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Skillshare
Continue your drawing journey by mastering proportion, structure, and the core techniques behind realistic drawing. In this course, Brent Eviston introduces powerful tools like measuring, enveloping, and the block-in method to help you accurately capture what you see. You'll learn to bring structure and spatial awareness into your drawings, giving your subjects a strong, believable foundation.
Read more
Continue your drawing journey by mastering proportion, structure, and the core techniques behind realistic drawing. In this course, Brent Eviston introduces powerful tools like measuring, enveloping, and the block-in method to help you accurately capture what you see. You'll learn to bring structure and spatial awareness into your drawings, giving your subjects a strong, believable foundation.
Read more
Continue your drawing journey by mastering proportion, structure, and the core techniques behind realistic drawing. In this course, Brent Eviston introduces powerful tools like measuring, enveloping, and the block-in method to help you accurately capture what you see. You'll learn to bring structure and spatial awareness into your drawings, giving your subjects a strong, believable foundation.
Through practical demos and step-by-step guidance, you’ll begin adding detail, value, and expressive lines to your work. These lessons will also help you develop a healthier mindset toward drawing—encouraging you to see mistakes as growth opportunities.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Measure and draw in proportion
- Block in accurate shapes using angles and envelopes
- Build dimensionality and texture
- Apply value to bring drawings to life
This course is your bridge from rough sketches to more refined, expressive artwork—and a key part of your creative development.
Instructor bio:
Brent Eviston is an artist and educator whose passion for teaching is matched only by his love of drawing. He is the creator of the award-winning online series The Art & Science of Drawing, which has enrolled more than half a million students across 180+ countries.
With over 20 years of experience teaching in art studios, schools, and museums, Brent has developed highly effective methods for helping students see the world differently through drawing. His own practice spans traditional figure drawing, architectural and anatomical studies, as well as contemporary explorations.
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What's inside
Syllabus
Building Proportions & Perspective
This module introduces key techniques for creating accurate and believable drawings by mastering proportion and perspective. You’ll learn how to measure, angle, and block in your subject using foundational methods like enveloping and observational sketching. These tools will help you create structured drawings with a solid visual foundation.
Read more
Syllabus
Building Proportions & Perspective
This module introduces key techniques for creating accurate and believable drawings by mastering proportion and perspective. You’ll learn how to measure, angle, and block in your subject using foundational methods like enveloping and observational sketching. These tools will help you create structured drawings with a solid visual foundation.
Read more
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Activities
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We're preparing activities for
How to Draw: A Beginner’s Guide Pt 2 – Form & Structure.
These are activities you can do either before, during, or after a course.
Career center
Learners who complete How to Draw: A Beginner’s Guide Pt 2 – Form & Structure will develop knowledge and skills
that may be useful to these careers:
Illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator creates visual representations that communicate ideas, stories, or information for various media. This career demands a keen eye and the ability to translate concepts into compelling images. This course directly addresses skills essential for an Illustrator, focusing on mastering proportion, structure, and realistic drawing techniques. Learning to measure and draw in proportion, block in accurate shapes, and build dimensionality is central to creating accurate illustrations. Developing the ability to apply value and expressive lines helps bring drawings to life, essential for capturing mood. This foundational understanding of form and structure proves invaluable in producing professional artwork for diverse clients and projects.
Fine Artist
Fine Artist
A Fine Artist creates original artwork for exhibition, personal expression, or sale, often specializing in drawing. This career path values technical mastery and a unique artistic voice. This course is exceptionally well-suited for a Fine Artist, as it delves into mastering core techniques behind realistic drawing, proportion, and structure. The comprehensive approach to measuring, enveloping, and the block-in method provides powerful tools for accurately capturing subjects. By learning to build dimensionality, apply value, and create expressive lines, you can significantly enhance your ability to translate observations into refined, compelling artwork. This course provides the robust technical foundation and encourages the healthy mindset essential for a thriving career.
Concept Artist
Concept Artist
A Concept Artist develops visual representations of ideas for games, films, and other media, defining a project's overall look. This role demands strong understanding of form, perspective, and visual storytelling. This course provides an excellent foundation for aspiring Concept Artists by building structure and spatial awareness in drawings. Mastering proportion and the block-in method is crucial for quickly and accurately sketching complex designs. Learning to build dimensionality and apply value to bring drawings to life directly translates to creating believable and immersive concept art. This course helps you develop core visual skills to articulate imaginative concepts with clarity and impact, a pivotal step in this specialized field.
