ADVANCED FIGURE DRAWING

 
 
 

Advanced Figure Drawing ONline COurse (SPring 2026)

Instructor: Kirk Shinmoto

COST: $750

Course length: 10 Weeks

Saturdays 10am-1pm PST.   February 14th - April 18th

Sign up for Advanced Figure Drawing



**For cancellations, the deadline for a full refund is 7 days before class starts. After this there will only be a 50% refund. No refunds will be given once class beings. Please be aware that by signing up you are reserving a spot in the class that cannot be taken by someone else.**

About the Class: Advanced Figure Drawing is for students who have a solid understanding of construction and anatomy and would like to take their drawings further.  In this 10-week course we will explore a range of concepts and techniques meant to develop a stronger understanding of composition, design, and mark making.  The first half of the class will focus on longer poses to slow down the decision making process and in the second half we will take those concepts and apply them to quicker sketches through shorthand to make the drawing and design process more intuitive.

Course level: This class is not for beginners and having an Analytical Figure Drawing or equivalent class/study under your belt is required.  Experience in head drawing is also strongly recommended.  If you are unsure whether you feel like you are ready, please send me an email with some examples of your current drawings for advice.

Class Format: This course will run for 10 weeks and will be taught through a combination of pre-recorded lectures and live critiques through Discord.  Each week students will be given access to class lectures and we will then have a live, group critique session the following week to go over homework. We will also have a short live meeting the first week to go over class materials and to answer any additional questions students may have. Class will be limited to 6 students.

Homework:  There will be homework assigned every week based on the lecture material. Estimated Weekly workload is around 5-8 hours.

Materials:  This course will primarily be taught with traditional medium but some demos or critiques will be done digitally.  For students traditional medium is encouraged but not required. Photoshop or Procreate are ok too! A supply list for materials along with recommended books will be emailed.



Weekly breakdown

Week 1 - Setting up the Gesture - This week will be a review of the basics of gesture but with the added emphasis on using shape design to exaggerate/push the gesture of the figure.

  • Overview of basic gesture and proportions

  • Shape design and rhythms

  • Pushing the pose

  • Translating 2D shapes to 3D forms 

Week 2 - Long Pose Construction - This week is a review of the general construction and anatomy of the figure.  We will use the same design concepts from week one to start the drawings but emphasis will be placed on figure completion and review of anatomy and rendering.

  • Construction process from gesture to simple forms, to anatomy

  • Rendering with hatching

  • line/hatching exercises

Week 3 - Long Pose Construction Continued - This week will continue with long poses but we will focus on designing using light, shadow. 

  • Continue again with construction process from gesture, to simple forms, to anatomy

  • Designing graphic shadow shapes in relation to the 3D form

  • Composing with atmosphere

  • line/rendering exercises

Week 4 - Master Artist Study - This week we will break down styles and approaches of other artists.  This week will set the tone for the rest of the class as students will be encouraged to bring in artists they are interested in studying which will be referenced through the rest of the class.

  • How to break down style

  • Incorporating style into your own drawing

Week 5 - Head and Hand Drawing Quick Sketch - This week is an overview of drawing heads and hands.  We go over strategies for quicker studies.  Topics from the Master Artist Study week will be incorporated

  • Simplified head construction and gesture

  • Bracketing

  • Simplified hair

  • Strategies for different angles

Week 6 - Quick Sketch Figures - This week we will take the drawing concepts from previous weeks to develop more of a shorthand for drawing the figure in quicker poses.

  • Moving from gesture to simplified construction

  • Composing/designing the drawing with a focal point

  • Rendering strategies and mark making strategies

  • Anatomy as Structure

Week 7 - Quick Sketch Continued - This week will continue with shorter poses but we will be mixing things up with doing more direct drawing (yest without a lay-in!)

  • Tracking proportion

  • Visualizing forms and perspective

  • The structure in mark making

Week 8 - Quick Sketch Continued -  This week we will explore alternative approaches to starting a drawing and finding forms.  We will also touch on drawing from imagination.

  • Scribble drawing

  • Inventive drawing

Week 9 - Drawing on toned paper - This week we will go over technique and concepts for drawing with toned paper.

  • Toned paper mid tone

  • Saving time with toned paper!

Week 10 -Final Critique - And Where to go from here.