Basic Skills / Getting Started with Drawing
Brent Eviston · Master Artist & Instructor
A working teacher of 20 years distils drawing into repeatable, physical techniques, not talent.
What you will learn
- Drawing with a light, adjustable underdrawing before committing to darker lines
- Drawing circles and ovals using shoulder-driven momentum rather than tracing slowly
- Building straight lines, angles and quadrilaterals (horizontal, vertical, oblique)
- Translating complex curves into a small number of straight-line angles
- Constructing eggs, bent shapes and gesture lines as building blocks for organic forms
Standout ideas
- Using your shoulder as a compass and drawing circles/ovals with speed and momentum rather than slow tracing
- Evaluating a complex curve by first fixing its start and end points, then filling in the fewest angles needed to describe it
- Treating the axis line of an oval or egg as a line of symmetry to check whether both halves genuinely mirror each other
Best for: Complete beginners who want a structured, project-based routine to build core pencil control before attempting real subjects.
The course is methodical and genuinely mechanical in its teaching, breaking drawing down into pencil grip, line weight, shape construction and curve-to-angle translation before any subject is attempted, which suits a true beginner well. Its slow, one-skill-per-day pacing and heavy repetition (100 circles, 100 ovals) mean it rewards patience and consistent practice rather than quick results. The transcript sample covers only the shape fundamentals; the promised demo projects (scrub jay, botanical) are not shown here but are listed as later lessons applying the same principles.