Free Art Lessons from Artyfactory

 

Art Lessons

Artyfactory offers free art lessons for all. Our aim is to share our knowledge, understanding and experience of art to improve your artistic skills and to increase your enjoyment in creating artworks.

 

African Masks

Our lessons on African Masks teach you about different styles of masks, who makes them, how they are made and where they come from. You can also design your own African mask by following our illustrated lesson with simple step by step instructions.

 

Ancient Egyptian Art Lessons

Our Ancient Egyptian Art Lessons teach you about Egyptian art, gods, crowns, symbols and hieroglyphics. We invite you to try our painting lesson on how to create the time-worn effect of an Ancient Egyptian Portrait. We also host a lesson on how to create an Ancient Egyptian Cartouche using our simplified Hieroglyphic Alphabet.

 

Portrait Lessons

Our Pencil Portrait Lesson teaches you how to draw a portrait by explaining and illustrating each stage of the drawing process. We begin by exploring the basic proportions of a head. We then look at the technique used to draw each of the features of the face. Finally we take you through the entire process of drawing a portrait from a basic line study to a finished tonal drawing. We also throw in a page of pencil shading exercises to help you develop your tonal drawing technique.

 

Charcoal Portraits

In our lessons on Charcoal Portraits, we guide you through various step by step tutorials that illustrate a classical approach to drawing with charcoal and chalk. These include individual lessons on How to Draw the Face, How to Draw the Eyes, How to Draw the Nose, How to Draw the Mouth and How to Draw the Hair. We also explore different Portrait Lighting Setups and explain the Materials and Techniques you need for charcoal drawing.

 

Color Pencil Portraits

In our Color Pencil Portrait Lesson we will lead you from the first tentative marks that you make on the paper, gradually building up the layers of line, tone, color, pattern and texture to complete a complex and skilful portrait. We also focus on the individual features of the face, explaining and resolving any difficulties you may encounter when drawing the eyes, nose, mouth, skin, hair and clothes.

 

Acrylic Portraits

Our acrylic Portrait of Robert Burns is used to demonstrate some of the skills and techniques involved in painting with acrylics. Each stage of this portrait, from its commission to its completion, is carefully explained and clearly illustrated to help you understand this detailed approach to painting with acrylics.

 

Still Life Lessons

Still Life is the best subject in art for both learning and teaching the skills of drawing and painting. Using a range of different media, our Still Life Lessons teach you how to look at an object and see it like an artist - with a conscious awareness of its outline, shape, proportions, tone, color, texture and form. At the end of each lesson, you can view the key stages in our Still Life Slideshows.

 

Pop Art Portrait Lessons

Pop Art Portraits offers you the choice of two projects: our Pop Art Portrait Lesson - a single art project for the individual student and our Pop Art Group Project - a collaborative lesson for a group of up to 20 individuals. Both lessons use a gallery of iconic Pop Art Portraits which demonstrate the bold and colorful techniques of this popular art style from the 1960's.

 

Chuck Close Art Lesson - A Group Project

This lesson is a group projects for up to 20 students. It begins as a lesson on color and ends up as a large scale portrait that was inspired by the paintings of the American artist, Chuck Close.

 

Drawing Animals

Our lessons on How to Draw Animals explore different techniques for drawing and painting a variety of creatures. Each lesson presents an illustrated step by step tutorial and ends with an slideshow of the drawing process from start to finish.

 

Perspective Drawing Lessons

Perspective Drawing is a technique used to represent three-dimensional images on a two-dimensional picture plane. In our series of lessons on perspective drawing we explain the various methods of constructing an image with perspective and demonstrate how these are used by artists and illustrators.

 

Pen and Ink Drawing Lessons

Our Pen and Ink Drawing Lessons illustrate two different approaches to drawing with pen, ink and color wash. The first approach explores a very detailed and careful technique, while the second uses a bolder and more expressive technique. There are also some worksheets to help you practice you pen and ink drawing techniques.

 

Design Lessons

Artyfactory offers free design lessons for all. Our aim is to explain and explore the basic elements of design such as imagery, color, pattern, composition, layout and typography and how to evaluate their effectiveness in the creative process.

