WHAT COURSE SHOULD I DO?
If you are unsure what course is right for you, please use the guidelines below to help direct you. Alternatively, send us an email and some examples of your work at shortcourses@artacademy.org.uk
Choose your medium
Choose your level
Beginner
Choose a Beginners course if you are looking for a broad introduction to the medium you are studying. Students spend time learning the very basics of the taught medium, for example, how to mix colours, use different tools, set up an easel. Our Beginner courses are suitable for students with no prior experience, they tend to follow a more structured path than our other courses, ensuring each student receives the guidance they need from the tutor.
Beginner +
Choose a Beginner + course if you are looking to hone your skills, focus on a specific subject area and build your confidence. These courses are suitable for those with some basic skills in and knowledge of the taught medium, but still follow a structured path with guidance from the tutor.
Intermediate
Our Intermediate courses are suitable for students who have considerable prior knowledge of the taught medium or have completed a Beginners/Beginners + course with the Art Academy.
These courses tend to be less structured and instead are tailored to the classes’ needs and the direction they want to advance in. Choose an Intermediate course if you are looking to improve your skills and have more critical discussions around the work you produce.
Advanced
Choose our Advanced courses if you have considerable knowledge in the taught medium. You are expected to be able to work independently and have critical discussions around your work. Our Advanced courses include our Masterclasses.
Some of our courses are all levels. Students can move at their own pace depending on their experience, with as much support from the tutor as they wish.
Drawing
Beginner/Beginner+
Drawing for Beginners Stage 1
A creative introduction to the basic skills of drawing through various drawing approaches including still life, life drawing and portraiture (Beginner level)
Drawing Stage 2
An ideal next step for those with basic drawing skills to explore drawing further through an exciting thematic approach, including rhythm, mystery, energy and harmony (Beginner + level)
Drawing Stage 2 - The Portrait
Working mainly from models, students will explore portrait through a practical and structured approach (Beginner + level)
Drawing and Painting for Beginners
An opportunity to gain fundamental drawing and painting skills, whilst blurring the boundary between drawing and painting by using both wet and dry materials together (Beginner level)
Intermediate
Drawing Stage 3
This course is designed for students who have either completed our ‘Drawing for Beginners Stage 1’ and ‘Drawing Stage 2’ courses or already have some experience of drawing, and want to take their skills to the next level. Over the course, students will explore drawing from observation, memory and imagination, developing a deeper understanding of drawing and greatly enhancing drawing skills.
Drawing Anatomy
This life drawing course is designed to help you gain a deeper understanding of the human figure from an anatomical perspective (Beginner + level)
All Levels
Drawing for All
A wonderful opportunity for people with all levels of experience to explore and enhance their drawing and life drawing skills. This is an intensive, informative, and fun weekend course, which teaches essential drawing skills whilst encouraging a creative approach.
Drawing in Museums
This course is suitable for all skill levels and is designed to enable students to express a creative response to museum artworks, as well as develop an understanding of how artworks are put together to create particular impressions upon the viewer.
Drawing on Location
You will draw in outdoor or indoor locations such as cafes and undercover markets. During this course you will learn fundamental observational skills such structural drawing, measuring, tone and basic perspective.
Urban Sketching
Make quick freehand sketches of the architecture and buildings in the local urban environment to master techniques in perspective and geometry. Each of the two days will start in our studio before going outside to draw the local area.
Open Life
Running on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, our Open Life courses can be booked in full or as drop in sessions. This is a relaxed and enjoyable life drawing & painting course with a life model for various poses. Your experienced tutors will happily guide both beginners and the more experienced students.
