Instructional Videos
~~ Online Classes ~~
Read more about Travel Sketching in Mixed Media
These 2.5 hour courses are each divided into 7 short lessons you can watch at your own pace. You can ask me questions in a messaging window next to the video, and you’ll see all my responses – so everyone learns from each others questions and comments. As well, you can upload your artwork for community feedback. Once you’ve purchased a class you can watch as many times as you like, without limits. Plus the site works on all mobile devices. Hope to see you in the questions and comments!
Read more about Sketching People in Motion
~~ Video Demonstrations ~~
In the summer of 2015 I did a small tour with the publisher of my book The Urban Sketcher. We made a series of 60-90 minute videos with me drawing on location and talking about my tools, techniques, and problem solving strategies.
You can subscribe to Artists Network.tv and watch all of them, as well as 400+ other artists for a flat monthly rate – or – they’re available on DVD or by Direct download.
I hope you’ll enjoy this chance to sit over my shoulder and watch as I draw.
Other Urban Sketchers Online Classes
Over the years as a correspondent for UrbanSketchers.org I’ve had the chance to draw alongside hundreds of other sketchers around the world. Many of them professional artists and art instructors. Here’s a selection of other Urban Sketchers correspondents that have classes on Craftsy.com.
Shari Blaukopf’s courses on sketchbook drawing and watercolor painting. Click over here for my full reviews of Sketching Landscapes and Sketching the City.
Stephanie Bower’s excellent primer on perspectives, Great for beginners or experienced sketchers who need to refresh their discipline. Here’s my review: Perspective for Sketchers.
James Richard’s Energy of Places. James is a professor of architecture and you can see his years of skill and training as an artist and teacher. Emphasis on street views done in-the-moment in sketchbooks or with a small easel. Very helpful to plein air painters approaching the urban environment. [Full review here].
And a few more that I have not had a chance to review:
Citizen Sketcher 
I just signed up and watched the first module on gesture drawing. Very cool. I cannot wait until I have more time to watch the other modules.
Thanks Charlie – welcome aboard! See you over there in the questions area :)
I am wondering if you can be a beginner?
Hi Monique – well I would like to think It can be done at any level. Really it is if you want to try it and have fun! Yes, if you’re an absolute beginner, never drawn a person, you might find it challenging – but on the other hand, if you want to start drawing people, there is no other way! We all had to do some funny drawing to get going :) You could start with drawing still life if you wanted, but it would only help you be more comfortable with tools – not much else. Also! The homework is written with absolute beginners in mind. Sorry for the long answer :) :)
I appreciate the answer..yes I am quite the beginner..
Perhaps one day you will offer a beginner’s class in something;)
Signed up and just watched the first lesson – incredible! – clear and informative and filled with really practical tips. This is one of the best video lessons I’ve seen. Props to Liz Steele for pointing to the course in her newsletter.
I have joined 6 different drawing classes on craftsy, yours is my favorite. So much great information. Can’t wait for the snow to melt and get busy outside.
Just completed my first pass at the videos and some of the homework assignments for your Craftsy course, and wow! Your concepts are easy to understand and follow, and have demystified this subject of drawing people for me. I can already see that I’m drawing people differently (and with much more movement and life). Thank you.
I took your class on Craftsy and LOVED it. I have to tell you, I feel like it helped me break through a dam or something. Suddenly I can sketch/paint “loosely” – or at least loose for me. Can’t speak highly enough of the class!
Thanks very much! That is exactly what I hoped to hear from people!
I just watched the first video – it is one of the better demonstrations I have seen of a gesture drawing and I feel like I can actually do it! Not sure if I can but I am going to give it my best! Thanks – looking forward to watching the rest of the videos!
Monique, his book The Urban Sketcher is awesome, and can be used by a beginner. I found it after buying his craftsy course. I’m planning to now do the book then finish the craftsy course. Both are top notch!
Hi there – I am glad I found your blog. I was looking for a painting lessons for some time and found you by accident, checking the Travel blog section on WordPress. I will be an often guest here. + one follower.
– Ruta
Fantastic Craftsy class. Have watched it all am now watching it again to practise. Loved it and your website. Have Shari’s as well. I am learning to sketch. You are a great teacher. I am a bit nervous about sketching outside in public as I am a beginner. Thanks for all the techniques. Cheryl
I have been hoping for another video. I LOVE your first one!! Thank you!!
