Why the Line of Action Doesn’t Work for Figure Drawing

See the reasons the line of action can make figure drawing more difficult and misleading, especially in terms of anatomical structure and getting a true understanding of what a gesture drawing entails. Discussion with Art Prof Clara Lieu. Video Walkthrough As a free educational source, Art Prof uses Amazon affiliate links (found in this page) […]

Sketching Architecture: Jerónimos Monastery

See how to sketch architecture in watercolor, you don’t need linear perspective and rulers when sketching on site! Tips for how to capture the impression of the building instead of measuring every line in the building are provided. This architectural sketch is done on site at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal. Demo by Art […]

Sketching Pastéis de Belém with Markers

Pastéis de Belém inspires 2 artists: watch a marker drawing done on site in Lisbon, Portugal of these lovely egg custard tarts. the star dessert of the city! Using alcohol based markers, a bright, colorful marker drawing is shown from beginning to end. Drawing by Teaching Artist Cat Huang with commentary from Art Prof Clara […]

How to Draw Baby Hands in Soft Pastel & Photoshop

See a drawing demo on how to draw baby hands. They are tricky to draw. Their anatomy is totally different from an adult’s hand! Tips for how to capture the volume and form of a baby hand, as well as how to articulate the lighting on the hand are explained. Demo by Art Prof Clara […]

Top 5 Portrait Drawing Mistakes

Here are the 5 top mistakes artists make when drawing portraits. (with a little help from Benedict Cumberbatch) Mistakes such as not addressing the skeletal structure of the face, adding details too soon, starting with the eyes, nose, and mouth, etc. The reasons why these actions can be considered mistakes are explained and then followed […]

How to Draw Buildings & Architecture in Marker

Watch this drawing demo and get concrete tips for how to approach drawing a building. This video shows you how to get started sketching architecture. A complicated subject with many details that can be intimidating. Techniques for how to capture the scale of buildings as well as how to articulate details are thoroughly explained. Demo […]

Colored Pencil Drawing: Sexy Bread

Who knew that there are bread rolls that wear lingerie! Watch this drawing demo of sexy bread rolls, showing how to draw with colored pencil and crayons on black watercolor paper. Techniques for drawing small details like the lace in the “bread lingerie” as well as showing the round form and saturated color of the […]

Ink Wash: Drawing Cats from The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

Watch a demo on drawing cats from The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Sketching techniques using sumi inks for capturing the personality and gesture of the cats in the film are explained, as well as how to build up a range of textures and volumes in the drawings. Explained in the video is how to […]

Draw a Skull Inside a Portrait

Drawing a skull inside a portrait is a terrific exercise to practice your anatomical understanding of a portrait. This video provides beginning to end, the entire process for building the skull structure into the portrait. Various techniques are explained, that can be used to build up three dimensional volume with colored pencil layering, blending, creating […]

Drawing Fish in Adobe Fresco

See how to use digital painting techniques in Adobe Fresco to draw fish! This video starts with basics of drawing with Adobe Fresco covering layers, tools, and various effects that are possible with the program. More techniques such as how to navigate layers and create textures are also shown. Demo led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and […]

Character Design in Procreate: Silhouettes

Watch a fun character design prompt: use the silhouette of any object to start a character design. This video explains how to go about developing a character, addressing their personality traits and how to incorporate those traits into the character design. Demo by Teaching Artist Cat Huang and Guest Teaching Artist Julie Benbassat. Examples Artworks by @pandapufkin, Steen, @trenter_the_dragon Video […]

Cats: Gesture Drawing with Colored Pencil & Markers

This video shows how you can draw from real life! See a demo of how to do gesture drawings from life using Faber-Castell colored pencils and Pitt pens. Discussed in the video are the many advantages of drawing from life, as well as the challenges. See how to draw cats who simply won’t sit still! […]

Soft Pastel: Drawing Guinea Pigs

See how to draw guinea pigs using soft pastel gesture drawing techniques. Drawing a moving guinea pig IS possible, get some tips and tricks for how to achieve that. This video also explains how to capture each guinea pig’s personality by using soft pastel techniques like layering and smudging. Demo by Art Prof Clara Lieu, […]

