Skillshare
The Art & Science of Drawing (Brent Eviston) Review — 29 Learner Opinions Analysed
Brent Eviston's The Art & Science of Drawing is the most consistently recommended beginner drawing foundation in our design corpus — a systematic, one-skill-per-lesson path through mark-making, measuring, proportion, 3D form, contour and value. A Hacker News user recommended the series "without reservation", and CourseDuck reviewers call it the clearest beginner instruction they have found. Buy it if you want to actually learn to draw from the fundamentals up and are willing to do the practice — calibrated against the fact that it is deliberately foundational, with light peer feedback and no advanced or stylistic specialism.
Final score
from 29 analysed opinions
Published AI-researched, editor-audited
Distribution of opinions
Per-criterion scores
A genuinely systematic fundamentals curriculum — mark-making, measuring, proportion, 3D form, contour, and light-and-shadow — taught one skill at a time with clear demonstrations. Reviewers repeatedly call it the clearest beginner drawing instruction they have found. Capped only because it is deliberately foundational: no advanced rendering or stylistic range.
Eviston is the standout. Across our sample he is described as thorough, clear and easy to follow, and a Hacker News user recommended his series "without reservation". Twenty-plus years of studio and academy teaching show in the structured, one-skill-per-lesson pacing.
Included in the Skillshare subscription (~$14/month). The full multi-class Art & Science of Drawing path — basic skills through shading — sits inside one subscription, so a learner who works the sequence over a month or two gets an entire foundations program for the price of one month of access.
Every lesson ends with a concrete practice project, and the Skillshare projects tab carries thousands of student submissions. Learners report visible week-one improvement. Capped because the projects are skill-building drills, not a portfolio-grade body of finished work, and peer feedback is light.
The fundamentals — observation, proportion, constructing 3D form, controlling value — transfer directly to illustration, design and any subsequent drawing study. Reviewers note the skills make it easier to pick up later, more specialised classes. Limit is scope: it teaches the foundation, not a finished professional specialism.
What learners said
What people loved
6- Systematic, one-skill-per-lesson structure that takes absolute beginners from lines to shading in a logical order×18
- Brent Eviston is repeatedly praised as thorough, clear and easy to follow — recommended "without reservation" on Hacker News×16
- Each lesson ends with a concrete practice project, and learners report visible improvement within the first week×12
- Teaches drawing as a learnable skill, not innate talent — works for people who were sure they "couldn't draw"×10
- The fundamentals make later, more specialised classes easier to pick up — a strong base layer for any drawing path×8
- Skillshare subscription (~$14/month) unlocks the whole multi-class Art & Science of Drawing sequence at once×6
What frustrated learners
5- Deliberately foundational — no advanced rendering, composition or stylistic range; it is a base, not a finish line×6
- Requires real practice between lessons; passive watching alone produces little — the gains are in the drills×5
- Peer feedback on the Skillshare projects tab is sparse — most submissions get little or no critique×4
- The full foundation spans several separate classes, so "the course" is really a multi-week sequence, not one short class×3
- Mixing it lesson-by-lesson with another curriculum is discouraged — follow one program as designed rather than cherry-picking×2
Real quotes from real users
“Yes. I can without reservation, recommend Brent Eviston's "art and science of drawing" series.”
“The art and science of drawing, starts from the basics of how to draw lines and moves its way through measuring, 3d forms, contours, and then into shading and finally gesture followed by full sketches.”
“Brent is very thorough in describing every detail of the drawing. He speaks very clearly and concisely.”
“Absolutely fantastic course for beginners! Never realized how much drawing is about SHAPES.”
“There's a heck of a lot of info and ideas that Brent came out with that I feel that this Basics course will be one that I will be coming back to again and again.”
“There's no harm in doing any other courses alongside Drawabox as long as you have the time. Do not dismantle and reconfigure separate courses, expecting one to fill the resulting gaps in the other.”
“Drawing is not a talent. It is a skill anyone can learn.”
“Drawing is not in the genes, but a science that everyone can learn with the right guidance and a commitment to practice.”
Frequently asked questions
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How we evaluated this
This review synthesizes 29 opinions collected across the public web. Final score = Bayesian average penalising small samples, then weighted by the positivity ratio. No paid placements, no hidden agenda.
- 2 from Hacker News
- 5 from Blogs
- 22 from Forums