Drawing Course | Fundamentals of Charcoal Drawing with Michael Simms

Learn the fundamentals of drawing with charcoal - one of the most versatile and expressive mediums. Students will experiment with various techniques to capture a variety of subject matter, such as still life, landscape, portraits and the figure.

Michael will provide tips and tricks on how to simplify some of the most seemingly complex forms into basic geometric shapes that make drawing digestible and fun. Students will learn how to embed structure into their drawings before building them up to achieve a sense of dimension.

Michael will conduct demonstrations and provide individual feedback throughout the classes. Students will work from life, and photographic reference. 

Suitable for all skill levels, this class is particularly helpful to those looking to transition from drawing to oil painting as the broad and expressive techniques used can act as a wonderful segway.

Your tutor Michael Simms is a multi-award winning artist based in Sydney whose work is characterised by dream-like depictions of the human figure. His classes will consist of drawing demonstrations, talks and individual feedback. Students will paint from a combination of still life, master copies, photographic references and a live model using versatile and expressive mediums.

What to expect

Suitable for all skill levels, the course provides a fun and relaxed environment to explore the following:

• The essentials of tone.
• How to build form and create volume.
• Drawing warm-up exercises 
• Basic anatomy, perspective, and proportion. 
• Expressive mark making
• The fundamentals of composition 
• Lighting, atmosphere, expression and how to build confidence in your creative instincts.

What will you achieve

Students will:

• try both quick, expressive approaches to charcoal drawing, as well as experimenting with working in layers. 
•  complete a series of studies in the first few weeks of term, with the goal of developing one substantial work by the end of the 8 weeks.

Is this course right for me?

This course is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced students who wish to develop their drawing skills.  While suitable for all skill levels, it is particularly helpful to those looking to transition from drawing to oil painting as the broad and expressive techniques used can act as a wonderful segue.

Material List

• A3 Newsprint pad
• Archers Smooth Watercolour Paper 185 gsm. 2 A2 Sheets (
• Generals Compressed Charcoal Pencil, HB, 2B, 6B 
• Generals Compressed Jumbo Charcoal Sticks
• Willow charcoal (thick and thin) 
• Tissues 
• At least 4 large bull dog clips
• Can of Spray Fixative
• Kneadable eraser 
• Jasart size 12 flat brush and size 6 flat brush
• 2H, HB and 2B graphite pencils
• Please also bring a pack of sanitizing wipes to clean charcoal from your easel and your workspace as a considerate measure for other users

About studio classes

Our class sizes are small, ensuring you receive the individual tuition you need. We have a maximum of 12 students per class.

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