Character Designer
Character Designer
A Character Designer crafts the visual appearance and personality of characters for animation, games, and comics. This role requires a strong grasp of anatomy, proportion, and how form conveys unique traits. This course offers an excellent foundation for an aspiring Character Designer, emphasizing building structure and spatial awareness. Mastering proportion and the block-in method is indispensable for constructing characters with accurate, consistent anatomy. Learning to build dimensionality and apply value helps create characters that feel tangible and expressive. The ability to bring drawings to life with detail and expressive lines, as taught, is crucial for developing memorable and visually engaging characters that resonate with audiences.
Storyboard Artist
Storyboard Artist
A Storyboard Artist creates sequential drawings that visually narrate a story for films, animations, or games, planning camera angles and compositions. This role requires conveying information clearly through structured visuals. This course is highly beneficial for a Storyboard Artist, honing skills in capturing what you see and translating it into understandable drawings. Mastering proportion and perspective through measuring and enveloping is fundamental for creating coherent, spatially accurate storyboards. The focus on developing form, adding depth, and applying value ensures each panel communicates its intended action effectively. This robust foundation in drawing form and structure helps you excel in visually communicating narrative flow with precision and impact.
Medical Illustrator
Medical Illustrator
A Medical Illustrator creates accurate, clear visual representations of biological and medical subjects for education, publishing, or legal exhibits. This career typically requires an advanced degree, often a Master's, combining artistic talent with scientific knowledge. This course provides an exceptional foundation for a Medical Illustrator by intensely focusing on proportion, structure, and realistic drawing techniques. Mastering measuring and drawing in proportion, blocking accurate shapes, and building dimensionality are crucial for depicting complex anatomical structures with absolute precision. The ability to apply value to bring drawings to life ensures illustrations are both informative and aesthetically compelling. This course refines observational and rendering skills essential for translating intricate scientific concepts into understandable visual forms.
Technical Illustrator
Technical Illustrator
A Technical Illustrator creates precise, informative drawings explaining how products work or detailed schematics for industries like engineering. Accuracy and clarity are paramount in this role. This course is highly relevant for a Technical Illustrator, focusing on mastering proportion, structure, and realistic drawing. The emphasis on measuring, blocking in accurate shapes using angles and envelopes, and building dimensionality directly translates to creating precise technical diagrams. Learning to capture exactly what you see and give subjects a strong, believable foundation ensures illustrations are accurate and easy to understand. This foundational training in structured drawing is invaluable for a career where precision and clarity are essential.
Animator
Animator
An Animator creates moving images, bringing characters and environments to life in various media. While animation is often digital, foundational principles of movement and form stem from drawing. For an Animator, this course helps build deep understanding of proportion, structure, and spatial awareness, critical for creating believable character models and movements. Techniques like blocking in accurate shapes, building dimensionality, and applying value are essential for understanding how light interacts with three dimensional forms, applicable to creating convincing digital assets. This course helps you develop observational and structural drawing skills underpinning successful animation, allowing you to imbue creations with robust, believable foundations.
Game Artist
Game Artist
A Game Artist creates all visual elements for video games, including environments, characters, and props. This role requires a strong artistic foundation and contributes to a game's overall aesthetic. For a Game Artist, this course provides a robust foundation in understanding form, structure, and spatial awareness, critical for designing believable, functional game assets. Learning to measure and draw in proportion and block in accurate shapes is invaluable for creating consistent characters and environments. Techniques for building dimensionality, applying value, and creating expressive lines directly enhance your ability to craft visually engaging, immersive game worlds. This course helps you develop core observational and rendering skills essential for bringing virtual worlds to life.
Architectural Visualizer
Architectural Visualizer
An Architectural Visualizer creates realistic renderings, models, and animations of architectural designs, helping stakeholders envision proposed buildings. This role demands a strong understanding of perspective, proportion, and how light interacts with forms. This course is highly beneficial for an Architectural Visualizer, specifically targeting skills in building proportions, perspective, and developing form and depth. Learning to measure, angle, and block in subjects using methods like enveloping is crucial for accurately depicting architectural elements. The emphasis on applying value and creating the illusion of three dimensional space directly supports creating compelling, believable visualizations. This course provides fundamental drawing expertise to translate two dimensional plans into stunning, lifelike representations.
