego. There are other secrets to cartooning and Ben Colefax takes you through them in 25 lectures.

And if you have kids in the family, point them to this free course: Drawing for Kids: Learn How to Draw Cartoons Step-by-Step.

Art Therapy: Drawing, Painting and Self-Exploration (Part 1)

Discover: The Healing Process of Art Therapy

Who thought that art and drawing can be the cure for daily stress? But then, art has been connected to healing for a long time.

As philosopher Alain de Botton remarked,

Like other tools, art has the power to extend our capacities beyond those that nature has originally endowed us with.

This is the first part of a series and can be taken by anyone regardless of age. You don't even need to be an artist. The lessons are designed to be creative prompts that will encourage you to explore on your own, conquer your inner demons, and have some fun in the process. The course helps you understand the psychology behind color and how you can use that to trigger "feel-good" emotions.

The course is sprinkled with 50 exercises and activities – try the Gratitude Jar to look for the positive stuff that flits in and out through the day.

Then, follow this up with the second part of the course -- Art Therapy: Drawing, Painting and Self-Exploration (Part 2)

The Pen and Ink Experience

Discover: How to draw with pen and ink.

Remember filling those back pages with scribbles and random drawings of airplanes and tanks? Reclaim that childhood love and give it push with this course. Using pens and inks can be the most freeform way to fill up your free time with some creative me-time. There are techniques and secrets involved and you get to learn them all in 12 lectures.

You can start with simple black and white ink pens before you flex your skills with hardware like dip pens and ink, Bristol paper (vellum surface), nylon brushes, water, and "HB" graphite pencil. Oh yes, an eraser too. The course might seem short but the tips cover composition techniques in depth. After that, it is all about practice and observation.

Adobe Illustrator CC Tutorial - Training Taught by Experts

Discover: The tools and techniques for the vector graphics software from Adobe.

There's a computer right in front of you. And there will be a time when it becomes your new canvas. You will need Adobe Illustrator by your side (and maybe, a drawing tablet). The industry standard vector graphics software is a must for anyone aspiring to become a digital artist.

It has a learning curve but your skills will never plateau because there's just so much you can do with its power. There's also no dearth of free places to practice with Adobe Illustrator tutorials.

But Adobe Illustrator CC is a complex maze to the beginner. You should feel more in control with a structured course. The course comes with concise instructions and downloadable working files. Andy Anderson is a professional instructor with just the tone that's required to take you to the deep end. Follow him.

Try This Free Course Too:

Figure Drawing from Life Using The Reilly Technique (Free)

Discover: How to draw human figures from life in less than 45 minutes.

When drawing human figures, you may not yet know where to start. Frank J. Reilly had a formula. The famed Reilly method is a structural way of drawing human figures with the help of proportions and six basic structural lines. Learn to create a grid with the lines, start with the head, and then complete any abstract shape. The Reilly Method is designed for speed and accuracy.

The 22 free lectures cover the methods you will need to finish a figure drawing. Go through small shapes, negative space, value, perspective, foreshortening, edge, line, details (face, hands and feet), and drapery on the figure. Round it off with five complete demonstrations of different postures that take no more than five minutes.

Learn a few more tips with this course -- Drawing the Human Figure

Go to Your Own Art School

Going to an art school has its benefits and I still don't think online education can usurp that. But online art classes appeal to the hobbyist or someone who wants to salvage a passion. Creativity is already an essential life skill and tooling yourself for it will bring everyday benefits. So, which Udemy drawing course would you pick from the above options?

Try any one of these five courses. Remember, every paid course on Udemy comes with: