RESOURCES & FAQs

Lyra Rembrant Polycolor Pencils

I use Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Pencils in The Art & Science of Drawing series. They are oil-based colored pencils that are smooth, consistent and wonderfully pressure sensitive.  Here are some of the individual colors I recommend:

• Indian Red
• Dark Sepia
• Peacock Blue
• Black
• Van Dyck Brown
• True Blue

Here are some options to buy a set of assorted colors of Lyra Rembrant Polycolor Pencils from Amazon.

• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor Art Pencils, Set of 12
• Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Colored Pencils, Set of 24
• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor Art Pencils, Set of 36
• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor Art Pencils, Set of 72
• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor Art Pencils, Set of 105

Derwent Drawing Pencils

Black and brown Derwent Drawing Pencils are dense and creamy.  If you want a rich beautiful darks in your drawings they are hard to beat.  Particularly if you’re an artist with a light touch who struggles to make bold marks, this is the pencil for you.  Use this kind of pencil for larger, bolder drawings.

Their only downside is that, due to the softness, they are easy to accidentally smear when drawing, but with mindful use, Derwent Drawing Pencils are wonderful drawing tools.

White Derwent Drawing Pencils are my pencil of choice when drawing with white on toned papers.  They put down a warm, opaque white that looks gorgeous on most toned and colored papers. Here are some of the individual colors I buy.

• Derwent Round Drawing Pencil Ivory Black
• Derwent Drawing Pencil, White

Here are some options to buy a set of assorted colors of Derwent Drawing Pencils and a tin for storage:

• Derwent Drawing Pencils and Accessories, Metal Tin, Set of 6 (Amazon)
• Derwent Drawing Pencils Set of 12 (Blick)
• Derwent Colored Drawing Pencils, Metal Tin, Set of 24

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils

These oil-based colored pencils are another favorite of mine.  They are similar to the Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor pencils.  Here are some recommended colors:

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil, Caput Mortuum

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil, Dark Sepia

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil, Indian Red

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil, Van Dyck Brown

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil, Dark Indigo

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil, Black

With An X-Acto School Pro Electric Pencil Sharpener

Many art teachers tell their students that they must shape their pencils with a razor in order to draw. I don’t believe that’s true.  If you know how to draw, you will be able to do so regardless of material.  The pencil sharpener I use is the X-ACTO School Pro. I have one in all of my studios and  I take one with me on the road when I teach in-person classes and workshops.  It’s designed for elementary school classrooms which makes it able to stand up to rugged studio use.  They last years and they are easy to open up to remove any leads that may break in them.

The only downside is that, if you’re using extremely soft art materials like pastel pencils, you have to sharpen with care because the softer the lead, the more likely it is to break while sharpening.

• X-ACTO School Pro Classroom Electric Pencil Sharpener (Amazon)
• X-ACTO School Pro Electric Pencil Sharpener (Blick)

Yes! The materials don’t matter nearly as much as learning the universal concepts I’m teaching.  Whatever you have around should be sufficient to get started.  As you progress, you might find that you are a heavy handed drawer and should therefore begin with a harder, lighter pencil. If you’re using graphite that would  be something in the H range (the higher the number next to an H, the harder and lighter the pencil will be). If you’re struggling to get dark lines, something in then B range will work best (the higher the number next the B, the softer and darker the pencil will be). I share the materials that I use as a starting point for students, but they are what feels right to me.  I would recommend that you try out a few different materials and see what you like!

The pencils I use do not erase quite as easily as graphite.  Most drawing pencils don't. But don't let this discourage you.  Since you're going through the series I'm sure you know that I'm not big on erasing errors anyway.  In my in-person studio classes I do not put erasers on the supply list and often go so far as to ban them entirely when students are learning to draw.  The reason is that, when students are learning, they will often do almost as much erasing as drawing, often without any investigation or learning from their earlier iterations.  Remember, the eraser wasn't invented until the 1700's.  This means we went through the entire Renaissance without erasers.  The masters of the Renaissance were drawing using a similar approach to what I'm teaching in this series: Beginning with incredibly light lines and only darkening lines you want seen by a viewer. Earlier iterations were seen as invaluable to the finished work and can be clearly seen in the backgrounds of even the most famous finished drawings.

The reason I’m not very specific is because at this stage the materials don’t matter nearly as much as learning the universal concepts I’m teaching.  Whatever you have around should be sufficient to get started.  As you progress, you might find that you are a heavy handed drawer and should therefore begin with a harder, lighter pencil. If you’re using graphite that would  be something in the H range (the higher the number next to an H, the harder and lighter the pencil will be). If you’re struggling to get dark lines, something in then B range will work best (the higher the number next the B, the softer and darker the pencil will be).In this series I’m using a linseed oil based colored pencil called Rembrandt Polycolor made by the company Lyra.  It feels right to me.  I would recommend trying out a few different materials and see what you like! 

18X24" Pad of Newsprint

Learning to draw requires lots of practice and much of that practice consists of drills like practicing basic shapes and volumes.  I would recommend doing this kind of practice on newsprint. Newsprint is non-archival, meaning that it will become yellow and brittle over time. Drawings on newsprint are meant for practice, not for keeping.  Save the nicer paper for more finished work. 

• Canson Biggie Newsprint Pad - 18” x 24” 100 Sheet Pad
• Canson XL Newsprint Pad, 18x24" 100 Sheets

18X24" Pad of White Drawing Paper

If you want to keep a drawing, you should draw on archival paper.  Archival paper will not become discolored  or otherwise degrade over time.  With care, it will look as fresh as the day you drew it for years to come.  Here are cost effective pads of white drawing paper:

Strathmore 400 Series Recycled Pad of Paper, 18x24”, 24 Sheets

Strathmore 400 Series Heavyweight Drawing Pad, 18x24”, 24 Sheets

Canson Mi-Teintes Paper, 19x25”

I use this high quality, archival paper for drawings I might exhibit.  It comes in a range of colors and each side has a different texture.  White is my most commonly used color but this paper comes in a range of colors that work great for drawing with black and white pencils on a middle value paper.  Here is a list of my most commonly used colors:

Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Paper, White

Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Paper, Black

Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Paper, Felt Gray

Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Paper, Light Blue

Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Paper, Steel Gray

Fabrian Tiziano Paper, 20x26”

This paper is similar to Canson Mi-Teintes paper but it has the same texture on both sides.  If it’s a texture you like, this may be a better bargain than Canson Paper because you can draw on both sides of the paper.  It is almost entirely opaque so you will not be able to see much of what’s on the other side.

Fabriano Tiziano Paper, Felt Gray

Fabriano Tiziano Paper, White

Fabriano Tiziano Paper, Rose Gray

Most beginning students are not familiar with the overhand grip, the most common and useful grip used by professional artists.  When drawing using the overhand grip, most of the motion comes from the shoulder and elbow, not the wrists and fingers.  18x24" paper helps students adjust to drawing with the full arm.  Also, drawing small can be more difficult because we have very little room to maneuver.  Larger paper allows us more freedom to draw big and get deeper into the drawing. 

Hollow, Metal Edge Drawing Boards

I prefer hollow, metal edge drawing boards.  They are lightweight and come in a range of sizes making them easy to use and transport. I have many of them in my studio.  You will need to purchase either clips or artist’s tape to secure your paper to the board while drawing. Here are the sizes I use most:

Helix Metal Edge Drawing Board, 18x24”

Helix Metal Edge Drawing Board, 20x26”

Helix Metal Edge Drawing Board, 24x36”

Kneaded Erasers and Vinyl Erasers

I primarily use kneaded erasers because they are gentle and lift pigment off the page without scrubbing.  They can be shaped to suit many purposes.  When I need to remove as much pigment as possible I use vinyl erasers.  Here’s a list of my most commonly used erasers:

Faber-Castell Dust Free Vinyl Eraser (Blick)

Faber-Castell Dust Free Vinyl Eraser (Amazon)

Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser (Blick)

Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser (Amazon)

Upright Easel

I own and use multiple kinds of easels depending on what and where I’m drawing.  They fall into three categories.  The first is a traditional upright easel.  This kind of easel works best if you stand when you draw.  they come in many sizes.  I have a medium sized easel because I mostly draw on 18x24” paper but I like the option to draw on larger surfaces (24x36” or larger).  This medium sized easel works great for my most common size of paper, doesn't;t take up too much room and can accommodate larger surfaces when it needs to:

Best Classic Dulce Easel

Drawing Horse

I often sit while I draw, particularly during long figure sessions.  For this I own and often use a drawing horse, or what is also known as a bench easel.  It’s called a drawing horse because you straddle the bench with your drawing board leaned upright in front of you.  This is the kind of setup you’ll find in most drawing studios.

Art Horse

Tabletop Easel

Many art studios only have tables and not easels or horses.  Table top easels are a great way to keep your drawing board upright in these kinds of situations.  Although, keep in mind that they require a table.  They do not work well in plein air situations.  Here is one I commonly use:

Best Deluxe Table Top Easel

This model is attached to a box where you can store and transport art supplies:

Travel Box Table Easel

I have many metal rulers.  In the course you will see me use a cork backed Alvin or  Helix.  There are many good brands of  these kinds of rulers. 24" is a good length to start with.

• Alvin 24" Flexible Stainless Steel Ruler (Amazon)
• Alvin Non-Skid Stainless Steel Ruler, 24" (Blick)

All of these are resources I personally use. Some of these are affiliate links that I get a small commission for referring - thank you for your support by buying through these links!

Eviston, Brent "The Art and Science of Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw Any Subject", 2021.  

Lee, Stan and John Buscema , How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way, 1978

Loomis, Andrew, Successful Drawing, 2012

Simblet, Sarah, Sketch Book for the Artist: An Innovative, Practical Approach to Drawing the World Around You, 2005

Remember that you can start The Art & Science of Drawing with any materials you have around the house. A number 2 pencil and the back of a piece of paper will be a fine start! For my some options for beginners you can check out these lists on Amazon.

And if you're in the UK, this list on Amazon UK. And in Canada, this list on Amazon CA.

The Drawing Laboratory is a four part series. The first two courses have been released:

How to Draw: A Beginner's Guide

Drawing in 3 Dimension

The Art & Science of Drawing series is designed to take students from the absolute basics to advanced drawing techniques like perspective drawing and shading. If you're a beginner, we recommend going through the entire series in the following order:

The Art & Science of Drawing:

BASIC SKILLS

DYNAMIC MARK MAKING

FORM & SPACE

MEASURING & PROPORTION

CONTOURS

SHADING FUNDAMENTALS

SHADING BEYOND THE BASICS

The Art & Science of Figure Drawing:

GESTURE

VOLUME & STRUCTURE

SHADING

If you've got some drawing experience, feel free to mix and match the courses to suit your personal needs as an artist!

Yes!

You can get 10% off the set of all seven of The Art & Science of Drawing courses or all five of The Art & Science of Figure Drawing courses on my website with the coupon code: WEBSALE. The coupon code also works for each of The Drawing Laboratory courses.

The Art & Science of Drawing series teaches the fundamentals of drawing. The tools and techniques taught in this series are at the foundation of all forms of representational art from realism to comics, to expressive art.

The fundamentals of good drawing are the same across media so yes, this course will absolutely work for you. I have had thousands of students go through my courses using digital media. You may have to adapt some of the techniques to whatever app you're using.

The courses are probably not appropriate for your young child learning to draw online. Brent designed the courses in The Art & Science of Drawing for adults. He does have a number of high school age students taking his courses who get a lot out of it if they are dedicated. The youngest student we know of who has gone through some of the courses on their own and do moderately well has been 11.

