Art is one of the world's favourite hobbies, and for some people it is even a career. Whether you're looking to become the next Van Gogh or just want to be able to sketch competently, we've explored some of the best drawing classes London has to offer to help people to get into this area of art.
Fortunately, art is often the first fundamental art skill people learn, and London offers many drawing and sketching classes that people can potentially get involved in, some of them offered by institutions with hundreds of years of history and expertise.
So let your creativity flow and join a drawing class in London.
| Organisation | Types of Courses | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| The Royal Academy of Arts | Life drawing, sketching, history of art, and much more | Advanced learners |
| Sketchout | Museum tours with sketching | On location |
| The Art Academy | All levels of ability, “Drawing For All”, life drawing, silverpoint drawing | Specific beginner classes |
| The London Fine Art Studios | Both weekly introductory sketching courses and full-term art courses | Group learning |
| The Sunny Art Centre | Introductory taster sessions to full 11-month drawing courses | Exhibition opportunities |
| Royal Drawing School | Full intensive courses as well as introduction classes | Intensive sketching courses |
The Royal Academy of Arts
As one of the oldest fine art institutions in the country and Europe, it is natural that The Royal Academy of Arts boasts some of the best drawing classes in the capital.
As part of their constant effort to promote art, they offer year-round drawing and painting workshops as well as drawing classes. They focus on short courses (ranging from weekend-long to five-week-long) but also provide morning, afternoon and evening sessions.
The Royal Academy of Arts has been operating since 1768
Most courses are accessible to beginners, but some will recommend that you have at least some prior knowledge or experience in drawing.
The RA offers many different courses which make it easy to develop your skills and improve your drawing techniques as you go along.
While the Academy offers many different life-drawing sessions, often guided by expert artists and Academicians themselves, as a student of the Royal Academy of Art you will also have access to the Royal Academy's Archive and Collection, making your learning experience uniquely interesting.
For the Mancunian artists out there, check our guide to Manchester's best drawing classes.
If you're just starting on your artistic journey, the RA offers a weekend-long practical course called "Drawing: the essentials". During this course, you will study the fundamentals of drawings. You will be using both object matter and life models and learn how to represent lines, tones, perspectives, and scales, as well as exploring measuring and foreshortening.
The courses are the Royal Academy of Arts are not the cheapest. However, many courses include all drawing materials, light refreshments and lunches each day as well as a drinks reception at the end of the first day.
But most importantly this course will give you access to the most experienced teacher in the city. The tutor of the "Drawing: the essentials" class is no less than Dr Sarah Simblet author of Anatomy for the Artist (2001), The Drawing Book (2005) and Botany for the Artist (2010), and instructor in Anatomy at the Ruskin School of Art.
Best for: Advanced learners
Location: Piccadilly
Beginners welcome? Yes
Sketchout
If you wish to take your museum visit to the next level, Sketchout is for you.
Founders Rosa Roberts (who graduated in Fine Art at Central St Martins) will take you to the best art galleries in London. Sketchout classes are held right in the middle of the V&A, the Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery and the Courtauld Gallery, where students can enjoy the splendid sculptures and artwork collections.
Classes are kept to small groups which ensure that each student will receive plenty of one-to-one time with the art tutor. These workshops are open to all levels of drawing so do not be scared to join even if you are an absolute beginner.
Sketchout is a great way to improve your observation and drawing skills quickly. The "Fundamentals of Drawing" sessions, divided into two parts, are there to teach you the basic principles of drawing: recognising line, tone and scale, shading and depth.
These sessions usually last 4 hours (with one more hour for lunch), and you will have the chance to draw some of the incredible artwork on display in the capital.
For intermediate and advanced drawers, Sketchout also offers a course on "Drawing Faces" held at the National Portrait Gallery and will use varied materials (coloured papers, dark and light pencils, graphite sticks and water-soluble pencils).
You can also join Sketchout for one of their architectural session at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Then you will learn about methods and techniques used to represent perspectives, vanishing points, space and depths.
Look up drawing lessons for kids.
Best for: On location
Location: Museums of London
Beginners welcome? Yes
The Art Academy
The Art Academy of London was founded almost 20 years ago by Tanya Russel. The small and independent school offers high-quality tuition in the domain of fine arts.
The school runs pre-degree and art diploma curriculums every year which you can join part-time or full-time.
Besides that, it also hosts numerous short courses and masterclasses in its studios located near London Bridge and Elephant & Castle.
In collaboration with Benoît Deschasaux
Classes are on almost every night and one particular workshop called "Drawings for Beginners" will be perfect to get you up to speed on drawing techniques, still-life and life drawing composition as well as portraiture.
One of the great things about attending the Art Academy is that you will be able to broaden your artistic horizon very easily as the school also gives classes about painting, sculpting, printmaking, ceramics & glass arts as well as digital art.
If you already mastered the art of drawing, you could attend a digital animation or digital illustration course. If you think that oil painting on canvas is too messy, join the Academy's digital painting and Photoshop technique workshop.
