
Home \| Critique Gallery \| Discussion Forum \| Support \| Your Account \| Member Area

About this Site

Free Drawing Tip of the Week

Subscribe Today

Anatomy Lessons

Begin Here Step By Step

Cast Drawing

Charcoal

Clothes & Fabric

Composition

Critique Gallery

Figure Drawing

Foreshortening

Illustration

Landscape

Line

Marketing

Memory Drawing

Online Pose

Perspective

Photography

Portrait Drawing

Sketchbook

Success Mindset

Texture

Video Critique

Weekly Message

Help

Member Photos

Member Profiles

Member Websites

Membership Rewards

Referral Program

Support

Your Account

Here's what our members are saying ...

"Disney has this awesome program where they will reimburse us for any kind of training programs that we think would improve us as artists and help us do our jobs better. This site was one of the ones recommended by the Disney training department."

Jon Krummel
Burbank, California

"I think your tutorials are absolutely excellent. I have learnt almost all I know about drawing from them in the past three weeks."

Anthony Forsey
United Kingdom

"Your tutorials and critiques are teaching me so much "it is not even funny!" I am definitely addicted to DTO. Thanks so much."

Sabrina Fiorella Larson
University of Milan

"Hey there! I am working fulltime and have 2 kids and time is not a luxury! Your site has allowed me to learn at odd hours and has been so helpful with learning the basics of creation! Thx so much for your awesome site!"

Tim Donahue
Salem, MA

"I paid for the yearly subscription last month. I am loving everything I encounter within your site so far. Even with recently starting drawing again, I think I am progressing rapidly. I admire your teaching style, your quips, gestures, and the PRICELESS tidbits of info you share while drawing... more than words mate... more than words! Your DTO site gives me a reason to look forward to each day while doing something that I love. Thank you from my heart to yours."

Kay
Romford, UK

"I have learned so much here, my drawings are almost un recognizable. You are never too old to learn".

Peter
Wales, UK

"I have recently become a member of your site. Your tutorials are excellent."

Loree Lam
Raleigh, NC

"I just wanted to tell you what a great thing you have here. Your comments on the critique are always positive and upbeat which goes a long way to keep struggling artists going. You are a very good teacher with much patience. I'm glad I stumbled across your site. I've told another young artist who took the forensic art course several years go with me. I'm sure he will find it just as magical."

Rick Croucher
Charleston, SC

"I love, love love your website! I'm learning so much. I'm actually taking a community college life drawing class, too. We are about to begin drawing the figure and I will be practicing with some of your tutorials first."

Sarah Thomson
Kentfield, CA

"Got to say you have set up one of the best instructional sites I've ever come across - educational, inspiring and fun. Keep up the good work!!!"

Brian Inglis
Surrey, UK

"Matt you are such a nice guy and always really helpful. You are one of a handful of people who have really helped me make progress."

Deanna Campbell
Sussex, UK

"I'm glad I found you and this site. It's given me my spark back! I just wanted to thank you for doing what ya do. This is awesome instruction and the fact that you're so accessible is just crazy."

Johnny Maxwell
Salem. NJ

"Really enjoying DTO and learning a tremendous amount. You are truly a superlative teacher."

Richard Nadeau
Toronto, Canada

"Thank you for providing such a great service. I can't tell you how much your site has helped me accomplish the goals I set in such a short amount of time. I've devoted at least 30 mins to an hour each day to get away from my daily life and practice your tutorials. It's been many years since I've drawn and painted and your site has helped bring back something in my life that I've been missing."

Dan Creekmur
Elmhurst, IL

"I've had a great first year and love everything about the site. I have learned a lot!"

Angela Buchan
Ayrshire, UK

"First, your tutorials are fantastic. Beautiful stuff. Just your advice on the sketchbook and the recommended reading list alone are worth the price of admission."

