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Taking time for drawing – Sketchbook Fundamentals is back!

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As I’ve already mentioned in my sketchbook tour, recently I’ve slowed down my sketching process a bit. As much as I love quick and spontaneous sketching, I’ve found that when I take my time for the drawing I often like the results better.

Just to clarify, “taking my time” still means that I will typically finish a sketch within 30 minutes. It’s still sketching, and that means I don’t want to spend hours on a very finished drawing. But I seem to enjoy the drawing process more.

Maybe that comes from having taught an intense drawing class this year, revisiting a lot of the principles and exercises myself? Somehow going back to the foundations of sketching has made me rediscover the medium.

I used to be very impatient, although I’ve always liked very precise drawings. I didn’t enjoy the process that much and only felt it was a necessary step to get started with painting. But I found out over the years (as many of my art school teachers tried to tell me then) a good sketch or painting has to be based on a good drawing. At least a decent drawing makes what comes afterwards so much easier. I used to be really envious of people who were really good at drawing, because it seemed so effortless and like they understood the creative process in an entirely different way. At that stage, it took me a long time to get to a precise drawing, because each line took a lot of effort. So it seemed easier to just forego any measuring and observation and try to compensate by doing quick, spontaneous linework. This was a hit and miss approach, and I was always a bit frustrated with my drawings. I knew that some artists seemed to place just the right lines in a fraction of the time.

I knew that drawing is a skill that can be learnt and improved through practice – just like any other manual skill. And I think this was what made me study drawing techniques again – to bring my skills to a stage where I could draw more quickly, and without big effort. I followed this practice for several years, although I started to see significant results within a few months. It was definitely a challenge, but I found that patience and trusting one’s own ability to change habits and techniques can be learned. As I mentioned, drawing is just a manual skill like any other, and if you approach it with the right methods you can get good results in a matter of weeks and months. I’ve seen this to be true for myself and for many students.

Revisiting that entire process, and seeing the changes in my drawing skills inspired me to put together the Sketching Fundamentals class – this is basically all I know about drawing right now, and how you can fundamentally build your drawing skills through learning the right techniques and regular practice.

Next week I’ll start another 8-week run-through of this course – complete with individual feedback and structured exercises. If you prefer to learn on your own and in your own pace, there’s also a self-directed version of the course.

I’ve put this class together in a way that I would have liked when I learned drawing – it’s a foundational drawing class with a focus on nature topics that covers a variety of drawing techniques, concepts like perspective and foreshortening, how to apply shadows and texture. Drawing is the very core of almost any artistic technique, whether it’s nature journaling, travel sketching, painting, or illustration and design, decent drawing skills will always give you a broader range of expression.

I’ve seen amazing results from the first group of students in the course this spring. So if you’re looking to get a good foundation to your drawing skills, this might be just be course for you. I’ve shared two lessons from the course on Youtube (links are below) so that you can get an impression of what the course will be like, and you can watch a preview video with a lot of scenes from the course on the sign-up page.

The next run-through of the course with feedback will start on the next Monday, September 26 and registration is now open.

Learn more here
Additionally, here are the two free lessons from the course:
How to start a sketch with different drawing methods
How to create three-dimensional realistic drawings

Sign up here for Sketching Fundamentals:
8-week class with individual feedback
Self-directed class

or Take the class on Skillshare

Thank you for reading this blog! It'll always stay free. To keep it going, you can support my work directly through a donation or through my nature sketching classes.


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6 thoughts on “Taking time for drawing – Sketchbook Fundamentals is back!”

  1. Hi Julia,
    Your thoughts on drawing slowly and paying attention to each line really hit home with me. Many times I do a quick sketch to give me guidelines for painting, however when I take my time and am more deliberate with my pencil my paintings seem to turn out much better. Your Sketching Fundamentals class has been so helpful and I’m slowly working my way through the excellent lessons.

    1. Thank you so much, dear Jill. Somehow I wasn’t notified of your comment earlier, how curious..
      Interesting that you’ve made the same observation, maybe the more deliberate drawing will carry the concentration and preciseness into the painting stage. And I’m so happy to hear you’ve enjoyed the class so far!

  2. Hi Julia, I want to take your course but this season of fall is too busy in my life. It looks wonderful. Will you offer this course in the new year? Thank you!

    1. Hi Nancy, yes, I will offer the course again in the new year! I don’t have any fixed dates yet, but I know later winter and spring is a time that’s often less busy than the fall for many folks. 🙂

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