We have had some parents and grandparents go through the beginning courses (starting with Basic Skills) with their children. The adult can then adapt the course content for the interest, ability, patience, etc of their child.

For courses purchased on www.brenteviston.com we offer a Money Back Guarantee which is a refund to a customer who has viewed less than 60% of a course and requests a refund within 30 days of purchase. If you are not satisfied with our product, then simply send us an email and we will refund your purchase.

Yes, Brent is available for in-person instruction with students in Central Oregon. Please email to arrange in-person instruction. 

Once you have purchased courses on brenteviston.com you can access them by logging in here.

I recommend completing one lesson per day, as instructed but, as I say in the course, try doubling or tripling the amount of practice for each lesson. If you feel you need additional practice, you can always practice the projects from previous days. I recommend going through the entire series once and then go through it again. You can't practice the fundamentals too much. Once you've got the fundamentals down I recommend moving on to figure drawing.

If you’ve already gone through the Art & Science of Drawing, many of the lessons and projects in the Drawing Laboratory will be familiar. But The Drawing Lab goes into much more depth than the original Art & Science of Drawing courses. 

The original Art & Science of Drawing series is a concise guide to the basics of drawing. The Drawing Laboratory is a much more comprehensive guide to drawing that teaches new tools and techniques, offers new insights, and includes more detailed demonstrations. I have also improved the production values and tried to create something that will stand the test of time.

Once all four courses in The Drawing Laboratory are complete, this new series will offer a lot to students who have already gone through the original Art & Science courses, while also providing opportunities to continue to practice familiar fundamentals. 

You can sign up here to get free access to YouTube reference photos.

If you already signed up you can access the YouTube reference photos here.

Thank you for buying the book "The Art & Science of Figure Drawing"! To access hundreds of nude figure drawing reference photos that accompany the book please sign up here.

Drawing the figure from imagination is one of the most advanced drawing skills. I highly recommend having some serious study and experience before attempting it.
When I draw from imagination I use all of the same tools and techniques I teach but instead of drawing from observation, I imagine the figure in my head and construct it on the page. After extensive practice and study you will understand the body well enough to know what happens to all of the volumes as they change positions. You're welcome to try, just be patient and realize how complex and advanced this subject is. It's critical you have very strong fundamental drawing skills before beginning drawing from imagination. 

The practice routines I recommend are already built into the course. That's why I recommend doing the recommended practice at the end of each lesson, and then moving onto the next lesson. I don't expect perfection before progressing through the series. In fact, it's unreasonable to expect that you'll master any of these skills individually before moving on. Each lesson and course in the series builds upon the last so you will have ample opportunity to practice basic skills with each new course and lesson.

Learning a new skill from home requires you to self assess, which it sounds like you're doing. But it's perfectly fine to continue to practice circles and ovals, making adjustments to your process and you feel you need, but also moving on with other lessons.

As for your drills, remember, there's not single "correct" way to draw or practice. It's up to you as a student to figure out what is benefiting you. If you find an exercise useful and see progress in your prate, keep it up!

Finally, try and manage your expectations. Even seemingly simple skills take much more time and practice than most students realize. That's perfectly normal. Most students go through the entire series and then go back to the beginning to refine their skills. In fact, I still regularly practice everything I teach in this basic skills course, and I've been drawing seriously for over 25 years!

It depends.  Generally speaking it's good not to touch the paper with your hand because it can smear pigment depending on what type of drawing media you're using. I sometimes allow my hand to tough the paper at the beginning of a drawing or to soften the image if it's a desired effect. It's just dexterity and practice. Try and be patient.  Even these seemingly simple skills take a long time to develop.

Yes! Nearly everything can be resolved with mindful practice. Remember, you've likely had years, if not decades to practice the tripod grip. If you remember back, the tripod grip was just as awkward for writing when your first learned it. Give the overhand grip some time. I have never had a student who regrets putting in the time to learn it. 