Painting
Beginner/Beginner+
Painting for Beginners
This is a well-structured course for those who have never painted before or want to reassess their approach to painting, you will gain experience and skills in painting still life, self portrait and the interior. You will be using acrylic paints (beginner level)
Creative Painting for Beginners
This is an exciting course that will stimulate your creativity and teach you how to use paint through a variety of different techniques such as line, tone, understanding colour as well as the application of paint. (Beginner level)
Introduction to Oil Painting
A well-structured course for those who have never painted with oil paints before or want to start from the beginning. Students learn to see colour, shape and tone and relate all these elements together through composition. (Beginner Level)
Drawing and Painting for Beginners
An opportunity to gain fundamental drawing and painting skills, whilst blurring the boundary between drawing and painting by using both wet and dry materials together (Beginner level)
Portrait Painting
Working with oils paints, students will learn to see form and colour accurately and will use these skills to better create loose, expressive portraits. (Beginner + Level)
Intermediate
Intermediate Painting
This exciting course looks at a variety of techniques, materials and styles and will help you engage with the subject matters and styles that excite you and assist you in bringing them into your own artworks.
Painting - Developing Your Style
This course focuses on developing each student’s style of painting, both through pushing creative expression and refining technical ability.
Advanced
Portrait Painting Masterclasses
Each term we offer a variety of portrait masterclasses where you will work under the guidance of a professional artist. These courses focus on the painting style and technique of the tutor and will aim to strengthen your already established technical ability in portrait painting.
Figure Painting Masterclasses
Each term we offer a variety of figure painting masterclasses where you will work under the guidance of a professional artist. These courses focus on the painting style and technique of the tutor and will aim to strengthen your already established technical ability in painting the figure.
Landscape Masterclasses
We offer a variety of landscape painting masterclasses where you will work under the guidance of a professional artist. With our London Bridge studio as a base, we will make use of the historically fascinating and energetic surroundings to create dynamic urban landscapes, considering movement, detail and narrative potential.
All Levels
Abstract Painting
This is a fun, relaxed course offering a structured introduction to abstract painting. You’ll build your confidence and gain a practical understanding of the fundamentals of painting, including colour, tone, mark-making and composition.
Painting Outdoors
This is a fun course that offers the fantastic opportunity to paint in and around London’s urban landscape. Working with quick sketches in oil or acrylic, students will practice how to efficiently and accurately capture tone and colour outside.
Open Life
Running on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, our Open Life courses can be booked in full or as drop in sessions. This is a relaxed and enjoyable life drawing & painting course with a life model for various poses. Your experienced tutors will happily guide both beginners and the more experienced painters.
Sculpture
Beginner/Beginner+
Introduction to Sculpture
An ideal start point for those wishing to explore sculpture techniques and ideas. This course covers both foundation technical skills and a creative exploration of different materials and ways of working across clay, plaster, wire and other materials (beginner level)
Introduction to Clay Sculpture
This is an exciting introduction for beginners, as well as for those with some previous experience, to gain or develop basic clay sculpture skills. Working in clay, you will learn a range of techniques with the opportunity to explore your own creative project (beginner level)
Introduction to Pewter Casting
This practical course is suitable for beginners and experienced artists who want to experiment with metal cast sculpture (beginner level)
Portrait Sculpture for Beginners
This course aims to introduce you to the process of portrait sculpture; to observe and translate your observation into a clay portrait sculpture from a life model. (Beginner Level)
Figure and Portrait Sculpture
This course is an opportunity to explore both the full figure and a portrait head sculpture. You will work from a model to get a flavour of the challenges and thrills of both of these disciplines, covering measuring skills, observational skills and preparation of a piece for firing (Beginner + Level)
Intermediate
Intermediate Sculpture - The Portrait
In this course you will be making a portrait in clay using a measuring technique originating from stone carving, sight size comparisons and directional light. The emphasis will be on understanding and emphasising the anatomy and structure of the head.
Intermediate Sculpture - The Figure in Motion
Working in water based clay, students will learn to capture gesture, proportion and movement, to create an expressive piece with energy and character.
Advanced
Figure Sculpture Masterclass
This advanced course is perfect for students with experience of working directly from life who wish to push their technique further.
Portrait Sculpture Masterclass
This advanced course aims to build upon your previous experience to further how to observe and translate your observation into a clay portrait sculpture from a life model.