Iain Young
Manchester, NH

"I just returned from vacation and am so happy to begin my lessons with you again. You are doing a wonderful job!"

Karen Gale
Spring Hill, FL

"Drawing tutorials online is like having your very own personal drawing mentor, whom you can call on any time for a quick lesson. I know I've watched videos over and over - sometimes because I need a reminder and sometimes because I just enjoy watching them. I just wanted to let you know that you have helped me and I thank you Matt."

Stephen Elder
United Kingdom

"I'm very pleased with the site and the content. You have a real passion for this stuff and it shows not only in your dedication to the site but in the way you teach the content."

David Rude
Sterling, VA

"You have my respect for the wonderful teaching you are doing. I really appreciate and have learned a lot from you. I have been on the site for over six months and plan to stay for a lot longer. I must tell you that this site is fantastic. You are doing a lot more work here than I anticipated, Bravo!"

Marie Kaye

"I've been a member for 10 months, and I'm hooked. I just want to say thank you a thousand times for this website. It's like a paradise for artists who love to learn. Being a member is like to being a part of a special secret club, but it's not realy secret. As a member I have to say I watch your videos all day and night. You are a great teacher, thank you."

Andy Meyer
Baden-Würtemberg, Germany

"I am a new member into week two. Just wanted to thank you for the excellent instruction. I also received the Cast Drawing DVD, for which I thank you. I am working everyday on my drawing. Following the program you recommend for beginners seems to be working for me. The skeleton really has helped me to make some progress on my gesture drawings which are the most difficult for me. I will upload some drawings soon. Thanks again for all the effort you are putting into this website. It is truly professional and quite effective."

Karen Gale
Spring Hill, FL

"Thank you for sending the DVDs on cast drawing. I've watched the online version and gleaned so much useful information from them. I've never received such quality instruction before during years of drawing in and out of college. I look forward to regaining my confidence through membership"

Michael Dowdeswell
Nottingham, UK

"Quick personal service... this is what truly makes your site rock!"

Perry Schwalb
Metaire, LA

"After just one week, this has been so much more helpful than the drawing books I've read in the past. Being able to see you draw as you give the instruction is invaluable."

Kurt Perry
West Valley City, UT

"Thank you also for creating this wonderful site, I love all the tutorials and I admire your patience and your lovely way of teaching."

Maria Chihade
Wien, Austria

"I greatly appreciate the website and all the hard work that goes into maintaining it. I've learned more useful information from you in two months than several years of art courses in college.."

Clay Robbins
Centennial, CO

"I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying this site! You've made it so affordable. It's a no-brainer, and much appreciated!"

Carl Cosgrove
Monroe, WA

"I received my Cast Drawing DVD and I love it! I am learning so much. I need to be careful of information overload.."

Sandra Brereton
US

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for EVERYTHING you do. I have enjoyed your emails and your website for some time now and decided its time for me to become a member. I am an amatuer at best who has dreams of one day fulfilling my life long dream of becoming an "artist". I am mostly self taught but find that I just need someone's help.....and I'm finding that help in your lessons. So thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Donna Heard
Hazel Green, AL

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. The site great...."

Kurt Aspland
Bel Air, MD

"I’ve recently subscribed to your website and I’ll like to tell you how pleased I am with it..."

Oscar Ortiz
Monroe, NC

"This site is indispensable. Thank you for all of your hard work...."

Jean Hauptman
21post

"I just want to thank you for the teacher that you are. The way that you teach is so wonderful. So easy to follow. I thank you again for taking the time and effort to create this site. Best site I have ever been on. Thank you again..."

Kimberly Hunt
Glendora, California

"Wow! what a great job you've done with the site. Its so nice to finally find such an oasis of information..."

Jesse Dicy

"I've learned more in the first 54 minutes watching your tutorials than I did in an entire academic year.."

Brad Self
San Francisco, California

"Thank you to Matt and everyone on this site...I feel like I am getting world class instruction for just about free."

