Online art courses are in general about modern and contemporary art. The learner doesn't necessarily have to have special understanding of art or computers to do this course. Additionally, it doesn't matter regardless of if the learner has been to college to study art or not. The main requirement is to have some amount of interest in modern art and in learning something new. Online art courses are mainly about looking at, wondering about, and discussing art, or what will be at times referred to as art appreciation.

Drawing - Unless you are into complete abstract art (and also then) it's absolutely necessary that you have some drawing skills. In reality, personally, I almost always start a painting with a drawing, whether it is in charcoal, graphite pencil, or thin paint. I find it reassuring that, by the time I start the real painting course for beginners, the whole scene is already in place.

The four Basic Shapes - I base my drawings on four basic geometric shapes: the sphere, the cylinder, the cone, as well as the cube. Just about every object can be built from these four forms. Of course, some objects will contain distorted versions of these shapes nevertheless they still will provide you with a good basis out of which to create a first fairly accurate version of your scene.

Composition - Composition refers to the means by which objects are positioned relative to each other on the page. More formally, it is the arrangement of forms and spaces within the format of the page. The main characteristic of the best composition in drawing is the fact that it creates a feeling of balance in position. The forms and spaces should be balanced relative to the vertical and also the horizontal that proceed through the center of the canvas.

There should also be a balance with regards to value. Darks and lights should balance each other out in an overall sense. To paraphrase, having too much black on one side or a complete lack of it is generally not good. The exact same is true for intensity. The intense parts and additionally the dull parts in a drawing should show an overall balance. Simply, sometimes an unexpected deviation from the perfect balance gives excitement and interest to a drawing. This is a matter of artistic sensibility.

Always choose a focal point in your drawing and compose the scene in such a manner that all roads lead to the focal point. The focal point must also be the place in which you add the most detail. Make sure not to place objects such that they divide the canvas exactly in half. On top of that, space similar objects unevenly. One example is when you will discover four trees in the picture, do not space them equally unless that is the intent. Do not let objects kiss each other or the edges of the canvas. Make them overlap or crop them. Furthermore, do not staircase a series of similar objects and do not let lines go out within the corners of the canvas.