I love your first class, I have learn so much in it and I really hope for win the second one ;-) I have bought a lot classes on crafts and like the platform, so easy to use and the best teachers in the world at one place. I have only paint watercolors until a get to craftsy, now I am learning sketching too and have so much fun. Thank you for doing a new course for us!
Anna
Hooray! Can’t wait! Thank you!
Signed up and watched 3 lessons so far! Love that you are so clear with your teaching. Will be doing some line drawing and practice tonight & upload it for comments after. Thank you for your class. It’s absolutely one of the best I’ve taken :)
dear sir: do you have sketching for Japanese gardens
I don’t have a specific article/class on this sorry, but that’s a great idea!
Sr. Marc Taró
He adquirido varios de sus videos y me gusta mucho su forma de plantearlos. Dos cosas, sin embargo me agradaria ver y es que apareciera en pantalla constantemente tanto el papel como la paleta para ver las mezclas de color. Otra cosa sería el doblaje al español.
Hace unos dias le dejé una respuesta para que enumerara los colores que aparecen en la paleta del video Drawing People in Places y como tienen ese aspecto tan gelatinoso.
Gracias.
Antonio Ponce
Marc, can you tell, and show me how to package a watercolor to send by mail?
I read you send yours un-matted, and un-framed, in rigid waterproof mailers. You just slip your watercolor in this mailer? And may I ask where you get them?
Did you ever mail a framed one?
Louise
Hey Louise – let’s see: I’ve never mailed a framed one – it’s too expensive from Canada that’s for sure. Cheaper for the customer to frame it at their end – and safer.
(Ok -I lied – that’s for sales of art – I have mailed framed work for exhibitions. So – that is A: Framed in Plexi not glass glass, and B: Boxed in a 6 inch deep box with styrofoam blue insulation slabs on all sides, top and bottom and edges – like a clamshell case for shipping a camera).
As for how to wrap an unmatted print – I use a clear polypropelene archival flap-seal bag from clearbags.com with an acid free backing board for the art and any artist-bio type info (this protects it till it gets to the framer or the final recipient if it’s re-gifted). Then that sealed bag goes inbetween two sheets of 1/8″ corrugated board, and the whole three ply sandwich goes into a white polyethylene tearproof bag from Uline.com {same place I get backing boards). I use sticky bubble envelopes on the outside for customs paperwork.
This whole system is stolen directly from a photographer online, but I can’t recall the original website, sorry.
I admit this system is overkill, but I like to be safe :)
~m
Marc, thanks. U – R awesome !
I will check that. Since I live an hour from Montreal, and not in California, (where I understood , the company ” clearbags” is located), I will try to see if Bureau en Gros, or another place in Canada has these bags.
Hope I don’t have to buy 100 though ha ha…
hi marc, your work is amazing. truly is. i was wondered. its common in urban sketching to draw freely, i know. we are not committed to any line what so ever. but, when i look at your sketchings, your lines looks preety weebly (continous contour drawing or not..doesnt matter). i saw it on other artists sketching as well (peter sheeler and more…). peter for example also draws a line and then makes a tiny scrible / “ties” and continue the line freely. it almost look like you all doing it in purpose to make some interest with the lines instead of a straight line when “needed” or it is just a line…(even just a simple roof / building walls) instead of just drawing a line. is it true? is it in pupropse? is it a way to style a free loose urban / people sketching? (i like it a lot. just wondered if its a technique or a style or what….)
and again, it goes both for one line sketching and other styles.
thx!!
It’s true! I do love line work, and do try to make the line more interesting, more personal – more than than simply practical. I suppose it’s just fun for me to do it that way. But also, I believe the whole point of drawing a place is to capture it in my own way. After all, if we are just making a strictly accurate document, then I guess we would just take a picture. I’m sure every urban sketcher is aware in the back of their mind, we’re doing something impractical! Not taking a picture is crazy :) So if we’re being crazy, lets be really crazy :)
its truly fun to go crazy.:} but just to clarify, your’e saying that the stylish lines / weebly lines are in purpose and have no connections to the view they are sketching? just as for a personal artist style? crazy lines?
