Drawing Skills Line Online Short Course

Topics covered

• Observation and accuracy: sharpening your ability to observe and record shapes, distortions, and viewpoints. You’ll learn how to capture how lines shift to create form and represent perspective.
• Line and mark-making: exploring how to use line to build texture and detail. You’ll practice varied techniques (light vs. bold lines, hatching, contour, cross-hatching) to convey depth and surface qualities.
• Materials and techniques: experimenting with pencil or pen on A4 or A3 paper, with a focus on control, variation, and consistency in line.
• Visual interpretation: learning how to make creative choices about subject, viewpoint, and composition to create an interesting and visually complex drawing.
• Planning and setup: selecting a subject (shoe, plant, or shell), deciding on viewpoint, and arranging it thoughtfully on the page to showcase your skills.
• Evaluation: polishing your drawing with care, evaluating your use of line, and reflecting on how well your final piece demonstrates the criteria.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Select a subject and viewpoint suitable for line drawing
• Observe and record how lines and shapes distort to create form and texture
• Apply a range of line techniques to convey depth, surface, and detail
• Control drawing materials to create consistent, effective results
• Make creative choices about subject placement, scale, and viewpoint
• Refine and evaluate their line drawing against assessment criteria
• Submit high-quality photographic evidence of their process and final work
• Receive a digital badge and certificate of attendance

Materials

To successfully complete the course, you'll need the following materials and tools to support your drawing practice. Additionally, you may want to have a comfortable workspace with good lighting to enhance your observation and drawing process:

• Pencils (preferably a range of grades, from 2H to 6B, for varying line and shading techniques)
• Drawing Ink
• Charcoal
• Fineliners
• Oil pastels / Soft pastels
• Erasers (a kneaded eraser and a precision tip eraser for fine details)
• Paper (high-quality drawing paper, such as Bristol board or smooth texture for detailed work)
• Ruler (for straight lines and accurate measurements)
• Protractor (optional, for measuring angles if needed)
• Sharpener (a good pencil sharpener for maintaining pencil points)
• Blending tools (for smoothing and blending shading)
• Digital camera (for photographing your work during various stages for self-reflection and assessment)
• Computer or tablet (for uploading and submitting images, as well as using any digital resources provided in the course)

Please see our Guide to taking online short courses 

Tutor

Joe Richardson

Joe Richardson is a multi-disciplinary artist working between painting, video, collage, audio and sculpture.

Richardson's works operate in the space between the performance of an action and its anticipated outcome, for example, the smashing of a glass, a character falling in a canal, a breakthrough in communication.

His works perform as double acts, facades, and stages 'that deconstruct everyday scenarios through repetition to the point of absurdity to produce purgatorial experiences of waiting, spaces of absurd nothingness, and the opportunity to navigate uncertainty'.

His recent projects include a solo exhibition at Cine-Window, Winsford, a duo show at FIVE YEARS, 'Pesaro Voeslauer' and a group show at London Lighthouse Gallery. Richardson also has a permanent display of video works available to view in the lobby of Universal Music, 4 Pancras Square (next to Central Saint Martins).

Alongside his professional art practice, Richardson is a freelance tutor at UAL Short Courses and City Lit, teaching painting, drawing, and collage.