As a beginner, or even an experienced artist who feels that they are lacking these all-important foundational skills, my Beginning to Draw DVD Workshop has been developed solely to teach and train you to draw accurately.

The first 2-hour DVD of my Beginning to Draw Workshop trains you to accurately strike the arabesque of practically anything!

The second 2-hour DVD trains you how to see and render tonå. The focus is on drawing the still-life.

The third 2-hour DVD is your introduction to portrait drawing.

Also included is the entire 6-hour Beginning to Draw Workshop on CD. This textbook reinforces your learning these critical drawing skills. Plus you also get my newest workshop Drawing Drapery on CD-r plus five supplementary drawing tutorials including Drawing Hands! This is more content than in an entire art school course by itself.

And best of all, if my Beginning to Draw DVD Workshop does not meet every one of your expectations I will refund your money. In fact, you have an entire year, 365 days, to decide if my Beginning to Draw DVD Workshop has really improved your drawing.

Who else stands this firmly behind their teaching?

Here's an example of what my Beginning to Draw DVD Workshop can do for you ...

** Testimonial*** ... these simple exercises are very important especially since I never got them when I began drawing. Even just watching I can see the effect it's having on my seeing and feeling the arabesque. I know I've said this before but I think it can't be said enough - over the years I have watched video drawing courses and worked with books and the drawing and seeing methods never seemed to work for me leaving me more frustrated than before but with your courses I can give myself over totally to your method with definite results. This of course, along with better drawing ends up giving me much more pleasure. Since my last email to you I have begun the exercises and Wow! They are so simple yet the effects are profound! They are having the effect of really producing a deep foundation in a way that no other book or course has done! I'm having difficulty articulating exactly what I've experienced since I began viewing the course and doing the exercises but I know that not only is this developing my eye to see the arabesque and proportion and increasing my confidence but it's doing something deeper and very far reaching that I know will affect my work. I am not able to put it into words at this moment but you probably know what I'm trying to say. Once again I say thank you! Carol Ingberman Iowa USA

And it gets better! Your Beginning to Draw DVD Workshop comes in a high quality, black leatherette binder. No more plastic cases to clutter your bookshelf! This silver embossed, high quality, 2 ring binder is custom designed for Artacademy.com DVD Workshops. It easily holds up to 20 disks. And it has a heavy duty zipper. No more dropped and scratched disks! Binders of this quality retail for up to $35. And it is FREE! with your workshop.

Click here for more info on this dynamic beginner drawing workshop!

Beginning to Draw: the foundation of art DVD Workshop Only $177 for 3 DVDs (that's 6 hours), and 2 CDr-s: that is the Textbook and the Drawing Drapery Workshop. All beautifully packaged in a high quality black leather binder. Save $90 off the regular price of $267. But for a very limited time only! Three ways to order... The Safer, Easier Way to Pay Or order by telephone! Call 1-800-427-2468 toll free. Or send a check or money order for $177 plus $8 S/H to: Artacademy.com c/o N.I. Cameron Chartered Accountants 303 - 475 Howe Street Vancouver, BC V6C 2B3

Drawing Faces and Portraits

As an artist and teacher who has taught portrait drawing for many years I have seen thousands of beginner, and intermediate, artists struggle with the issues of drawing faces and portraits realistically. Achieving a likeness and a sense of life and spirit in their portrait drawing seemed like an unattainable goal. They simply had never been introduced to, nor taught, the proper methods of portrait drawing.

The foremost, and universal problem in learning how to draw faces and portraits has been the general lack of high quality information and training. Except for too few art schools and ateliers specializing in Classical art training it is difficult to find a comprehensive, integrated resource that presents all of the elements of portrait drawing with a succinct approach to training that works consistently.

My own experience, like that of many other artists, was one of continual frustration. Almost thirty years ago, as a beginner I read and studied every book and, later, video on portrait drawing that I could lay my hands on.

I attended pretty much every portrait drawing class that ran and literally haunted the studios of the Art Students League in New York, and other schools, such as the New York Academy of Art. What I sought was a sound, effective method to drawing faces and portraits - the same sound method that was taught to artists such as Degas. And what I sought simply could not be found, at least, not in one comprehensive source. Such a resource no longer existed. A few gems of information were gleaned from here and there, but it was taking me a lot of time and a lot of money!

