If you want to get better at drawing but have no idea where to start, then you will LOVE this guide.
Below you will find a list of the best free and paid drawing tutorials online.
Each website I’ve either personally tried (and labeled it as ‘Recommended’), or has come highly recommended by fellow friends and artists
To make it even easier for you, you’ll get a quick snapshot to let you know the level of teaching you can expect, whether it’s paid or not and what each site specializes in. You can also read a short review and summary of what you can expect.
Here is the list of the best drawing tutorials that you can find online:
1. New Masters Academy
Hands down, the best all-round painting, sculpting and drawing tutorials I’ve found online…
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced
- Paid Subscription
- Highly Recommended
- Specialty: Drawing, painting, sculpture, composition, perspective and anatomy. Pretty much everything related to the fundamentals for art.
New Masters Academy is an online art education website that provides incredibly high-quality tutorials at a low monthly cost.
It mainly focuses on art fundamentals, with an emphasis on figure drawing. It also has one of the most in-depth perspective drawing courses you’ll come across!
What is really exciting about these workshops is the artistic talent they have teaching. Artists such as Steve Huston, Bill Perkins, Glenn Vilppu, Joe Weatherly and Gary Meyer are several artists who have contributed to this education platform.
Each lesson is incredibly in-depth and easy to follow. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a beginner just starting to learn how to draw, there is always something for you. Check out this free video on their Youtube Channel:
In addition, to some of the best online art classes available, they also have a huge library of 3D scans of live figure models and an incredible image library with over 30,000 images of people, drapery, anatomy, and animals. By far the best I’ve encountered…
New Masters Academy is my #1 recommended course if you want to improve your drawing skills.
Get the BEST PRICE until the end of April
2. 21 Draw
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate
- Paid Online Courses
- Specialty: Learn How To Draw Environments, Creatures & Characters.
Are you interested in character design, creature design, or environment design? Then 21 Draw is for you.
21 Draw had humble beginnings as a crowdfunding campaign back in May 2014 which has now evolved into a very successful collaboration of professional artists to help art students get better at their craft. They do this by providing excellent online courses, books and resources. Each course is detailed, professional made and easy to follow. You want to give 21 Draw a try today, you can learn the basics of how to create an animation character using traditional media for free.
These courses are definitely worth the time and cost if you are serious about improving your artworks and designs.
Related: Read our full 21 Draw Review
3. Proko
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced
- Paid & Free video tutorials
- Highly Recommended (His anatomy course is one of the best I’ve done!)
- Specialty: Figure Drawing & Human Anatomy
Intimidated by how much there is to learn about drawing? Stan Prokopenko has bought together an excellent collection of fun resources for artists including simple to follow (and often hilarious) instructional drawing videos. From drawing hands to learn how to draw eyes, learn how to draw the human body with his easy step-by-step lessons.
The Proko classes feel like you are in the studio with Stan receiving in proper technical instruction. His courses aren’t free, however, they won’t break your bank account. Proko gives you the option to buy bundles, saving you even more.
In the meantime, he has set up some excellent easy drawing tutorials for beginners on his Youtube Channel.
Related:
Read our full Proko Figure Drawing Course Review
Read our full Proko Premium Anatomy Course Review
4. James Gurney
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced
- Free Youtube tutorials. Paid Video Courses and Books
- Highly Recommended
- Specialty: Painting, light and color.
James Gurney is a professional artist, most known as the author and illustrator of the Dinotopia series. He is also an excellent teacher, with some incredible videos, books and online courses available.
His “how-to” art books, in particular, are an excellent resource to own. I have both his Color & Light and Imaginative Realism books and continually reference them. They are incredibly informative and a pleasure to the eyes. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned artist, I highly recommend them!
His Youtube channel is a fantastic free resource with detailed how-to guides as you follow him as he paints his latest piece. His online tutorials are easy to follow and informative. His explanations behind why he does what he does give you some amazing insights to improve your own drawing process. He has a gift of finding the magic and beauty in the ordinary. If you are like me, it won’t be long till you have his videos playing in the background as you create your own masterpieces.
James also has a website and blog which has its own hidden gems for fellow art geeks. If you like his Youtube videos, he has some courses on Gumroad which go into a ton more detail. I’ve bought a couple myself, and they are excellent.
5. Scott Robertson
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced
- Free & Paid
- Recommended (His books are my go-to to learn how to draw and render)
- Specialty: Industrial design, perspective, rendering & 3D composition
Scott Robertson is a concept artist well known for his transportation design work. If you are interested in industrial design, Scott’s books are amazing, and his Youtube channel is brilliant.
In his videos he goes through how he draws, not shying away from subtle fundamentals such as line weight, perspective and developing your free hand drawing skills.
If you are struggling with drawing vehicles, buildings, or robots, then this is the perfect resource for you.
His books and Gumroad Tutorials are a go-to resource for anyone wanting to master realistic drawing and design. His How to Draw book, is a must for any artist!
6. Draw A Box
- Perfect For: Beginners
- Free
- Recommended
- Specialty: Learn how to draw the basics of form, dynamic and constructive drawing, and the human figure.
Run by artist Irshad Karim, Draw A Box’s humble beginning was as a subreddit where artists could complete lessons and partake in challenges to further their skills.
The Draw A Box website takes it a step further with in-depth step-by-step lessons, complete with easy to follow videos on Youtube, exercises and homework assignments.
Personally, I love the attention to detail. Irshad is obviously passionate about drawing and it shows in the amount of effort put into this free drawing resource.
