Drawabox | A free, exercise based approach to learning the fundamentals of drawing

Anyone can learn to draw. It's not some magical talent a few people are born with. It's a skill you can train. We can help.

Drawabox is a set of free exercise-based lessons that focus on the fundamentals - the skills you'll need to make sense of all the other resources and tutorials out there. First we focus on the basic mechanics of mark making, and how to use your arm. By the end, we develop a strong understanding of form, 3D space and construction.

I won't lie to you - our approach is tough and involves a lot of hard work. It's also structured and gives you a clear path with concise explanations and assignments you can complete and submit for review.

You can read more about Drawabox and how it came about here.

Or you can join the community of thousands of beginners and professionals alike and get started.

Sketchbooks

Along with Drawabox work, our community members also post other artwork to their sketchbooks.

  • tonygotcakes's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: The Cursed Circus

  • paperhat's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: The Cursed Circus

  • Nephele_cloud's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • kd123's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • Xahtev's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • Magnetilo's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • Sparrowsky's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Scrap Yard Tank Wars

  • ArtfulArtie's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • Pomecat's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • Grahamv2's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • heghodge's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • rachael's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • BanditOfTheEast's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Goblin Beach Day

  • Elvenfox76795's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

  • Jam3s's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: Secret Garden

Questions/Discussions

Take a moment to answer someone's question, or contribute to a discussion, if you have anything to offer.

  • How to pace yourself for the homework?

    Shay330

  • What to do while waiting for critique?

    insertusernamehere

  • Wrist exercises for relief and prevention - my personal recommendations

    Malcress

  • Lesson 2 - Shadows in texture & L3 texture for leaves

    poorbutcher

Homework

Once you've completed a lesson, one of the best ways to refine your understanding of that material is to help others by critiquing their work. After having done thousands of critiques and having improved immensely over the last few years, I can attest to that myself.

  • Lesson 6: Applying Construction to Everyday Objects

    Tempestsnow

    12:23 PM, Wednesday September 27th 2023
  • Lesson 6: Applying Construction to Everyday Objects

    Simone123

    5:38 PM, Tuesday September 26th 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    funkymills

    3:37 PM, Sunday September 24th 2023
  • Lesson 2: Contour Lines, Texture and Construction

    Jundy

    7:29 PM, Monday September 25th 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    purplebunz

    6:25 PM, Sunday September 24th 2023
The recommendation below is an advertisement. Most of the links here are part of Amazon's affiliate program (unless otherwise stated), which helps support this website. It's also more than that - it's a hand-picked recommendation of something I've used myself. If you're interested, here is a full list.
Ellipse Master Template

Ellipse Master Template

This recommendation is really just for those of you who've reached lesson 6 and onwards.

I haven't found the actual brand you buy to matter much, so you may want to shop around. This one is a "master" template, which will give you a broad range of ellipse degrees and sizes (this one ranges between 0.25 inches and 1.5 inches), and is a good place to start. You may end up finding that this range limits the kinds of ellipses you draw, forcing you to work within those bounds, but it may still be worth it as full sets of ellipse guides can run you quite a bit more, simply due to the sizes and degrees that need to be covered.

No matter which brand of ellipse guide you decide to pick up, make sure they have little markings for the minor axes.

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