Does your kiddo want to learn to draw but you don’t have the time or skills to teach  them yourself?  There are amazing opportunities to learn to draw online for free, in your own home!  Grab a pencil and any device and settle into these free drawing websites for free online drawing tutorials suitable for any skill level! 

Why learning to draw online is amazing…

Being good at drawing is a coveted skill in the art world.  Drawing is a skill just like anything else that can be learned through practice and instruction.  Learning certain techniques, ways of breaking objects down into shapes, and just plain old practice will make anyone better at drawing.  

Learning to draw online is an especially great opportunity because it allows your student to go at their own pace, no pressure.  They can seek out a style and technique that really speaks to them because the choices are endless.  Yay internet!

Drawing supplies…

What’s necessary?  The super small supply list is one of the awesome things about drawing.  You can literally complete most of these drawing tutorials with any random marking utensil and scrap paper.  Learning to draw is cheap and portable.  

If you wanted to invest a few dollars in supplies this is what I’d get your student to make them feel like a professional.  This little zippered pouch has twelve pencils in a variety of hardnesses, an eraser, and a sharpener.  It’s easy to take on the go and keep all the drawing goodies in one place.   

Add a basic sketchbook or my favorite leather bound art journal and you’re good to go.  Encourage your student to keep all the pages in their sketchbook, even the ones that they don’t love!  It can be easy to only want to preserve the perfect pages but keeping a sketchbook is great way to show growth and improvement.

Drawing websites for the elementary/ middle school crowd…

These drawing websites go a step beyond the basic cartoon-ish outlines of many learn to draw classes.  But they are not so advanced as to completely overwhelm your student.  It’s better to start slow and feel successful.  A little taste of success will give them the confidence to keep going.

Paul Priestley is a seasoned art teacher that has taken his skills to YouTube for the masses.  He’s so encouraging and will inspire your kiddos to try things they didn’t think they could.  (Imagine motivational speaker meets art teacher.)   His tutorials include both painting and drawing and really are step by step enough for younger viewers to enjoy!

Mark Kistler is an Emmy Award winner who will teach your kiddo to draw and think in three dimensions.  While some of his tutorials are more cartoon like they still include shading techniques that beginning artists love because they add that element of realism.  This channel is appropriate for any age, even younger kids that are ready to move beyond that flat “cartoon” look.  I really like this guy- I would listen to him teach anyday!

Christopher Hart’s channel is full of pencil drawn tutorials that are super conversational and fun to watch.  Some are more cartoonish and some more realistic but all have a nice style worth checking out!  Chris is a leading author of “how to Draw” books so these videos are like watching him in action.

Teach your child to draw online for free with these awesome drawing websites! Free online drawing instruction for any skill level from the comfort of home!

 

 

Learn to draw online for the middle to high school crowd….

Once you’re kiddo (or you) has mastered a few basics and has a little dose of confidence under the belt there is no end to what you can learn to draw online.  When I was in college and taking endless art classes in person the world wide web was a baby.  I can only imagine how some of these tutorials would have aided my real life instruction.

Kirsty of Kirsty Partridge Art is another self taught artist.  Her drawing website is colorful and addresses not only drawing but also basics such as choosing the best drawing supplies, and ways to make money with your art.  (What teen wouldn’t love the idea of cashing in on their creativity?)  She draws with both graphite and colored pencil.  I love her specific tutorials for details like drawing the perfect skin tone orn a realistic braid.

SchaeferArt is a YouTube channel perfect for the older student or adult serious about learning to draw and paint.  Lots of plein air tutorials, live streams, a bit of art history, and travel make this channel entertaining to watch as well as a place to pick up some skills.  This channel will serve you better if you already have a bit of confidence and a few skills!

More free online drawing websites perfect for the middle and high schoolers…

Darlene at RapidFIreArt is a self taught portraiture artist.  She’s easy to listen to understand.  Tutorials range from how to add shading, specific parts of faces, entire portraits, and DIY celebrity portraits.  There are even some super fun fast forward videos of her drawing complete portraits in a minute or two.  Kids will “Ohh and ahh” over these!

Dan Beardshaw is a young artist with lots to offer a student wanting to learn to draw.  He’s got a super pleasant accent and mad drawing skills that he breaks down into reasonable steps.  This channel is probably best for high school age and up.  Younger kids may get frustrated unless they’ve had some previous drawing experience!

Tom of Circle Line Art School posts a new video each week.  This huge library of over 300 free online drawing tutorials is almost exclusively done in black and white pencil.  Tutorials lean toward the technical side with an emphasis on perspective, optical illusions, and buildings.

The Art of Wei channel hosts almost 200 video tutorials almost exclusively illustrating graphite drawing.  Tutorials begin simple; concepts such as drawing a better curve and learning to draw and shade basic forms and proceed to more complicated ideas like portraits.  One thing I do like about these tutorials is that they are a little longer than most and give an artist a chance to follow along.

My Drawing Tutorials is a channel hosted by multiple artists.  Most tutorials focus on portraiture and figure drawing although there are a few optical illusion type lessons thrown in,

Learn to draw online for the littles…

Maybe you or your kiddo isn’t quite ready for the more advanced online drawing tutorials.  No worries!  There are literally countless instructional  drawing tutorials  and drawing websites available for the younger crowd too. Even though these channels tend to have more cartoon type illustrations they are so fun!  Step by step online drawing instruction means for sure success even for kids that may not be confident artists!  

These are just a few of my most favorite art YouTube channels specific to drawing.  Be sure to check out this post for online art tutorials including additional online drawing classes as well as lots of other media besides pen and pencil! The sky is the limit when it comes to what is out there!

Muffalo Potato

Art for Kids Hub

Draw So Cute

Teach your child to draw online for free with these awesome drawing websites! Free online drawing instruction for any skill level from the comfort of home!

If you enjoyed this list of drawing websites for perfect for teaching your student to draw online please share it on your favorite social media channel!

Every single share helps me to bring you more free printable resources and fun projects!

The Artists and the Elements is a year long visual arts curriculum designed to connect the elements of art, art history, and hands on art fun!