Design Drawing

Group classes every semester season: spring, summer, fall and winter.

A group poll is taken to select the day and time of the class to suit the schedules of the participants. So no matter what time zone you live in, we can select a time that works for everyone! Register now to hold your spot! Once we have received enough registrations we will run the group class.

Our instructors are experienced college professors and practicing design professionals. The lead instructor of Design Drawing is Karen Kesteloot, the head portfolio coach at PortPrep and the Architecture Tutor here. Karen draws on her education in Fine Arts from University of Guelph and inCommercial Interior Design from Humber as well as her experience teaching at Sheridan College in the Illustration, Crafts and Design and Art Fundamentals programs. Karen has several years of experience teaching in Design Foundations at both Humber and Conestoga Colleges and at University of Guelph’s Landscape BLA and MLA programs. Karen has extensive knowledge of perspective drawing and teaching students how to create accurate observational drawings. Her studies in Germany, France and Italy in art and perspective drawing equips her to provide you with a sound drawing foundation on which to build your skills and visualize your ideas.

If you register at the Individual Private level you will have to added bonus of experiencing a concept sketching and rendering lesson with The Design Tutor Robert Virtu! He can show you how to create sketches of your ideas that have impact and creative flair.

Design drawing differs from other types of artistic drawing and needs a different approach. In this course you will learn how to visualize and sketch your design ideas via both loose concept sketches and more tightly defined structural drawings. Designers need to develop the ability to think in both 2D and in 3D modes and capture the design process into visual presentations that communicate their thought process to the viewer. Design portfolios that show case this process get noticed by the review committee. In this course you will learn first how to draw what you see not record what you know about the world. You will learn effective techniques and methods of drawing from observation accurately while picking up attractive drawing techniques and stylistic approaches. In particular you will learn how to draw perspectives in various views.

Course outcome 1: Learn how to draw what you see and not what you know.

In order to draw really well with ease and speed the first step is to learn how to engage the visual cortex of your brain and circumvent the stored knowledge about the world around you. In this course you will learn tricks that help you ensure that you are drawing from the visual part of your brain. You will learn how to avoid letting the things you know about objects interfere with the visual accuracy of your drawings. Let’s say you want to draw a Rubik’s cube; you know that all the lengths and widths of the cube are equal, that it has parallel edges, that it has 90 degree corners and that it is divided equally into 9 sections. If turn the cube on an angle in front of you on the table to draw and set out to draw it recording all these things you know about the cube’s geometric properties, it will not look like the cube you see in front you! The method that PortPrep teaches will help you avoid these problems whether you are drawing geometric objects, furniture, interiors or perspectives.

Course outcome 2: Learn a sound drawing methodology.

Becoming familiar with effective stages of building up a drawing is a foundational skill so that you can draw increasingly more challenging and complex subjects with success. The methods we teach will not only help you make a high quality portfolio but will prepare you well for studying in colleges and universities. In this course you will learn what stages are most effective and what types of visual processing work well to create accurate and lively drawings. You will learn good drawing habits you can build on and unlearn any ineffective drawing habits you may have picked up over the years.

Course outcome 3: Learn various important drawing skills.

If you’re dreaming of becoming an architect or interior designer it’s not just important to be able to draw the buildings but to be able to draw the items around and within those structures. It’s equally important to make creative and unique artworks in your portfolio for which drawing is a fundamental skill. If you want to be able to draw perspectives to visualize your design ideas on paper then learning how to draw from observation is the first step. Too many design students fail to recognize the importance of being able to draw. You can set yourself apart from other applicants by increasing your drawing skill. Design portfolios need to demonstrate the ability to draw furniture, objects, interior and exterior perspectives in both 1 and 2 point perspective. This course will introduce you to these basic drawing types so that you can tackle the more challenging drawings that are required in your portfolio.