Absolutely it’s on purpose. But I wouldn’t say they have ‘no connection’ to the view. What I’m doing with my continuous line is forcing myself to simplify shapes into only the necessary description – and at the same time emphasizing color blocks or shadow shapes. Where a line goes is always a response to a shape of light, or of color. So I am always observing, and it always comes from life, but the way I record my observations has a bit of personal style. But anyone who is trying to draw like this, will get similar results! As you’ve seen looking at other sketchers. Have a look at this post for a more in depth discussion of continuous line, and how it relates to watercolor wash: https://citizensketcher.com/2015/04/17/direct-to-ink-exercises-part-one-single-line-sketching/
thx! keep up with the amazing work. inspiring like crazy!.:}
hi marc!, srry for bothering. i had another question in mind i forgot to ask you. its about perspective.
sometimes i see people trying too much to pay attention to perspective. i see them framing with their hands or using a peace of paper leveling their eye sight to help with the right perspective. well, until now i divided urban sketchers into 2 styles: the ones that keep close attention to perspective and as we talked before get a much more accurate “documentary” look and feel (although they are also minimalising). the other ones are the ones that sketching spontanesously, whice means, they do pay attention to perspective but they less care about prespective and count on what the eye see even if it harder or make them do mistakes perspectively because its more about loosen up and sketch freely for them – they go with the flow as they draw. they dont try measuring up too much. the result is more interesting and more eccentric one, if you know what i mean. also, sometimes, because of that spontanesously way of sketching some parts will look not as right perspective wise or even. (whice is ok – i really like it). so i guess my main question is: if you know what i mean and understood me, when doing an urban sketching, is it so important to pay attention to the perspective (measuring, close the eye, peace of paper, pencil measure, etc….) or just draw what you see and go with the flow and feel? does a “good” sketch is “criticised” by more accurate perspectivelly it is as one of the parameters? or maybe its just 2 different styles and its up to me to decide?
thx.
Hi Mark
Thanks for sharing those titles.
I’m still waiting for the full review of the last course by Suhita (figure sketching). Could you provide one or at least a comparison between your lesson and her’s which look very similar?
Thank you,
Hi, I recently started urban sketching after purchasing your book, when I found your two mybluprint classes I was very excited, the problem is I’ve been having a lot of issues with this site, I can’t even buy the classes with any payment method and no answer from help support yet. After checking online it seems this site is not a good one. So I was wondering if there is an alternative site for purchasing the classes like gumroad or masterclass, etc. or if your planning to release them somewhere else? thanks a lot and your work is awesome!!
Unfortunately, not Momo! And I don’t own the right to distribute that material myself or even to teach it again using ‘too similar’ content. They’ve had many waves of re-organizations since the Craftsy site was purchased by NBC and turned into Bluprint. So at this point I’m completely out of the loop unfortunately. All we can do is keep talking to customer service. I wish there was more that I could do. I’ve also stopped giving answers to students on the site. After they retired the old platform, it became un-feasible for the instructors to provide personal support. Essentially we’ve been cut out of any future with the site, now that it’s gone ‘pay-for-all’ instead of ‘one-on-one’ it’s a bit like teaching for free – and I’d rather do that here:)
That’s a shame, the site seems to have great classes.And the idea of communicating with the teachers was very attractive. I think I’ll stick with your book and the blog. Thanks for replying, I hope to stay active in this blog ;)
oops, well, I might not be a well behaved instructor! I realized I just unsold you there and now it’s on the record. Probably I should have been more politic :) The classes actually are quite good, and from a variety of instructors, not all as lazy as myself!
I just discovered your site. OH IT IS FAULOUS. I am learning sooooooooooo much.
Thank you
Gerta
Just read your post about your father-in-law. I went through something similar with mine sometime ago my prayers go out to and your wife. I have a question I hope you can help me with. I have a fear of the blank page other than circles, squares, and triangles. Any suggestion how to get past the fear?
Hey Richard – For me, this anxiety is based on fear of failure. Like – “What if my drawing sucks! oh no! I better not try”. It might not look like it, but I understand the mentality all too well. So my solution is not giving myself enough time to worry about it. I do things like, set a challenge to draw 100 people in a week:) or finish an entire sketchbook in day. Things that prevent me from worrying so much about any single drawing, and force me to just produce, produce, produce. I make my fear of failing to meet the deadline, greater than my fear of making a bad drawing. Also, I say to myself ‘Well, I have to draw 100 people in a week – I defy anyone to judge me! Even if some are bad – I did 100 of them for goodness sake – I think I get a free pass :) :) And plus, if you do a lot of drawing, at least one will be passable, and you can take solace in the win, and ignore the failures!