Studio Art: Introduction to Drawing

Age: 12+ Middle School, High School Full Credit

In this hands-on studio art course, Emily Purifoy walks students through the foundational principles of drawing: perspective, value, form, and shading. Designed for complete beginners as well as students with basic skills, this course builds real technical ability through guided video lessons, structured assignments, and three major projects.

Studio Art: Intro to Drawing is a self-paced course that builds genuine drawing skill from the ground up. Emily walks students through the same principles and exercises that shaped her own technique, combining clear video instruction with hands-on assignments that reinforce each concept before moving to the next.

Students will learn:

How to use professional drawing tools — pencils, rulers, erasers, and blending stumps
One-point and two-point perspective
Value, form, and shading
How to observe and draw the world around them

The course is structured around documentary art history videos, instructional videos, guided practice assignments, and three major projects — a hallway, a house, and a shaded still life — each requiring a minimum of six hours of independent work. Emily recommends watching each video once, then watching again while drawing along.

Since drawing is the foundation of all art forms, the skills students build here carry over into painting, design, illustration, and beyond.

Includes:

10 lessons, 32 steps
Guided video instruction with embedded assignments
Three major drawing projects (hallway, house, still life)
Art History documentary videos
Required supply list with recommended links

Note: This course requires specific art supplies. See the supply list in the course for recommended items, including drawing pencils, a 24″ metal ruler, kneadable eraser, blending stumps, and drawing pads.

Ages: 12+

Credit: Fine Arts elective

Our Individual Compass Membership provides online access to this and 40+ additional courses, PDF course books, audio stories, a customer support group, and course-specific facilitation groups. Course facilitation provides:

Direct encouragement from instructors.
Additional links of interest that support learning in the course.
Guidance and community for students.
Live Zoom meetings with facilitators to discuss lecture material and assignments (available for certain groups).

Our Family Membership adds Family Access (4 student accounts).

You can learn more (or upgrade your current plan) on our Membership Page. Our support team of homeschool moms can also answer your questions. Visit our support page to contact them.

All courses can be accessed on desktop, mobile, and through our Compass Classroom App (iOS & Google).