Discover the Best Drawing Classes in San Francisco
San Francisco is one of the largest cities in California and is well known for a thriving and exciting art scene. If you’re interested in joining this market or simply want to create art for yourself, learning to draw is a great first step. You can learn how to use many drawing materials, pencil-, pen-, crayon-, marker-, and charcoal-based design. Thankfully, many in-person and virtual courses in San Francisco can teach you how to be a better and more skilled artist.
Why You Should Learn Drawing in San Francisco
Learning to draw in San Francisco could provide you with a great full- or part-time career, particularly a fun side hustle. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), full-time artists make around $49,960 per year or $24.02 hourly. As that’s well below San Francisco’s $109K average salary, it’s best to learn drawing as a side hustle while focusing on your full-time job. After all: every extra dollar will help you pay the heavy expenses associated with San Francisco living.
Even if you don’t make money with your art, learning to draw is still beneficial in many ways. For example, according to multiple studies, creating art can manage anxiety, decrease depression symptoms, and improve your confidence. That makes drawing a great way to relieve the stress of living in a big city like San Fran and can help you meet fellow artists in your community.
In-Person Drawing Classes in San Francisco
While you can learn to draw using video-based platforms like YouTube, in-person drawing courses provide San Francisco residents with many benefits. First, you’ll get hands-on experience with a live professor who can help you better understand drawing techniques. Furthermore, most courses provide your drawing materials, minimizing your expenses.
Thankfully, there are multiple in-person drawing classes in San Francisco that may interest you. They focus on beginner, intermediate, and advanced learning, as well as specialized art styles. For example, there are classes on drawing cartoons, manga, and even photo-realistic designs. This diversity of courses makes San Francisco a great place to learn how to draw.
Portrait Workshop
Portrait Workshop is an Art School of SF Bay program that teaches up to eight people how to draw beautiful portraits. This five-week program covers capturing a person’s head and shoulders properly, how to use shapes, lines, and textures, and producing an individualistic art style. When you’re done, you’ll have a great portrait and can use these skills to make more.
Manga for Adults
Manga for Adults is an Art School of SF Bay class on Irving Street in the Sunset District. This eight-person program accepts people of all skill levels and teaches in-depth manga design techniques. You’ll learn basic manga styles, focus on creating unique designs, draw personalized character portraits, and finish with a portfolio of attractive manga-style artwork.
Digital Art 101
Digital Art 101 is a Richmond Art Center program on Barret Avenue in Richmond, California. Rather than pencil-and-paper styles, Digital Art 101 focuses on computer-based designs. You’ll learn how to use drawing programs to sketch attractive artwork, color your designs effectively, and produce unique characters and backgrounds that make your digital artwork stand out.
Omi Callings: Painting the Orishas
Omi Callings: Painting the Orishas is a Richmond Art Center class on Barret Avenue in Richmond, California. This four-week course accepts up to 12 students of all skill levels. You’ll learn about the Yoruba spiritual tradition and create three paintings that celebrate it. This course is a great option for artistic people with a spiritual side.
Oil Painting, Old Masters Technique
Oil Painting, Old Masters Technique is an Art School of SF Bay program on Irving Street that focuses on old-school, oil-based painting techniques. This four-day class covers human head and neck proportions, overall human anatomy, priming, drawing, underpainting, applying color, producing shadows, and more to create a gorgeous oil-based painting.
Advanced Manga Art Camp (Ages 10-16)
Advanced Manga Art Camp (Ages 10-16) is a kid-friendly Art School of SF Bay course taught on Irving Street. It teaches younger artists how to craft beautiful manga-style designs during five days of lessons in a day-camp environment. As the class progresses, your designs will improve and you’ll use more advanced techniques to produce better artwork.
Oil & Acrylic Painting
Oil & Acrylic Painting is an in-depth Art School of SF Bay class that covers subjects like color theory, color mixing, expressing moods through color, painting beautiful objects, assessing appropriate tone types, and various painting styles. These painting techniques include impressionism, classical painting, still life, landscape artwork, and much more.
Virtual Drawing Classes
Do you prefer working from home or are interested in a class in New York City but obviously can’t make the commute from San Francisco? Online drawing courses may work well for you! You can attend them wherever you want, which opens you up to programs around the nation. However, you typically have to buy all learning materials and have less socialization time.
That said, online drawing classes in San Francisco work well for people who hate commuting or those who simply enjoy working at home. If you’re interested in these virtual courses, take a look at the options below. They’re just a few of the classes available to you, so read through each description carefully to learn what each requires from you.
Botanical Drawing (Online)
Botanical Drawing (Online) is a 92nd Street Y course that teaches the basic drawing skills needed to produce attractive botanical artwork. For example, you’ll learn how to sketch things like plants, flowers, vegetables, petals, and even vines using pencils. Then, you’ll practice basic coloring and texturing methods to produce even more attractive designs.
Drawing With Colored Pencils
Drawing With Colored Pencils is a Chicago Botanic Garden program that covers colored pencil drawing techniques. You’ll learn about working on toned paper and how to maintain your colored pencils. Other covered subjects include the “heightened” drawing method that helps you produce more vivid colors and designs with your pencils.
Figure and Nature Drawing/Painting
Figure and Nature Drawing/Painting is an online Evanston Art Center class that teaches up to 10 people basic drawing techniques through lectures, warm-up drawings, and longer finished poses. You’ll learn gesture design, lines, shapes, contours, planes, volumes, and anatomical shapes. Thankfully, this course lets you either draw or paint, depending on your preference.
Private Group Drawing Classes in San Francisco
Are you interested in private drawing classes for groups in San Francisco? CourseHorse can help you find a program that works for your needs. These classes cover multiple subjects, including basic drawing techniques, cartooning, and more advanced skills like manga production. Choosing a course should vary based on your employees’ interests.
For example, Virtual Group Drawing & Sketching is a 255-person class that teaches your employees how to create still life drawings and landscapes, as well as faces and botanical styles. Similarly, Virtual Sun Printing Workshop teaches up to 100 people how to use the sun and special paper to produce intricate and gorgeous designs.
If these classes don’t appeal to you, contact CourseHorse right away to learn more about other available options. They may have courses that aren’t listed publicly and can help you sign up for them. Other benefits of working with CourseHorse include large class sizes, no booking fees, adjustable groups after booking, and multiple supported learning platforms.