Additionally, if you think that practical knowledge isn't enough for you and would like to learn more about art, join the school's introduction classes to contemporary art and modernism.
If you live in the north. read more about Leeds' best drawing courses. If you are going even further north, you will find many great drawing courses in Glasgow.
Best for: Specific beginner courses
Location: London Bridge
Beginners welcome? Yes
The London Fine Art Studios
The London Fine Art Studios were founded two years ago by artist and teacher Ann Whitebridge. Located in Battersea, South London, her studios cater to the capital's ever-growing artistic crowd.
No need to have ever held a drawing pencil in your life to join: courses are aimed at all levels of students, and foundation classes will introduce you to the fundamentals of drawing and oil painting.
Once you completed the foundation class, you will be able to progress onto some of the other courses on offer at the London Fine Art Studios.
You will be able to tackle figure and portrait drawing, working on live models, and more.
The studios also offer bespoke courses for groups between six and ten people, gather your friends and learn how to draw together.
To all the Brummie artists out there, Superprof also has a guide to the best drawing classes in Birmingham.
Best for: Group learning
Location: Battersea
Beginners welcome? Yes
The Sunny Art Centre
The Sunny Art Centre is located on the grounds of the historic Honorable Society of Gray's Inn, on the eponymous street of West London. Dating back to the late 14th century, this was where Shakespeare performed his first plays and where Francis Bacon composed some of his famous artwork.
The centre also owns astonishing paintings, sculptures, ceramics, antique furniture and numerous other exceptional artwork.
Focusing on drawing and painting techniques, the classes held in the Sunny Art Centre will teach you everything you need to know about charcoal and graphite drawing, oil and chalk pastel sketching, oil and acrylic painting or watercolour and inks
With classes limited to ten students at one time, teachers have plenty of time to go around the classroom and give personal advice to each of their trainee artists depending on each’s perspectives, opinions, or personal goals.
This very personable approach of the centre is what makes it so valuable: each student will be able to progress at their own rhythm. Artists in training are all nurtured according to their creative backgrounds.
There is no fixed date to join the different courses the Sunny Art Centre offers which makes it easy to jump on board at any given time during the year.
Best for: Exhibition opportunities
Location: Covent Garden
Beginners welcome? Yes
Royal Drawing School
The Royal Drawing School is another excellent option for learners, it is located in the artistic area of Shoreditch and has a lot of different ways for beginners to learn, including a very impressive intensive course.
The intensive drawing course lasts for three months, it is part-time but allows learners to pick up a huge amount of knowledge in a relatively short space of time.
They also offer short, one-day and weekend courses that are a good way to try out the offerings of the Royal Drawing School and see if this learning style is for you. During the summer holidays, they also offer specific courses for young people such as an introductory course for 10-14 year-olds.
Best for: Intensive sketching courses
Location: Shoreditch
Beginners welcome? Yes
Overview of Sketching and Drawing Classes in London
London, a vibrant hub of creativity and culture, offers a plethora of opportunities for individuals seeking to explore the art of drawing.
Whether you are a beginner looking to develop fundamental techniques or an experienced artist seeking to refine your craft, these esteemed establishments provide a diverse range of drawing lessons to cater to all levels of expertise. From established art academies to community-based studios, each location offers a nurturing environment for artistic growth.
For an easy overview, the table below shows which drawing class London may have in store for you, based on location and other factors such as the ability level.
| Organisation | Level | Cost | Length | Types of Courses | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Royal Academy of Arts | Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced | From £65 upward for classes (£420 for weekends) | Variable | Life drawing, sketching, history of art, and much more | Advanced learners |
| Sketchout | Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced | Variable | One day | Museum tours with sketching | On location |
| The Art Academy | Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced | £105-675 | One day, weekend, and weekly courses | All levels of ability, “Drawing For All”, life drawing, silverpoint drawing | Specific beginner classes |
| The London Fine Art Studios | Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced | From £8 for weekly sketch lessons, up to £2,725 for a term course | Minimum 90 minute weekly classes | Both weekly introductory sketching courses and full-term art courses | Group learning |
| The Sunny Art Centre | Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced | £605 – £1178 (length of course dependant) | 5-11 months (2 hour weekly lessons) | Introductory taster sessions to full 11-month drawing courses | Exhibition opportunities |
| Royal Drawing School | Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced | £280 upwards for courses (there are some free/cheap taster sessions) | Variable | Full intensive courses as well as introduction classes | Intensive sketching courses |
Find A Private Drawing Teacher On Superprof
If any of these schools does not appeal to you or if you would rather have an art teacher coming to your home to teach you how to draw, have a look at our online tutor platform. On there you will be able to find a private tutor near you and see reviews that former students have left.
With more than 120 private tutors on there (just in London) we guarantee that you will find a teacher that fits your needs and help you achieve your goals as well as being only minutes from you.
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