Then, like today, there were plenty of 'quick fixes' available. But sooner, or later, they all proved limited resulting in mundane drawings.

If you have ever taken a music, dance or, say, golf lesson, then you know the importance placed on proper technique and form. Drawing faces and portraits is no different.

Acquiring the skills of drawing the face and portrait is really not that difficult. It can be learned. Yes, it does take work and practice. And an understanding of the anatomical forms and planar structures of the face and head.

What I mean by a basic competency is that you will be able to draw a recognizable portrait with a reasonable likeness. The good news here is that this basic competency will place you in the top 20% of artists who can actually draw!

And once you've acquired a solid foundation you will continue to grow and improve as an artist. Your portrait drawing will mature and deepen.

The simple truth to growing as an artist is to first acquire the foundational skills. The most important skill is drawing. How long does it take to learn how to draw? Well, it does depend upon your level of commitment. If you practice consistently, at least 3 times a week for several hours, it will take about six months to a year to acquire a basic competency. The bad news is that there are no short-cuts.

Here's a recent testimony from an artist who discovered our programs while studying at the Art Students League in New York City:

Pictured above are four stages in the development of a portrait drawing. This is sanguine conte drawn on Ingres paper. Incidentally, this drawing was the focus of last February's Drawing Tutorial.

Dear Mr. Britton: I have been a practicing artist throughout my long life. I have gone to various art schools (including The Art Student League), workshops and seminars, have read innumerable art books and magazines and have worked in all types of media. Through it all, I continued to have the same frustrations in drawing portraits. Through practice I got somewhat better, but never felt accomplished. My friend, Janet Walsh [a fellow student at the Art Students League - see her testimony at the bottom of this page], told me about your DVDs and CDs and urged me to give you a try. I can't thank her enough because your instruction is wonderful...you structure each segment, you explain and show, you build on prior lessons, and you speak the language of art. You are exactly what I need to grow and strengthen my art skills. As I have read and experienced many times, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I have just ordered some additional DVDs and CDs to add to what will be a year of joyous learning! And best of all, you really understand that art is a meditative process where we are fully in the present moment. Thank you, D. Papakrasas Murphy, North Carolina J

The foremost skill that an artist needs to acquire is the ability to 'strike an arabesque'. The conte, or red chalk, portrait drawing above are four stages of a study I drew of Ruben's portrait of his young daughter Clara Sarena Rubens. The upper left quadrant is the arabesque, which is the entire outside shape (or container) of an object. The arabesque incorporates two critical elements: shape and proportion.

Once the arabesque has been established the overall form and structure is built up. This includes the placing of the nose, mouth and setting the eyes - all in their proper shape and proportion - which is dictated by the all-important arabesque.

Beginning to draw a portrait by starting with an eye is a universal tendency amongst beginning and untrained artists. The problem with starting with an eye is that, first, your portrait drawing will be 'hit & miss'. Most often: a miss. Harsh words, perhaps. But you already know that. The second problem with beginning with an eye is that you have only a general idea of how large or small the portrait drawing will end up being. You can usually get away with it when you are only drawing one portrait, but what if you're drawing a double portrait? How do you relate the difference in head sizes? Consider a portrait of a mother and child - you would probably not want a 7 year old's head to be larger than the mother's. Or conversely, as small as a 6-month infant.

The good news is that learning to 'strike the arabesque' can be learned. In my Mastering Portrait Drawing 1: The Frontal Pose DVD workshop I thoroughly present you with an exercise that, with practice, will quickly build-up that necessary skill. This one exercise will save you years of study! I kid you not.

The next part of your portrait drawing education is learning the structure and anatomy of the head and its respective features. For example, drawing a convincing, realistic eye that expresses emotion and spirit requires an understanding of how an eye is structured.

A knowledge of the underlying anatomical architecture of the human head is an important component for propelling your portrait drawing skills to a high, professional level.

Generally, anatomy is offered as a separate course study in art schools and colleges. My preference is to present the anatomical structures in conjunction with the portrait drawing program. This lends a more succinct and efficient process to your learning. All of the anatomy for the frontal pose is included in Mastering Portrait Drawing 1. So what you are getting are two workshops in one: portrait drawing and facial anatomy! All for much, much less than a portrait drawing course with a class of 20 to 30 people where you may, or may not, have a clear view of the model, and limited one-on-one help with the instructor.