 

Color Theory For Art and Design

Our lessons on color theory teach you about the different ways that artists and designers use color. Our explanation of color terms helps you to understand and express how this visual element is used in art and design. You can also try our color quiz which is both fun and a great way to test what you know about color.

 

Repeat Patterns

A knowledge of how to design repeat patterns is an essential skill for any designer. Our first lesson teaches you how to design a repeat pattern using any image as your inspiration. Our second lesson uses invented shapes drawn from your imagination.

 

Graphic Design

These design lessons illustrate composition techniques for creating ideas in graphic designs. They demonstrate a range of techniques that you can adapt to develop ideas for any graphic design. We also teach you the skills for evaluating your graphic designs to help you understand their strengths and weaknesses.

 

Designing a Logotype

Our lesson on how to design a logotype (a logo designed from fonts) teaches you several techniques that you can use to create interesting logo designs. We explain the art of typography and how to use that knowledge to create an effective logotype. We have also written a short illustrated history of logo design to set a context for our lessons.

 

Graphic Designers

Graphic Designers create visual solutions to sell or communicate the concept of a product, campaign or event. Their work includes illustration, typography, posters, packaging, corporate identities, advertising campaigns, web design and digital multimedia.

 

Art History and Appreciation

Artyfactory offers free art history lessons for all. Our aim is to help you to recognise the universal and timeless qualities that identify all great art. The more you appreciate and understand the art of different eras, movements, styles and techniques, the better you can develop, evaluate and improve your own artwork.

 

The Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance was a 'rebirth' of Classical values in art, literature and philosophy. It was a period of artistic development in Western Art that stretched from the revival of naturalism in the art of Giotto at the end of the 13th century to the expressive forms of Mannerism in the art of Michelangelo at the start of the 16th century. Its influence spread across Europe and gave rise to the cultural and scientific ideas that shaped artistic thought for the next five hundred years.

 

Modern Art Movements

Art Movements are the collective titles that are given to artworks which share the same artistic ideas, style, technical approach or time frame. They are a historical convenience for grouping together artists of a common period, style or technique so that they may be more easily understood. Art Movements are usually named retrospectively by art critics or historians and their titles are often witty or sarcastic nicknames pulled from a bad review.

 

Art History Timelines

Our Art History Timelines offer a brief explanation of the most important movements and styles in their historical order. They also list the major artists and illustrate a key work from each movement.

 

Art History Slide shows

Our art history slideshows act as an general introduction to key artworks by important artists associated with the major artistic movements and styles. They offer a broad visual experience of the range of subjects, techniques and ideas associated with each artistic movement or style.

 

 

Visual Elements of Art

A knowledge of the visual elements of art helps you to understand how artworks are created. It will assist you in breaking an artwork down to its component parts so that you may appreciate the skill and imagination that the artist has used in composing it. Our pages explore the individual qualites of each visual element - line - shape - tone - color - pattern - texture - form and how artists use them to express their ideas.

 

Portrait Artists

Portraits express the beauty, status, power, wealth or character of their subjects. Artists use a wide range of media for portraiture, including drawing, printing, painting, sculpture, photography and multimedia.

 

Still Life Artists

Still Life is the drawing and painting of items such as fruit, flowers and household objects, which are usually arranged on a table top or shelf. Over the centuries artists have chosen to paint still life objects for their symbolism, abstract qualities or simply their visual beauty.

 

Landscape Artists

Our Landscapes gallery celebrates artwork from around the world based on the built environment. It displays famous paintings of towns and buildings that have inspired artists to share their feelings about the surroundings we have constructed for ourselves.

 

Animals in Art

Animals in Art have always been a popular subject. They are often depicted for their natural beauty and majesty, or as mythical or symbolic beasts. Sometimes they are portrayed as the hunter's prey, prize livestock, or more sentimentally as domestic pets.

 

Art Quiz

Artyfactory's Art Quizzes offers you a fun way to develop your knowledge and demonstrate what you know about art and design. Each quiz is designed as an aid to study and can be used in combination with our art and design lessons.