Take your drawing to the next level

Learn to draw from the best with APW Drawing Basics for Animation.  For over 23 years, we’ve helped students master drawing and produce their best work yet.

Drawing excellence
is essential.

We’ve designed Drawing Basics for Animation to cover exactly what you need to know in order to produce your best drawings yet and, perhaps more importantly, to be able to meet the challenges of learning animation.

Drawing Basics for Animation

If you’re thinking about getting into animation and your drawing skills need sharpening, this is for you. Our beginner level observational drawing course will teach you all you need to know.

With 126 hours of instruction, you’ll learn the basics of Life Drawing for Animation and Drawing for Animation. This is an abridged version of our highly successful Animation Portfolio Workshop curriculum which has been honed over 23 years by professional animators and artists.

This course is designed to give you a firm handle on the drawing fundamentals that you need for animation AND an opportunity to do key exercises multiple times over 126 hours of class time with the input of an instructor. Our experience has shown us that you need more than a one-off drawing class or a Youtube video to really understand the material to the point where you can use it with confidence and improve your drawing.

Details

In Drawing Basics for Animation you will learn the basics of observational drawing and put them into practice over 126 hours of instruction. You will not be creating an animation portfolio.

This is perfect for students who aren’t ready to apply for an animation or visual arts program, or who want to gain a strong grasp of drawing before jumping into our portfolio course.

Classes are live and interactive. There are no grades or assessment, but you will receive regular feedback to help you reach your full drawing potential.

Course Outline

The course provides an in-depth introduction to Drawing for Animation and Life Drawing for Animation. 

Life Drawing for Animation

  • Introduction to gesture
  • Contour 
  • Mass
  • Modelling 
  • Alignment
  • Proportion 
  • Structure
  • Light and shadow

Drawing for Animation 

  • Object drawing 
  • Plane studies 
  • Structure
  • Perspective
  • Drapery
  • Composition
  • Sequential storytelling
  • Proportion
  • Light and shadow

Sections

ONLINE

September 19 – December 21, 2023 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 6:00 – 9:00 PM EST 
$3,000 CAD + HST

January 30 – May 2, 2024 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 6:00 – 9:00 PM EST 
$3,000 CAD + HST

May 14 – August 15, 2024 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 6:00 – 9:00 PM EST 
$3,000 CAD + HST

Drawing excellence is essential
Learn from the best.

Our students have been admitted to top animation schools around the world.

Drawing Basics for Animation 1
Drawing Basics for Animation 2
Drawing Basics for Animation 3
Drawing Basics for Animation 4
Drawing Basics for Animation 5
Drawing Basics for Animation 6

Frequently Asked Questions

Drawing Basics for Animation differs in two important ways:

  1. No Portfolio
    In APW Drawing Basics for Animation there are no one-on-one portfolio review sessions with an APW Director and there is no portfolio at the end of this course. If you are interested in creating a portfolio please click here
  2. Shorter Duration
    The APW Drawing Basics for Animation class is 126 hours of in-class instruction.  A regular APW Session of classes is 228 hours of class-time over 38 weeks.

Just like in our Animation Portfolio Workshop sessions, students in our Drawing Basics for Animation will receive live input on their drawings. An APW instructor teaches and demonstrates each drawing exercise and monitors the progress of each student.

Drawing Basics for Animation differs in three important ways: 

1. More Instruction Time
Students receive 126 hours of instruction. Most general drawing courses only provide 15-25 hours of instruction. Our course delves more deeply into the subject area.

2. Comprehensive Curriculum
This curriculum has been honed in our highly successful Animation Portfolio Workshop. It has been abridged for this course in order to offer students an opportunity to improve their drawing skills before they face the demands of our portfolio workshop. We want our students to walk away knowing how to draw well and feel more confident as an artist.

3. Animation Specific
Our course is specialized for students interested in animation, but is also applicable to illustration, and visual arts. You will learn practical and foundational elements that a non specialized, general drawing course can’t cover.

No, we are all about starting at the beginning and building up a solid understanding of drawing fundamentals.  Anyone who is interested can register.