This is a common issue and will resolve with practice. You're noticing the issue and that's the first step. With each new circle you draw, try to intentionally lighten the pressure on one side of the stroke and increase pressure on the side that is currently lighter.  

One of my jobs as a drawing teacher is to manage student's expectations.  There are no substitutes for patience and intentional practice.  I know 200 circles may seem like a lot when you're starting out but I measure my practice in thousands, not hundreds.  Keep at it and it will come  In the meantime, feel free to continue with the other lessons.  This is a minor issue and shouldn't prohibit you from moving forward.  

As I say in the course, there is no single "correct" way to draw. It's important to experiment to see what works for you. Whether or not you should turn the paper is also a personal decision. Needing to turn it can be a problem if you want to progress to an easel where the drawing always remains in the same position, but if you plan on maintaining the drawing setup you're currently using it may not be a problem. If you're planning on progressing to other courses in the series, like Measuring and Proportion, it does become more important to keep your paper and drawing board locked down.

Fortunately, the edges of your paper are vertical so you always have a true vertical to compare your lines to.  While you’re practicing, it might help to keep your vertical lines drawn close to the vertical edges of the paper so you can quickly and easily compare them.  Also, I highly recommend pantomiming your straight lines before making them, even if you are pantomiming for what seems like an eternity.  The idea is that you pantomime with the tip of the pencil just slightly above the paper until you can see that your hand and pencil are moving vertically and only then drop the pencil tip down to make contact with the paper.  

I would recommend re-watching how I’m demonstrating to see if there is anything you might be doing differently.  Try focusing solely on my hand and arm movements and ignore the lines that I’m drawing.  Students often find that they are stopping their pantomiming before putting the pencil tip down, or not pantomiming until they achieve a true vertical before drawing, etc. 

Finally, it’s important to remember that you should expect to attempt vertical lines hundreds of times before you can reliably get them to be vertical.  With each new attempt, asses how close to vertical it is and then aim to correct in your next attempt.  If, after hundreds, if not thousands of attempts, you’re still struggling, you’re always welcome to use a drafting triangle, t-square, or one of the many other tools that are designed to make this easier.

The Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor (and other pencils I recommend) pencils do not erase quite as easily as graphite.  Most drawing pencils don't. But don't let this discourage you.  If you're going through my courses I'm sure you know that I'm not big on erasing errors anyway.  In my studio classes I do not put erasers on the supply list and often go so far as to ban them entirely when students are learning to draw.  The reason is that, when students are learning, they will often do almost as much erasing as drawing, often without any investigation or learning from their earlier iterations. 

Remember, the eraser wasn't invented until the 1700's.  This means we went through the entire Renaissance without erasers.  The masters of the Renaissance were drawing using a similar approach to what I'm teaching in this series: Beginning with incredibly light lines and only darkening lines you want seen by a viewer. Earlier iterations were seen as invaluable to the finished work and can be clearly seen in the backgrounds of even the most famous finished drawings. 

Everyone has this experience with some aspect of the drawing process.  Some students love the 3D drawing but struggle with expression.  Other students rejoice at the shading process but struggle with measuring and proportion.  The idea with this series is not that you will master each technique before moving on, but that you understand why these techniques are important and how they are done.  If you've done the practice for this week, I would encourage you to continue to the next lessons with the understanding that the various techniques that are covered in this series are simply different tools in your drawing tool box.  It's up to you to decide which ones to master and which ones are rarely removed from the tool box.  

Regarding dealing with frustration with the process, it's important to understand that parts of this process will feel like work, and that's okay.  Drawing is fun and rewarding, but it's also hard.  If it were easy, more people would be good at it.  In my experience, frustration comes right before a breakthrough.  Improvement in drawing isn't ever an even upward progression.  In fact most of the time you learn a new tool or technique, your drawings will get worse before they get better. This is normal and natural.  It takes time and practice to incorporate a new technique into your developed habits.  

