• Introduction-Intermediate
  • Drawing

This HYBRID IN-PERSON class is an introductory-level class in life drawing. This is a great follow-up to online Life Drawing Basics: Gesture and Line or Life Drawing Basics: Gesture and Line HYBRID.

Give your drawings more impact and dimensionality. This 5-week online course will focus on the volumes of the human form and methods to show their sculptural volumes through line and through values (lights and darks) in-person, taught from TSA.

Classes will involve instructor demos, support material and lots of drawing time. Working through a series of guided exercises, we will consider the masses and surface volumes of people. We will investigate cross-contour and contour hatching. Shading approaches using conte crayon and charcoal will also be explored.

Each class will be a springboard for recommended at-home exercises, to be shared at the start of the following class.

Students registering in this IN-PERSON version of the course will work in the TSA studio. Instructor Thomas Hendry will also be teaching up to 12 students ONLINE in the online version of this course. It is an experimental approach to teaching both online and in-person together and will include a maximum of 5 students in studio

Note: It is recommended that students have had some prior figure drawing/gesture drawing experience, or at least an introduction to drawing basics as this course is not recommended for absolute drawing beginners.


Winter 2021: 5 Weeks: Tuition: $264 + Model Fee: $60 = $324

PLEASE NOTE: Due to COVID 19, special policies and regulations will apply to all IN-PERSON courses at TSA. Students must be in agreement with these health and safety regulations and TSA policies in order to enrol.


* This course is not currently open for registration

What you will learn

What You Will Learn:

  • Describing the shapes/silhouette of body masses
  • Using line to communicate surface volumes
  • Ways to help control proportions in a drawing
  • Basic principles of light and shadow and how that can show surface volume
  • Ways to use dry media (conte/charcoal/graphite) to show values

Materials to Bring

Please keep your receipts to all purchases in case you need to return any materials.

Students will supply their own materials (paper, ballpoint pen & pencil, conte crayon). Depending on availability, there are Dollar Store/Walmart/Staples alternatives for all exercises.

  • Paper: newsprint ideal, other sketchbook or photocopier bond okay
  • Kneaded eraser
  • Drawing tools: 1 stick of `B' conte crayon, one stick of 1/4" willow charcoal, 1 stick of compressed charcoal or soft black pastel. One stick of red-brown chalk, a soft 3B or 4B graphite pencil (a `woodless' graphite pencil is a good option) or a medium soft charcoal pencil.
  • Support: Unless you are working flat on a table, a rigid drawing board and a sturdy 1" bulldog clip to secure your paper.
  • Plus any drawing materials that you may already have.