Combined with a great community on Reddit, beginners can feel comfortable sharing their work and getting constructive feedback from the community. This is the perfect place to start if you want to learn how to draw.
7. Jake Parker
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate
- Free Youtube Tutorials. Paid Course Subscription
- Speciality: Inking, Drawing Fundamentals, Art Motivation
Jake Parker is the creator of Inktober, a children’s book illustrator, comic book author, and all round nice guy.
His Youtube channel covers everything from how to ink and tips to improve your drawings to career advice and promoting yourself on social media. He gives great advice and is not afraid to have a laugh. His step by step drawing lessons are fun, informative and simple to follow. I also just love geeking over his inking styles.
If you are interested in getting into Illustration, I highly recommend you check out his site SVS Learn, where he has paired up with other art industry leaders to provide some incredible online tutorials. These tutorials cover everything from the fundamentals of art and storytelling in art, to career advice and selling your work online.
The SVS Learn community is also incredibly friendly and great for anyone who is looking to hang out with some very talented artists.
8. Sycra Art Videos (Youtube)
- Perfect For: Beginners
- Free Videos
- Specialty: Drawing basics, light & shadows, case studies and speed painting.
Sycra has created a huge variety of content that is great for those new to drawing. His videos are very personal as he walks you through the different processes as he draws.
His Youtube tutorial videos often highlight common issues when drawing and how he overcomes it. Many of his videos feel like an over the shoulder classroom as he takes you through different drawing processes.
9. Art Of Wei (Youtube)
- Perfect For: Beginners
- Free
- Specialty: Drawing specific characters, celebrities, objects and animals.
Wei has put together an awesome collection of simple, easy to follow videos as he draws people, objects and animals in real-time. Whether you want to learn how to draw eyes or want to draw realistic movie characters, he provides plenty of easy examples while talking you through the process the whole way. His portrait videos are excellent examples of how to draw realistic sketches from reference.
In each video, Wei talks about the importance of reference marks for accuracy and shading to bring out the forms.
10. Anthony Jones (Robot Pencil Design)
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced
- Free
- Specialty: Digital painting & workflow in Photoshop
Anthony provides a great set of Youtube videos on digital painting and concept art workflow in Photoshop.
His videos are sprinkled with some excellent tips that will take your drawing to the next level. He also has some good videos on drawing practice and studying to get better results.
11. Gnomon Workshop
- Perfect For: Intermediate, Advanced
- Paid Subscription
- Recommended
- Specialty: Drawing, sculpting, painting, 3D modeling, animation, composition & more.
They have a huge library of over 300 titles covering multiple art subjects and techniques. They cover everything from design, drawing, oil painting, as well as 3D modeling, texturing and animation.
When I first discovered Gnomon Workshop you would order a course online and they would mail out a DVD set. Things have changed since then! To access all of their content, you can now pay a monthly subscription fee, or you can pay yearly a cheaper price.
Some of the online training can be a little bit overwhelming for beginners, however, for people who are looking to take their skills to the next level, then Gnomon Workshop is awesome.
12. Ctrl + Paint
- Perfect For: Beginners
- Free
- Specialty: Drawing composition, using digital tools, art theory, and mindsets.
Matt Kohr has created a well-organized library of hundreds of professional video tutorials. Matt is personable as he clearly explains different digital drawing techniques. If you are a beginner looking to buy a drawing tablet, then Matt’s tutorials are a great start. This is my favorite resource if you want to learn how to draw digitally.
Each video provides clear step by step instructions, common mistakes, and easy homework assignments that challenge and helps you grow. He covers everything from the fundamentals and using them to drawing realistic and believable environments, characters and vehicles.
13. Draw With Jazza (Youtube)
- Perfect For: Beginners
- Free
- Specialty: Drawing fundamentals, cartoon and animation.
Jazza’s Youtube channel is full of fun, informative, and easy drawing tips. He doesn’t do many tutorials anymore, so check out his older videos for the best how to draw guides.
In each video, he breaks down each technique he uses, while also sharing different methods to ones he favors. He covers everything from traditional and digital drawing techniques to photoshop and flash tutorials. Whether you love using colored pencils, paint or a tablet, he has something for you.
His channel also includes competitions and some amazing interviews with other professional artists.
14. Mark Crilley (Youtube)
- Perfect For: Beginners
- Free
- Specialty: Anime, manga, chibi, and art fundamentals.
Does the thought of anime or manga make your heart beat a little bit faster?
Mark has created an excellent collection of videos to help you learn how to draw different manga and anime styles, but also improve your general pencil drawing skills.
Mark provides simple, easy drawing guides, sprinkled with excellent tips, as he walks you step-by-step through the many different facets of Japanese drawing styles.
I particularly love how he compares cartoon style to realism, to help you to figure out what might be missing in your composition.
And for those who don’t have a drawing tablet, Matt works mostly with pencil on paper.
15. LethalChris Drawing (Youtube)
- Perfect For: Beginners, Intermediate
- Free
- Specialty: Drawing specific characters, objects, and creatures.
Chris has put together some amazing videos walking you through the process of how he draws everything from anime characters and fantasy creatures to random and interesting objects.
He clearly explains what to do, how to do it, and also why he is doing it (which I love!). A great example is his easy drawing tutorial on how to draw smoke:
This tutorial shows Chris’s thought process behind the drawing and how that adds up to the final result.
So, what did you think of these online drawing tutorials? Did you have any tutorials you always recommend to artists?
