• Introduction-Intermediate
  • Drawing

This ONLINE course for beginners and more experienced artists will do a deep dive into these 3 parts of the figure that express so much of who we are. Upgrading your skills in this area will give you a big boost of confidence when drawing portraits, sketching in public or, for life drawing. This course is also ideal for anyone developing a portfolio for programs in fine art, animation, game design or illustration. 

To ensure your progress, practice between classes is strongly recommended.

Note: Megan will be using 2 cameras for demonstrations and a live model.


Spring 2021: 8 wks: Base Tuition: $325 + Model fee $90 = Total: $415

TSA will deliver this course using ZOOM. Prior to the course session, you will receive an invitation for the session(s) via email. You'll need a laptop, desktop or tablet, internet connection with good bandwidth and headset (either wired or wireless). We recommend that you set up a free ZOOM account and be familiar with ZOOM prior to the class beginning.  Here is a link to help you get started: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697

Notes: Megan Williams has taught at the Toronto School of Art for over 20 years, offering courses in figurative drawing and painting, practical history of technique and the development of a personal creative voice. Administratively, she has served as Co-director of the School, in program development and in fundraising. Williams has also has taught at OCAD and currently teaches at Sheridan College in the School of Animation Arts and Design. Williams is a recipient of two Greenshields grants (1981–82/1983–84) to study in Europe and is also a published author of a francophone collection of Canadian rhymes and songs from families from coast to coast, gathered during travels from Northern B.C. to the East Coast; she grew up as a bilingual Montrealer. She has also worked as a cartographer for the Near Eastern Studies Department of the U. of T., on site in the Nile Delta, Egypt, from 1981 to 1985. 1982 Joint Program in Measured Drawing for Archeology, Rhode Island School of Design/Cornell University, Rome, Italy 1982 Surveying/Cartography, Ryerson, Toronto 1981–1982 Figurative Studies/Printmaking, St. Martin’s School of Art, London, U.K. (Part-time) 1980 Associate of Ontario College of Art (AOCA), Ontario College of Art
* This course is not currently open for registration

What you will learn

  • Approaches to fast drawing of heads, hands & feet
  • Schematic anatomy that is easy to remember for slower detailed drawings
  • Proportion and strategies for easy checking of measurements
  • Specific instruction on the eye, nose, mouth, ear and hair
  • How to be versatile with broad as well as finely detailed media

Materials to Bring

Please keep the receipts for any materials incase you have to return anything.

  • Newsprint pad 18 x 24” and piece of plywood/Masonite for a drawing board or,
  • A large spiral bound sketchbook with stiff cardboard backing such as Robert Bateman Cover Series 14” x 17” sketchbook.
  • Sketchbook small enough to take out on walks – you decide what is easiest to carry
  • Kneadable Eraser & white plastic eraser
  • Sand Paper Paddle 
  • Craft knife or Exacto knife
  • Black conte sticks (2 pc) B, Black conte sticks (2 pc) 2B
  • Graphite pencil HB and 2B 
  • 2 Prismacolour pencil crayons: one in black; one in any light colour for underdrawing