All Levels
Sculpting in Metal
‘Sculpting in Metal’ is an opportunity to explore the various practical processes involved in making metal sculptures. This course is an excellent opportunity to work on an individual project in a workshop with an experienced tutor.
Sculptural Ceramics
Ceramic in sculptural form is a non-traditional way of using Terracotta clay to create contemporary sculptures. This class is suitable for beginners with no background in ceramics as well as more advanced 3D artists.
Printmaking
Beginner/Beginner +
Printmaking for Beginners
This popular course is ideal for beginners or repeat attendees, offering an in-depth introduction to printmaking. You will work in both relief and intaglio to create two print editions over the weekend with expert guidance from an experienced printmaker.
Introduction to Japanese Woodcut
Japanese Woodcut or Mokuhanga is a relief process that is completely non-toxic in that it uses watercolour pigments and nori (rice starch) instead of oil-based ink. This course is the perfect introduction to this technique with an experienced printmaker.
All Levels Courses
Etching Techniques
We offer a variety of etching courses covering techniques such as hard-ground, soft-ground, sugarlift, spitbite, monotype and photopolymer. These courses are flexible, open to complete beginners or for those developing their skills.
Relief Printing
We offer a variety of relief printing courses covering techniques such as linocut and multi plate woodcut. Relief printing focuses on form and texture; you will learn to combine the tone, hue and saturation of multiple colours to achieve an edition of prints on archival Italian paper.
Collagraph Printmaking
This course is suitable for relative beginners but will also benefit those who have attended previous collagraph courses. Collagraph relies on texture to build up plates that can be printed both in intaglio or relief and as a multi-plate print.
From Life Drawing to Print
This is a wonderful combination of life drawing and the varied mark making of print where students will translate drawing and observations into a variety of printmaking techniques.
Ceramics & Glass
All Levels Courses
Hand Built Ceramics
This exciting course will introduce you to the methods and creative potential of hand built ceramics and surface decoration. Students will explore techniques such as pinch pots, coiling, slab building, coloured slip work and glazing.
Kiln Formed Glass
An exploration of the intriguing, magical world of kiln formed glass. This course allows you to learn a variety of techniques including fusing, slumping, hand cut stencils, sandblasting, inclusions, uv bonding and surface decoration.
Sculptural Ceramics
Ceramic in sculptural form is a non-traditional way of using Terracotta clay to create contemporary sculptures. This class is suitable for beginners with no background in ceramics as well as more advanced 3D artists.
Digital Art
Beginner/Beginner +
Digital Illustration
The aim of this course is to give students a solid overview of the many possibilities Photoshop offers in terms of digital drawing. Each class will be exploring a different type of illustration, including portraiture, character design and environment design. (Beginner Level)
Digital Animation
The aim of this course is to give students an overview of digital animation using Krita as well as understanding the basic principles of animation. It will be a drawing-focused animation course and students will be encouraged to develop their style and storytelling ideas (Beginner Level)
Digital Photography for Beginners
This course gives students the chance to learn how to use their own Digital SLR camera. The experienced tutor will guide you step by step through the functions on your individual camera model and how you can move away from auto modes in order to create stunning, professional looking images. (Beginner Level)
Digital Photography: Landscape, Portrait and Still Life
This course will build on your existing photography skills and introduce different types of specialist photography. You will learn more about how to use your camera as well as gaining a technical overview of how to photograph landscapes, portraits & still lives successfully. (Beginner + Level)
All Levels Courses
Fine Art Photography
A perfect class for beginners with a fine art interest as well as for those with more experience who would like to further explore photography within their creative practice. This class will have a look at how to shoot interesting painterly still-life and portraits taking inspiration from master paintings.
Urban Photography
Shooting London by early evening/ night. Students will have a chance to shoot their own urban landscape/street photography images in the heart of London.
Taster Courses
Still not sure what course to choose?
You could try a specific medium on one of our Taster Days or multiple subjects on our longer Mix Courses.