Set Designer
Set Designer
A Set Designer creates physical environments, props, and scenic elements for productions. This role requires understanding space, proportion, and the ability to visually communicate a design concept. This course offers valuable skills for a Set Designer by focusing on building structure and spatial awareness in drawings. Techniques for mastering proportion and perspective, such as measuring and blocking in accurate shapes, are directly applicable to sketching and planning stage or film sets. Learning to develop form, add depth, and apply value helps create realistic, evocative visual representations of set designs. This foundational training helps you effectively translate creative concepts into tangible, three dimensional spaces, a key aspect of successful set design.
Industrial Designer
Industrial Designer
An Industrial Designer develops concepts for manufactured products, focusing on form, function, and user experience. This role involves sketching, prototyping, and refining designs for a wide range of goods. This course is highly relevant for an Industrial Designer, emphasizing building structure, proportion, and spatial awareness in drawings. Techniques for measuring, blocking in accurate shapes, and building dimensionality are essential for accurately representing product forms. Learning to apply value to bring drawings to life helps render materials and finishes, conveying a product's look and feel. This foundational drawing expertise helps you conceptualize and communicate innovative designs with clarity and compelling visual impact.
Fashion Designer
Fashion Designer
A Fashion Designer conceptualizes and creates clothing and accessories, from initial sketches to final production. This role requires artistic vision and the ability to draft designs that flatter the human form. This course may be useful for a Fashion Designer by enhancing fundamental drawing skills, particularly the focus on proportion and structure. When sketching garments, understanding how fabric drapes and interacts with the body's form is crucial. Techniques for measuring and drawing in proportion aid in creating accurate fashion croquis. Learning to build dimensionality and apply value helps render fabric textures and light, making designs appear realistic and appealing. This course can help build a foundation in visual representation, supporting clear communication of design ideas.
Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer
A Graphic Designer creates visual concepts using software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire or inform. This work includes logos, websites, and publications. This course may be useful for a Graphic Designer by strengthening your foundational understanding of visual composition, form, and spatial awareness. While graphic design often uses digital tools and abstract concepts, principles of proportion, structure, and balance learned through realistic drawing can inform layout and visual hierarchy. Developing an eye for detail and ability to block in accurate shapes, even for abstract elements, helps create cohesive, well-structured designs. This course can help you develop a deeper appreciation for visual fundamentals, enhancing your overall design aesthetic.
User Experience Designer
User Experience Designer
A User Experience Designer focuses on making products and services easy and enjoyable to use, often involving user research, wireframing, and sketching interfaces. This course may be helpful for a User Experience Designer in developing a stronger sense of visual structure, proportion, and spatial organization. While not directly creating realistic drawings, the ability to block in accurate shapes, understand visual hierarchy, and grasp spatial relationships, as practiced in this course, can improve wireframing and sketching skills. These foundational drawing principles can enhance your ability to clearly communicate interface layouts and user interactions, ensuring visual consistency and intuitive design. This course may help you develop a more robust visual literacy to aid in conceptualizing effective user experiences.
For more career information including salaries, visit:
OpenCourser.com/course/z3wwiy/how
Reading list
We've selected 23 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
How to Draw: A Beginner’s Guide Pt 2 – Form & Structure.
Written by the course instructor, this book serves as the definitive companion guide and covers the exact methodologies taught in the video lessons. It is an essential reference tool for students who want to reinforce the concepts of measuring, proportion, and the 'block-in' method in a physical format. is particularly valuable for providing the foundational philosophy of the entire specialization.
Is highly relevant as it focuses specifically on reducing complex subjects into the basic structural forms discussed in the course. It serves as an excellent visual reference for students learning to see the 'envelope' and the underlying geometry of objects. Published recently, it has gained immense popularity for its practical, portable approach to form and structure.
Provides a contemporary look at classical atelier techniques, focusing heavily on the initial block-in and proportion stages. It is frequently used as a textbook for students seeking a more formal academic approach to the subjects covered in Eviston's course. It adds significant depth to the concept of 'enveloping' and measuring through professional-grade demonstrations.
Published within the last five years, this book modern masterclass in building drawings from simple 3D forms. It perfectly supplements the course's module on developing form and adding depth by teaching students how to manipulate boxes and cylinders in space. It useful reference tool for learners who struggle with spatial awareness and structural foundation.
