Introduction to Figurative Art and Portraiture Diploma Course

COURSE INFORMATION

Certified Course
Accredited Course
11 Modules
4 Videos
Study Group Access
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Introduction to Figurative Art and Portraiture Diploma Course
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Stories from the CoE Community
What Will You Learn?

“I can only draw stick figures.”. Great! That means you CAN draw.

It’s important to know that drawing and painting are learnable skills. Artistic ability is cultivated through practice, time, patience and perseverance. Whether you’re new to art, coming back to it, or looking to solidify and improve upon your grasp of figure and portraiture fundamentals, this course can help.

You’ll be guided, step-by-step, through whole-body, facial, hand and foot anatomy, different approaches to capturing figure structure, and work-along projects using a variety of mediums and techniques. By the end of the course, you’ll have gained all the tools necessary to create accurate depictions of the human form.

Knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is of paramount importance when your aim is to represent these three-dimensional forms on a two-dimensional plane. So, this is the place from which the course begins and builds

You’ll learn how to use gesture drawings and armatures as starting points for your figurative drawing and receive guidance on how to tackle the most notoriously tricky parts of the human form – hands and feet.

Just as with whole-body anatomy, we’ll look at the standard proportions of the head and face, where the features of the face sit in relation to each other, and how to structure each feature (eyes, noses, mouths and ears specifically) using simple shapes.

You’ll take this learning and put it to practical use, as the course guides you through five start-to-finish work-along projects, each examining the use of specific art materials – pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, watercolour, and acrylics. The last of these (acrylics) takes your learning further, as it guides you through mixing skin tones and creating a finished self-portrait painting.

By studying this course, you will:

  • Become familiar with the proportions of the human body, face, hands and feet
  • Learn how to begin a figurative drawing using gesture drawings and armatures 
  • Understand how various art materials are used – pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, watercolour, and acrylics
  • Be guided through 5 projects, culminating in a self-portrait painting
Artist drawing pencil portrait

Course Syllabus

What will I learn on the course?

Certified Course
Accredited Course
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: How Many Heads?
  • Part 2: The Standing Figure
  • Part 3: The Seated Figure
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 1 Assessment
  • Part 1: What is an Armature?
  • Part 2: Padding Out
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 2 Assessment
  • Part 1: Drawing Hands
  • Part 2: Drawing Feet
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 3 Assessment
  • Part 1: What is Gesture Drawing?
  • Part 2: Why Do Gesture Drawing?
  • Part 3: Other Approaches
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 4 Assessment
  • Part 1: Getting the Likeness of a Subject
  • Part 2: Layout of the Face
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 5 Assessment
  • Part 1: Drawing Facial Features - Eyes
  • Part 2: Noses and Mouths
  • Part 3: Ears
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 6 Assessment
  • Part 1: A Note on Pencils
  • Part 2: The Work-Along
  • Video: Pencil Work-Along
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 7 Assessment
  • Part 1: A Note on Charcoal
  • Part 2: The Work-Along
  • Video: Charcoal Work-Along
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 8 Assessment
  • Part 1: A Note on Ink
  • Part 2: The Work-Along
  • Video: Ink Work-Along
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 9 Assessment
  • Part 1: A Note on Watercolour, Colour and Brushes
  • Part 2: The Work-Along
  • Video: Watercolour Work-Along
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Module 10 Assessment
  • Part 1: Why Paint a Self-Portrait?
  • Part 2: A Note on Acrylics
  • Part 3: Preparation – The Colour Wheel and Brushes
  • Part 4: Creating the Self Portrait
  • Test Your Knowledge
  • Key Learning Points
  • Conclusion
  • Module 11 Assessment
Who Would Benefit from This Course?

Created for anyone who has an interest in drawing and painting, specifically the human form and portraiture, this course will have you picking up pencils from the start and end with you being able to turn a blank canvas into a finished and accurate likeness and representation of a human being.

Artist painting portrait of a man using oil colour on a canvas, which is on an easel
Accreditations

The Introduction to Figurative Art and Portraiture Diploma Course will take you up to 150 hours to complete, working from home. There is no time limit for completing this course, it can be studied in your own time at your own pace.

This is a Level 3 course and will give you 150 CPD (Continued Professional Development) points.

Upon completion of your course assessments, you receive 2 certificates. A certificate from the Centre of Excellence and a CPD certificate displaying the number of CPD points earned from the course.

This course is endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme. Therefore, upon successful completion of this course, learners can also receive a certificate of achievement from Quality Licence Scheme and a Learner Unit Summary, which lists the details of all the units the learner has completed as part of the course. (This certificate is optional and costs an additional £25).

The Quality Licence Scheme is part of the Skills and Education Group, a charitable organisation that unites education and skills-orientated organisations that share similar values and objectives. With more than 100 years of collective experience, the Skills and Education Group’s strategic partnerships create opportunities to inform, influence and represent the wider education and skills sector.

The Skills and Education Group also includes two nationally recognised awarding organisations; Skills and Education Group Awards and Skills and Education Group Access. Through their awarding organisations they have developed a reputation for providing high-quality qualifications and assessments for the education and skills sector. They are committed to helping employers, organisations and learners cultivate the relevant skills for learning, skills for employment, and skills for life.

Their knowledge and experience of working within the awarding sector enables them to work with training providers, through the Quality Licence Scheme, to help them develop high-quality courses and/or training programmes for the non-regulated market.

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Introduction to Figurative Art and Portraiture Diploma Course
US$168.42
Introduction to Figurative Art and Portraiture Diploma Course
Introduction to Figurative Art and Portraiture Diploma Course
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