Dan Castelli
Burke, VA

"I just wanted to pass on a message of encouragement and say thank you so much for putting this amazing site together. I am by no means a serious artist but your site has helped me very much. Thanks so much for sharing your gift and great teaching skills. Keep up the great work! "

John Booko
Burton, MI

"I would like to say that your online lessons are amazing. I have been drawing on and off for many years now locked into the same old boring drawing process, not improving much. I now feel that I have new tools and inspiration for improving my technique and process, hopefully making better drawings in the future. This is thanks to you and the online drawing tutorials. "

Jan Nordstrom
Denmark

"I want to say that I love your site. Thank you for putting so much effort into this. I have learned so much in the past couple of days. "

Aurora Bloom
Powell, Ohio

"I love this membership! You totally rock and I have learned so much lurking around. Please keep up this amazing service, and thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

Michelle Philip
Boulder, CO

"I shall mention your great website, to all my artist friends!! "

Michael Parkinson
Canterbury, United Kingdom

"Hi Matt and everyone else! I've been a member of the site for a couple months now (though this is my first time leaving a post), and I'm loving it! My skills as an artist have seriously improved. Right now I'm working through the DVD's. Thanks for all your hard work on the site! I'm learning a lot! "

Andrew Wood
Ohio

"I wanted to let you know that you are a great mentor to me. I have been watching your videos for some time now and I have learned a great deal from you. I absolutely love your drawings. You are truly dedicated to your work."

Ted Fritz
Long Island, NY

"I am a student in the BFA program at the University of Georgia. I can honestly say that I have been learning more in the past month from your videos and articles than I have learned in most of my classes at the university combined. I think you have a knack for teaching practical skills for drawing. You are clear and concise, and you seem to be very eager to help others. Don't ever give up on this site! If only there were more art teachers out there like you!"

John Roberson
Athens, GA

"there has always been art that has inspired me but never ART INSTRUCTION that has, until now."

"Feels like I have a secret playbook to great drawing.."

Dave Jasinski
Cranston, Rhode Island

"I'm just so grateful to a great teacher!"

Andi Redfern
Shropshire, United kingdom

"DTO's videos on drawing are excellent! Certainly worthwhile purchasing."

Professor John Daly
Australia

"I learned more with your tutorials about figure drawing than from 3 semesters of my graduating college."

"Thanks again for a great product. I can't say enough about it!!! "

Richard Husky
Evansville, Indiana

"I've learned more from Matt's DrawingTutorialsOnline site than I've learned from any art class. It's well worth the investment."

Kim Jackson
Shreveport, LA

"Matt, your "drawing-tutorials-online" school has improved my anatomy drawings ten fold. It is a great feeling knowing you can get top notch art school instruction without the tuition, thanks Matt, you been a great help."

Jesse Tinajero
Houston, TX

"I find Drawing Tutorials Online very helpful and full of interesting material, especially the weekly articles."

Rafael Sanchez-Vallejo Bey
Málaga, Spain

"Matt - I'd like to thank you for this site. It's an invaluable resource for people like me - adults who work full-time and are unable to take traditional classes, but still truly want to learn the proper way to draw the human figure. Being able to log in whenever I have time and work at my own pace is great, and the feedback you provide is the icing on the cake."

Jami M. Lynn
Browns Mills, New Jersey

"I earned my B.F.A., many years ago. My personal style has changed in many ways since my art school days, however one thing never changes, and that is the rock solid foundation in skills that you are encouraging us to develop. Way to go Matt, it's a joy to update my skills from such a gifted teacher."

Paul Ostrander
Ontario, Canada

"Matt, your DVD's and lessons are amazing, I'm very excited about this site. Thank you very much for this!"

Mathieu St-Cyr
Shawinigan, Canada

home | Begin Here Step By Step

Begin Here with the New Step By Step Member Only Podcast

This is where you should begin if you have just joined the site. This department will teach you everything you need to know from the beginning via a step by step process. The great thing is that you can take these video drawing lessons with you on your ipod and iphone.