The Art & Science of Drawing series is designed for you to go through it repeatedly, each time getting a better at the skills taught.  Hopefully you'll find that, once you've finished the course for the first time and are on your second time through, that these lessons come easier and more enjoyably.  I hope this helps.

It really is just personal preference. Both ways are considered acceptable and widely used. It is my preference to use as few tools as possible while drawing.  It seems to me to be overly complicated to switch tools whenever I want to shift values.  But many people find this a more manageable way to divide up the shading process.  

The concept of using different pencils for each value also gets complicated because the value of a 4B, let's say, will be different from manufacturer to manufacturer and it's highly unlikely that any individual 4B pencil you buy will be the perfect value for your value scale.  Finally, each individual pencil grade is still susceptible to value changes depending on the pressure you use.  Things get even more complicated when trying to figure out when to switch pencils on a smooth gradation.

To sum up: I prefer learning to create 5 distinct values by modifying the pressure of a single drawing tool rather than learning the correct pressure to use consistently for up to 5 different pencils to get the same effect. This is how I would recommend learning and, if after consistent practice, you feel that you are really struggling modifying value using pressure, slowly add a new pencil into the mix.

Note: Obviously, I'm using two pencils when drawing on toned paper, one white pencil and one black pencil.

At the beginning stages, most bad habits are developed from students being too eager to do completed drawings too quickly.  Most people are familiar with directed art lesson done in elementary school classes where the teacher leads students through a series of steps that yield a completed work for the frame or fridge.  Most people assume that all art is taught that way and are often surprised to learn that learning to draw is much closer to learning an instrument.  It takes hours and hours of drills and practicing fundamentals before one ever plays an actual song.  I know it can e frustrating holding yourself back from doing more finished work, but it's worth it if you want to get good at drawing.

The bad habits to watch out for are:

Drawing too dark when laying a foundation of basic shapes

Not drawing angles and axes accurately before building a shape on top of them

Beginning with small details rather than with big, simple shapes

Trying to finish a drawing by adding dark lines and details before the basic shapes and proportions have been worked out

Trying to shade a drawing before understanding volume and light logic

If you're following the program and doing the practice you should be fine.  The Art & Science of Drawing series is designed to streamline your learning, but only if you stick with the program.

Yes! My first book "The Art and Science of Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw Any Subject" was published in 2021. You can purchase an eBook  or a print copy at most booksellers. There is also an Italian Version: L'arte e la scienza del disegno. Osservare, analizzare e riprodurre qualsiasi soggetto

My second book "The Art and Science of Figure Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw the Human Body" is available in print and as an eBook. You can order a copy  now.

Yes!

In the UK:

The Art and Science of Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw Any Subject

The Art and Science of Figure Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw the Human Body

In Canada:

The Art & Science of Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze and Draw Any Subject

The Art and Science of Figure Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw the Human Body

In Germany:

The Art and Science of Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw Any Subject

The Art and Science of Figure Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw the Human Body

In Italy

The Italian Version: L'arte e la scienza del disegno. Osservare, analizzare e riprodurre qualsiasi soggetto

The Art and Science of Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw Any Subject

The Art and Science of Figure Drawing: Learn to Observe, Analyze, and Draw the Human Body

Aristides, Juliette, Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice, 2006

Aristides, Juliette, Lessons in Classical Drawing: Essential Techniques from Inside the Atelier, 2011

Hale, Robert Beverly, Anatomy Lessons From the Great Masters, 2000

Hale, Robert Beverly, Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, 1989

Hale, Robert Beverly, Master Class in Figure Drawing, 1991

Maughan, William, The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head, 2004

McGraw, Sherrie, The Language of Drawing: From an Artists Viewpoint, 2005

Peck, Stephen Rogers, Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist, 1951

Richer, Dr. Paul, Artistic Anatomy by Richer, Dr. Paul, Hale, Robert Beverly, 1986

Simblet, Sarah, Anatomy for the Artist, 2001