Painting Bread: Watercolor

See the process of watercolor painting AND baking sourdough bread! This video weaves together how a grandmother baking sourdough bread inspired a watercolor painting. (Prof Lieu’s mother in law, the “Bread Fairy.”) By showing and explaining the painting process, the artist comes to see that the bread is much more that just a loaf of […]

How to Draw Glass in Soft Pastel

This video demos techniques for drawing glass using soft pastel. Glass is very challenging to draw because of the transparency! You’ll get concrete tips for how to create the illusion of glass in soft pastel that is convincing and believable. Demo led by Art Prof Clara Lieu. Video Walkthrough Prof Lieu’s Tips There is definitely […]

Table of Contents for Tutorials by Topic

Index Abstraction  Animals  Character Design  Figure  Illustration  Landscape  Portrait  Still Life Travel Abstraction Animals Character Design Figure  Illustration  Landscape  Portrait  Still Life Travel

Sculpting a Foot in Oil Based Clay

This two part series demonstrates from beginning to end how to sculpt a small scale foot without using a wire armature. The clay used in this series is plastilene, an oil based clay that is flexible and safe for home art studios.  Working from custom reference photos that were shot specifically for the sculpture from […]

Drawing Celebs as Monsters in Oil Pastel & Procreate

Draw a celebrity and transform them into a monster! Techniques in Procreate and oil pastel + colored pencil are shown here as a means to illustrating these monster portraits, and approaches to distortion, drawing a range of textures and forms are explained. Demo led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Deepti Menon. Video […]

Watercolor in Utah: Goblin Valley & Mushrooms

Art Prof Clara Lieu visits Goblin Valley in Southern Utah, where she paints 2 landscape paintings on site, blending watercolors and alcohol based brush pens. Next, Prof Lieu goes mushroom hunting with family in the mountains, bringing back gigantic mushrooms which serve as still life subjects to explore watercolor techniques including dry brushing and diverse […]

Watercolor in Utah: Mt. Pleasant

Art Prof Clara Lieu visits Mt. Pleasant, Widstoe, and Green River on the way to Southern Utah, where she paints on site using Winsor & Newton watercolors and alcohol based brush pens. Prof Lieu paints a “monument” of rocks in the desert, a fence with a patch of trees and a propane tank & watermelon […]

Drawing Roses in Pencil & Charcoal

See how to draw roses with pencil and charcoal as preparatory drawings for oil paintings. Kathleen Speranza explains her engagement with roses as a figurative subject for her paintings, providing a comprehensive demo on how to set up the lighting and placement of the roses. Kathleen explains how to sharpen & prepare pencil/charcoal supplies, and […]

Oil Pastel & Oil Stick Drawing: Peacocks

Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Lauryn Welch demonstrate how to draw with oil sticks and oil pastels by drawing peacocks. Prof Lieu and Lauryn explain the differences and similarities between oil sticks and oil pastels as well as their distinct qualities as drawing media. Art Supplies Oil Pastels Oil Bars Other colors Reference […]

Character Design: Facial Expressions in Procreate

Drawing a wide range of facial expressions is a great skill for character design! In this drawing tutorial, prompts for different facial expressions are provided: confused, furious, disgusted, heartbroken, and flirty. This video explores different ways of achieving a expression with Procreate. Demo led by Teaching Artists Deepti Menon and Jordan McCracken-Foster. Video Walkthrough Prof […]

Brush Pen Drawing in Taiwan

Art Prof Clara Lieu draws on site throughout several cities in Taiwan including Taipei, Beitou, Taitung, Hualien, using Tombow brush pens, a sketchbook, and Bristol board. Lieu gives tips for urban sketching, demonstrates step by step her drawing process with brush pens, and talks about how the culture and experience of traveling in Taiwan affects […]

Portrait Sculpture with Air Dry Clay

This video shows how to sculpt a portrait bust using air dry clay and a wire armature. Techniques for how to build a wire armature, and how to block in the largest shapes in the portrait sculpture are explained thoroughly. Sculpting techniques using a range of sculpting tools, and how to sculpt details, and the […]