Step One - Sketchbook
Download or watch your "Step One Member Only Podcast". This step one is all about how to use your sketchbook. This podcast will teach which sketchbook to purchase. . . . keep reading

Step Two - Pencils
Download or watch your "Step Two Member Only Podcast". This step two is all about how to choose the right pencil. This podcast will teach which pencil to purchase and why. . . . keep reading

Step Three - Paper
Download or watch your "Step Three Member Only Podcast". This step three is all about how to choose the right drawing pad. This podcast will teach which paper to purchase and why. . . . keep reading

Step Four - Work Space
Download or watch your "Step Four Member Only Podcast". This step four is all about how to set up your work space. This podcast will teach you how to set up your easel, lights and digital work station. . . . keep reading

Step Five - Expectations
Download or watch your "Step Five Member Only Podcast". This step five is all about how to set up yourself up for success with your drawings. This podcast will teach you about all of the different types of drawings you should be working on. You will learn more about how long they should take to complete. . . . keep reading

Step Six - Marks On Paper
Download or watch your "Step Six Member Only Podcast". This step six is all about the basic marks you put down on your paper. This podcast will teach you the basic two marks, line and tone, and how to control them. This is the beginning of gaining control over your drawings. Do not skip over this drawing lesson . . . keep reading

Step Seven - Make Your Mark
Download or watch your "Step Seven Member Only Podcast". This step seven is all about putting step six, "Marks On Paper", into practice. We take the abstract thought of drawing with simple line and tone an utilize it in a figure drawing. . . . keep reading

Step Eight - Shading
Download or watch your "Step Eight Member Only Podcast". This step eight will teach all of the different ways to shade with your pencil. The are many ways to shade an object when drawing. This podcast will simplify how you approach completing a drawing with tone. . . . keep reading

Step Nine - Form
Download or watch your "Step Nine Member Only Podcast". This step nine will teach all aspects of form. These tutorials will help you bring more of a three dimensional aspect into your drawings. . . . keep reading

Step Ten - Light Sources
This Step Ten will teach you all aspects of how to utilize light. Incorporating a light source will ultimately give your drawings a more three dimensional look and feel. Certain light types are also affiliated with certain emotions. This tutorial will give you more control over the viewers emotions when they look at your art. . . . keep reading

Step Eleven - The Line That Separates Light From Dark
Download or watch your "Step Eleven Member Only Podcast". This step eleven will teach you a very simple technique that will improve your tonal drawings fast. I was taught this particular drawing technique well over twenty years ago and I still use it to this day in just about every drawing. . . . keep reading

Step Twelve - Reverse Gradations
Download or watch your "Step Twelve Member Only Podcast". This step twelve will teach you how to utilize reverse gradations. Reverse gradations are used to create atmosphere as well as to create compositional shapes. Just about every traditional french painter from the 1800's utilized reverse gradations. . . . keep reading

Step Thirteen - Modeling Factors
Download or watch your "Step Thirteen Member Only Podcast". This step thirteen will teach you how to create major three dimension. Modeling factors is vital to know if you want to learn how to render realistically. Knowing where to put the lights and darks as well as how to draw cast shadows properly is something you will learn with this video . . . keep reading

Step Fourteen - Value Ratios
Download or watch your "Step Fourteen Member Only Podcast". This step fourteen will teach you how to shade utilizing value ratios. Have you ever tried to draw something white and it comes out looking like mud? This video will help you prevent that . . . keep reading

Step Fifteen - Angles & Measuring
Download or watch your "Step Fifteen Member Only Podcast". This step fifteen will teach you how to get a likeness by utilizing a technique you most likely have already tried. However we want you to master these two techniques combined, not just try them. . . . keep reading

