Memorial Day Sale
Save 30% on Select Colored Pencil Courses
Refresh your skills, rebuild momentum,
and choose your next step at the drawing board!
Ready to Start Drawing Again?
Save 30% During the Memorial Day Sale!
Whether you’re ready to get back to the drawing board, refresh your skills, or finally start learning a process that feels more structured, this is a great time to choose your next step.
Pick the Project That Fits Your Next Step
Apply the coupon code during checkout for your entire cart discount!
These selected courses and workshops are available at Memorial Day pricing for a limited time.
If you’ve been meaning to start drawing again, brush up on a specific skill, or add a new project to your learning library, this is a good time to do it.
This Memorial Day Sale Won’t Last Long
Choose one course or build your own bundle from the options below and use coupon code MDSALE2026 at checkout!
Learn how to draw a realistic cherry still life in colored pencil on white Stonehenge paper using the burnishing technique. In this step-by-step course, John walks you through the full process from initial layout and grisaille to layering, color building, smooth transitions, and final details.
You’ll work with Polychromos colored pencils and learn how to create the rich color, reflective shine, and smooth skin of cherries without solvents, powders, or shortcuts — just strong fundamentals and real-time instruction.
Surface:
- Stonehenge (8 x 8")
- Alternatives: White Pastelmat, Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
*Materials List included with course
Techniques:
- Burnishing
INCLUDES Step-by-step workbook
Learn how to draw a realistic lime still life in colored pencil while building the core skills every colored pencil artist needs: layering, pencil pressure, sharp-point control, color testing, blending, burnishing, solvent use, and texture development.
This beginner-to-intermediate workshop walks students through the full process on Stonehenge paper, from the light line drawing and color interpretation to building form, deepening shadows, adding lime texture, and finishing the soft background.
Surface:
- White Stonehenge (8 x 10" or 9 x 12") - 2 sheets
- Alternative: Hot-Pressed cotton watercolor paper
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
- Solvent
- Paint brush
*Materials List included with course
Techniques:
- Burnishing
- Solvent application on colored pencil
INCLUDES Step-by-step workbook
Dismissed: Colored Pencil Workshop - Vault Series
$197
⭐⭐ BEGINNER to INTERMEDIATE
The Dismissed Colored Pencil Workshop is a previously 2-day live recorded workshop. Dismissed focuses on creating a realistic rendering of an old discarded truck using a combination of colored pencil and PanPastel techniques on Pastelmat.
Surface:
- White Pastelmat (~9.5 x 12")
- Alternatives: Stonehenge, Bristol Vellum, Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
- Pan Pastel
- Solvent
- Paint brush
*Materials List included with course
Techniques:
- Solvent application on colored pencil
- Pan Pastel application
Create a vibrant colored pencil still life of a glass teacup filled with red tea, complete with a lime wedge, tea bag, saucer, reflections, and soft shadows. In this beginner-to-intermediate workshop, you’ll learn how to work on Pastelmat, use solvent to move pigment, build transparent glass effects, interpret color and value, and refine details like water droplets, reflections, and glowing red liquid.
Surface:
- White Pastelmat (~9 x 12")
- Alternative: Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
- Solvent
- Paint brush
*Materials List included with course
Techniques:
- Solvent application on colored pencil
INCLUDES Step-by-step workbook
This 80 minutes recorded live training (and 2-page guide) walks you step by step through how to approach drawing hair in colored pencil using a clear, structured process that simplifies even the most complex textures.
Originally taught in a live setting with real-time interaction and Q&A, this session captures both the instruction and the natural problem-solving that happens in the moment.
Surface:
- Any surface/size
Materials:
- Colored Pencil
- Solvent
- Paint brush
Techniques:
- Learn 6-step process for drawing realistic hair*
*Includes 2-page guide for 6-step process
Tiny Titan: Portrait Primer Workshop/Booster - Vault Series
$147
⭐⭐ BEGINNER to INTERMEDIATE
Tiny Titan is a relaxed portrait workshop designed for artists at any stage — whether you're brand new to colored pencil or just need a refresh on portrait basics.
Walk step-by-step through rendering the face, focusing on soft transitions, structure, and layering techniques that build confidence and realism without overwhelm. You’ll leave with foundational skills that apply to any kind of drawing — and the belief that yes, you can do this.
Surface:
- White Pastelmat (8 x 10")
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
- Solvent
- Paintbrush
*Materials List (in workbook) included with course
Techniques:
- Dry brush blending
- Solvent application on colored pencil
INCLUDES main and booster workbooks
Learn how to draw a rustic train car landscape in colored pencil on white Pastelmat. In this course, you’ll simplify a detailed outdoor scene into manageable sections, build an underpainting with solvent, develop realistic sky and cloud layers, create organic trees and grass, and add weathered details to the train car. You’ll also see how Brush & Pencil Titanium White and Touch-Up Texture can be mixed together to create a small white-paint effect for details such as flowers in the field.
Surface:
- White Pastelmat (9 x 12"; not < 8 x 10")
- Alternative: Sanded Paper
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
- Solvent
- Paintbrush
- Titanium White and Touch-Up Texture
*Materials List included with course
Techniques:
- Using Titanium White and Touch-Up Texture
- Solvent application on colored pencil
INCLUDES Step-by-Step Workbook
Grisaille Portrait Workshop - Vault Series
$147
⭐⭐ BEGINNER to INTERMEDIATE
Learn how to build a stronger colored pencil portrait using the grisaille method — a classical approach that starts with a fully developed grayscale under-drawing before color is added. In this prerecorded workshop, you'll walk through the process of planning values, building form, and using a monochromatic foundation to create a more believable final drawing. You'll learn how to draw Alessandra freehand, checking your measurements with a ruler to ensure drawing accuracy.
Originally taught as a 4-day live workshop, this course also includes additional follow-up drawing sessions where John continues the project and demonstrates how to complete the entire drawing from start to finish.
Surface:
- White Pastelmat (~9 x 12")
- Alternatives: Stonehenge Paper, Bristol Vellum, Hot-Pressed Watercolor Paper
Materials*:
- Colored Pencil
- Solvent
- Paintbrush
*Materials List included with course
Techniques:
- Grisaille underpainting
- Building a value scale
Build confidence drawing portraits without relying on tracing. In this prerecorded Freehand Bootcamp workshop, you'll work from a portrait reference of Grant and learn how to measure, compare, block in, and refine a drawing by hand using simple tools like drawing paper, graphite pencil, drafting film or tracing paper, an eraser, and a ruler.
The focus is on training the eye, improving accuracy, and developing a practical freehand process that can be used for future portrait drawings.
Surface:
- Any Drawing paper, eg., 8.5 x 11" printer paper
- Drafting film or tracing paper
Materials*:
- Graphite HB or Col-erase Pencil
- Eraser
- Ruler
*Materials List included with course one page guide
Techniques:
- Freehand drawing of portrait