Basic drawing
This course welcomes first-time artists and learners returning to the fundamentals. Build skill while enjoying the focus and satisfaction of turning careful observation into a finished drawing.
High school to adultIndividual lessons for each student
Pencil drawing120 minutes per lesson
Shape and balance,from the basics.
For high-school students and adults: learn the foundations of drawing by observing shape, light and shade, and balance.
- You want to start drawing, or relearn it from the basics
- You have tried drawing, but shape and balance don't come out right
- You want to learn volume and how to add shadows
- You want fundamentals you can use in illustration and manga
- You want to enjoy drawing as a hobby, not for an entrance exam
Whether you want to enjoy drawing as a hobby, build fundamentals for illustration or manga, become a tattoo artist, or use drawing in your work, the course fits your own purpose.
Drawing fundamentalsfor the pictures you want to draw
The balance of a face or body, the folds in clothing, the depth of a background. Drawing these takes the ability to look closely at shape, light and shadow.
In drawing from observation, you look at what is in front of you and draw it while comparing size and angle, and the light and dark areas. That practice carries over to illustration, manga and the other pictures you want to draw.
We look at your drawing in progress and go over the difficult parts together with the instructor. Lessons start from the practice you need, matched to where you are now and what you want to learn.
For students who need one, we make a personal curriculum.
What you learn in lessons
Getting the shape
You draw while comparing the size, angle and the ratio of height to width of what you draw. Practising checking your drawing against the shape you see, and correcting it, helps when you draw faces and bodies, and the shape and balance of small objects.
Light and shade
You observe where light falls and where shadow forms, and draw while changing the pencil's darkness. Learning where to make it light and where to make it dark helps you show roundness and thickness in people and objects.
Composition
You think about where on the paper to place what you draw and how large, while watching the empty space. This practice helps you make the people or objects you want to show stand out in an illustration, and balance the whole picture.
Texture
You observe wood, cloth, metal, paper and more, and practise drawing the differences in their surfaces with line and tone. Once you can draw the softness of cloth or the shine of metal, your clothes and small objects show what they are made of.
Drawing from observation
You compare the sizes and positions of objects against each other, and correct your drawing while checking it against them. It is practice in finding what is different when something feels off, and fixing it yourself.
Drawing lessons
Student work
Pencil still life of boxes, gloves, and ribbon
Questions about drawing
- I'm a complete beginner. Is that all right?
- Yes. You can start from how to hold a pencil. We ask what you would like to draw and teach to where you are now.
- Can I attend without taking an entrance exam?
- Yes. The course is also for people who want to enjoy drawing as a hobby, and for those learning fundamentals for illustration or manga. Lessons follow what you want to learn.
- Does it help with illustration and manga?
- Yes. For example, it helps when you draw the balance of a face or body, the folds of hands and clothes, the depth of a background, and light and shadow. You can practise the fundamentals the illustrations or manga you want to draw call for.
- I don't know what to fix.
- You and the instructor compare your drawing with the still life together, checking shape, light and shade, balance and more. We tell you what to fix and what to practise next.
Tuition
- Lesson length
- Each lesson is 120 minutes.
- Enrollment fee
- ¥22,000
| Frequency | Monthly tuition, tax included |
|---|---|
| 2 lessons / month | ¥12,760 |
| 4 lessons / month | ¥18,150 |
| 8 lessons / month | |
| 12 lessons / month |
Paying for a full year at once gives you a discounted price. If you’d like to pay yearly, please ask us.
Trial booking & inquiry form
Ask about trial lessons, courses, or ways to attend.