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This seminal industry textbook that provides an advanced look at perspective and structural drawing. While more technically challenging than the course, it offers incredible breadth for students wanting to take their 'Form & Structure' skills into professional design. It is highly recommended as additional reading for those interested in industrial design or concept art.
This recent publication offers a broad overview of sketching basics, including the very 'block-in' and value techniques mentioned in the syllabus. It is helpful for providing background knowledge on how to transition from rough sketches to refined artwork. The step-by-step nature of the book mirrors the practical demos found in the Skillshare course.
Specialized reference tool for mastering the art of accurate measuring and observation. It aligns perfectly with the course's emphasis on capturing what you see with precision. It is more valuable as additional reading for students who find the 'measuring' aspect of the course particularly difficult to grasp.
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A highly popular and reputable book that focuses on the 'restating' and 'mapping' techniques similar to Eviston's block-in method. It encourages the healthy mindset toward mistakes that the course syllabus highlights as a key learning objective. This great choice for students who need more practice with observational sketching and contour lines.
This foundational text that simplifies complex spatial concepts into digestible lessons. It is particularly useful for students who find the perspective module of the course overwhelming. As an industry-standard introductory book, it adds necessary breadth to the learner's understanding of three-dimensional space.
Documents the historical drawing course used by masters like Picasso and Van Gogh to learn the 'block-in' method. It prestigious reference tool for students who want to practice the exact same structural methods used in classical academies. It offers a rigorous path for those wanting to refine their ability to see and draw accurate shapes.
Focusing on the latter part of the syllabus, this book provides a deep dive into value and shading. It is published recently and is highly regarded for its clear explanation of how light interacts with form. superior reference for students ready to apply value to bring their structural drawings to life.
Written by a renowned industry professional, this book provides an intensive look at building structure within a spatial environment. It is more valuable as advanced reading for students who have completed the course and wish to apply their skills to complex scenes. It reinforces the 'spatial awareness' learning objective through professional cinematic examples.
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Hampton’s book is an industry favorite for its focus on structural drawing and the 'gesture to form' workflow. It supplements the course's module on Developing Form by showing how to apply structural principles to the human figure. It is frequently used as a textbook in entertainment arts programs for its clear, constructive approach.
Is essential for providing the prerequisite psychological shift needed to draw accurately. It helps students 'see' like an artist, which core theme in Brent Eviston’s teaching philosophy. While it focuses less on 'structure' than the course, it is the gold standard for beginning students to overcome mental barriers.
A classic authority on the distinction between 'line' and 'mass' drawing. provides deep theoretical background for the concepts of proportion and form mentioned in the syllabus. It valuable academic reference for students who want a more philosophical and historical understanding of the drawing process.
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Focuses on the industrial design approach to building forms and structure. Published recently, it offers modern exercises that complement the course's focus on dimensionality and texture. It is particularly useful for students who want to apply their drawing skills to product design or engineering.
Provides very basic background knowledge for those who might find Part 2 of Eviston's series a bit too fast-paced. It covers the fundamentals of measuring and simple shading in a very approachable way. It helpful review tool for the most basic concepts of the course.
A world-renowned authority on drawing, Nicolaïdes focuses on gesture and 'contour'—a key part of the course's final module. is best used as a long-term practice guide rather than a quick reference. It adds breadth to the course by introducing a more intuitive, feeling-based approach to structure.
Simplifies the concepts of structure and proportion for those who prefer a more commercial art style. It is very beginner-friendly and helps demystify the 'block-in' method for the casual hobbyist. It serves as a good entry-point or alternative to the more rigorous academic approach of the course.
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As a follow-up to 'How to Draw', this book provides extreme depth on the 'Apply value' learning objective. It professional-level reference tool for students who want to master how light interacts with complex surfaces. It is highly technical and recommended for those who have mastered the basics of form.
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Bridgman is the ultimate authority on seeing the human body as a series of interlocking blocks and wedges. provides deep structural knowledge that supplements the course's focus on form and structure. It challenging but essential reference for any student moving from basic shapes to figure drawing.
Compiles classic lessons from the mid-century's most famous correspondence course, which heavily emphasized the 'envelope' and 'block-in'. It provides a wealth of traditional examples that reinforce the course's lessons on proportion and form. It great historical reference for the techniques Brent Eviston teaches.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/course/z3wwiy/how
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