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.

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 2: Contour Lines, Texture and Construction

    PGcools

    5:23 PM, Wednesday May 31st 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    Fairuz

    2:05 AM, Sunday May 28th 2023
  • Lesson 6: Applying Construction to Everyday Objects

    Art101

    1:08 PM, Sunday May 28th 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    Haider4123

    10:14 AM, Friday May 26th 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    Diamond0738

    11:34 PM, Saturday May 27th 2023
  • Lesson 6: Applying Construction to Everyday Objects

    GuilhermeSilva

    11:30 PM, Friday May 26th 2023
  • Lesson 5: Applying Construction to Animals

    GuilhermeSilva

    11:27 PM, Friday May 26th 2023
  • Lesson 2: Contour Lines, Texture and Construction

    inspireanart

    3:01 AM, Friday May 26th 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    ShunnedPies

    3:17 PM, Wednesday May 24th 2023
  • Lesson 3: Applying Construction to Plants

    Mkades

    6:37 PM, Wednesday May 24th 2023

Questions/Discussions

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

  • Lesson 7 is daunting and complex!

    Himanknyx

  • Any way to stop being impatient?

    SeanyBoy33

  • Is it acceptable to fill out the front face with a light marker instead of hatching?

    olddesklamp

  • community critique

    melos

Sketchbooks

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

  • emelianth's Sketchbook: Prompt: Little boba shop

  • Drego47's Sketchbook: 6 Months of Progress

  • lolu's Sketchbook: Drawing Prompt: The Court of the Rat King

  • PickUpAPen2245's Sketchbook: [Chainsaw-Man] Kobeni

  • Lane89's Sketchbook: Test album

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.
Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens

Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens

Like the Staedtlers, these also come in a set of multiple weights - the ones we use are F. One useful thing in these sets however (if you can't find the pens individually) is that some of the sets come with a brush pen (the B size). These can be helpful in filling out big black areas.

Still, I'd recommend buying these in person if you can, at a proper art supply store. They'll generally let you buy them individually, and also test them out beforehand to weed out any duds.

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