Step Sixteen - Positive & Negative Shape
Download or watch your "Step Sixteen Member Only Podcast". This step sixteen will teach you how to get a likeness by utilizing positive and negative shape. This technique is super old school. But old still works, it has it's place in the grand scheme of your drawing technique box of tricks. . . . keep reading

Step Seventeen - Organic Shapes
Download or watch your "Step Seventeen Member Only Podcast". This step seventeen will teach you how to see things in simple organic shapes. Being able to simplify what you see is very important when drawing the figure. You can even utilize this technique when drawing just about any object. This step is a perfect chaser to step sixteen. . . . keep reading

Step Eighteen - Gesture Combined with the Rough Skeleton
Download or watch your "Step Eighteen Member Only Podcast". This step eighteen will teach you how to draw with a loose gesture line combined with some big anatomy shapes. This step is a great way to follow up with Steps 15 and 16. Steps 15 and 16 by their nature create stiff drawings. . . . keep reading

Step Nineteen - Form & Contour Line
Download or watch your "Step Nineteen Member Only Podcast". This step nineteen will take you out of outlines and into contour line drawn around the form of your subject. In this step we take you from technique to how you should apply this to your finished line drawings. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty - Surface Planes and Gradations
Download or watch your "Step Twenty Member Only Podcast". This step twenty will give you two great tools to confront white blank paper. This is not just about surface planes. In this tutorial we show you how to add gradations to your surface planes. This will help you to create dimensional atmospheric drawings. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-One - Advanced Surface Planes
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-One Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-one will help you to draw like a sculptor. This is all about pushing to see as many surface planes as you possibly can. This step twenty-one is very straight forward and to the point. Just download the PDF and work along with Matt. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Two - Manipulating Values
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Two Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-two will help you to change and manipulate the value structure of your drawings. If you are working as a fine artist, illustrator or digital painter being able to change the value structure of your photo reference is everything. This step twenty-one is very straight forward, it will help you with shading and creating realism. Download the PDF and work along with Matt. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Three - Forty Drawings In Forty Minutes
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Three Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-three is all about drawing in a loose manner. In part one we draw twenty figures in twenty minutes. In part two we draw twenty figures in twenty minutes using twenty different techniques. This is an exercise that you want to do on a regular basis. We are providing you with both "Online Pose" videos and a PDF containing all of the model photos. You can download the PDF first and watch the videos with the PDF open in another window. If you have a big screen you can watch the Online Pose video and the Step 23 video at the same time. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Four - Drawing Value Patterns
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Four Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-four will help you to make strong drawings that stand out. The title of this step is called "Value Patterns". However it can also be called "Tonal Planning". Either way this step is a must watch. You will definitely gain much more control over your drawing process. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Five - Symmetrical Versus Non Symmetrical
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Five Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-five will help you to confront a white blank piece of paper which can sometimes get overwhelming. In this step you will learn how to make decisions when composing your drawings concerning a symmetrical composition versus a non symmetrical composition. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Six - Compositional Shapes
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Six Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-six will build upon step 25. Once you have figured out whether to use a symmetrical or non symmetrical composition for your drawing. The next step is to decide on a compositional shape. A compositional shape is a big value shape. It provides your drawing with a clear sense of light and shade. . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Seven - Visual Balance
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Seven Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-seven will build upon step 26. When utilizing compositional shapes your drawing can sometimes go out of balance. In this step 27 we will introduce you to the visual balance fulcrum. Use this theory to help balance your compositions . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Eight - The Grid
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Eight Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-Eight will build upon the previous steps. Utilizing a simple grid will add another layer of control into the mix when attempting to create interesting compositions . . . keep reading

Step Twenty-Nine - Motion and Tangents
Download or watch your "Step Twenty-Nine Member Only Podcast". This step twenty-nine will build upon the previous steps. You sometimes want to opt for creating motion in your composition. How do you create motion well the simple way is to utilize . . . keep reading