Our mission is to help you reach your full potential as an artist.
We strive to create a positive, focused, and results-driven learning experience that will give you the skills and confidence you need to reach your full potential. Brian and I are both lifelong artists and we know how challenging learning to draw is. Fortunately, you don't have to do it alone. Join our community and we will help you succeed!
Check out Olivia's art here: @livipage
Check out Brian's art here: @brianknoxart
Brian's method of teaching combines traditional drawing techniques with his knowledge of human anatomy.
He teaches an observational method called comparative measurement which allows for more flexibility than the alternative common method of sight-size. Comparative measurement is a technique popular with illustrators because it allows artists to scale their drawing up or down to fit a composition of any size.
He teaches basic drawing principles such as shape, value, edge, and perspective and shows students exactly how each of these concepts applies to the figure drawing process.
Brian teaches a reliable 4-step process which can be used to approach any pose in a logical way. By working through each stage: gesture, structure, anatomy, and value (shading), students will know exactly when and how to apply the drawing principles they have learned without confusion.
Brian teaches skeletal and muscular anatomy throughout his courses in a way that progressively adds more detail over time.
He will also teach you how to master the medium of charcoal drawing which can be adapted to graphite if needed. This medium will allow you to master value, edge, line, and build dexterity that will carry over into any other artistic medium you pursue in the future.
Brian started training as a student at Watts Atelier in 2011. He always had an interest in learning to draw comic book style illustrations and wanted to leave behind his previous desk job for a career that would allow him to pursue drawing full time. Over time, he realized that what he enjoyed most about drawing was the technical process of analyzing the human figure and developed a style of drawing that focused on simple and logical head and figure construction.
After studying at Watts for 2 years, Brian was invited to become an instructor himself. His patient and analytical personality made him a good candidate for teaching others the concepts he had recently learned himself. The fact that being a student was still fresh in his memory became a valuable asset to his ability to teach drawing fundamentals in a way that beginner students could easily grasp. He realized that many of the more seasoned instructors he met over the years had grown distant from the experience of being a beginner and although they were great teachers, teaching the basics was not their passion. While many instructors enjoyed teaching more advanced concepts, Brian took a particular interest in focusing on the fundamentals. He soon discovered that his passion was the challenge of taking the complexities of figure drawing and figuring out simple easy-to-understand ways to explain and teach them.
After teaching at Watt’s Atelier for 7 years, Brian and his wife Olivia decided to team up and start Foundation Art School, an online art school dedicated to teaching students foundational head and figure drawing concepts. This school functions as a gateway into drawing and representational art and gives students the foundation they need to pursue more complex subjects at other schools. Having his own school allows Brian the freedom to spend more time teaching each individual student and ultimately ensure that every student is able to get the attention needed to achieve impressive progress.
Brian has made teaching figure and head drawing fundamentals the central focus of his career. He enjoys the challenges that come with teaching figure drawing and has developed a method of teaching that incorporates many traditional drawing techniques with the vast anatomical information he has learned about the human body.
He always takes a simple-to-complex approach to teaching. He makes sure that students learn a clear base level of knowledge to start with before advancing to more complex concepts. This method allows students to build their skills and knowledge progressively without confusion.
Brian’s method of teaching also takes into account the fact that learning to draw is a skill that takes lots and lots of practice and repetition. Not only does he teach the drawing concepts themselves, Brian also teaches his students how to train and offers guidance for how to study and practice in a way that will yield excellent results. Learning a concept and practicing it only once will not result in progress, so learning how to approach training long term is key. Brian teaches his students how the process of learning works and how to approach training with patience, consistency, and offers support to encourage students to keep going and reach their goals.
Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate artist who is ready to take your art to the next level, Brian can help you establish a solid foundation of drawing skills which you can build upon for the rest of your life. Once you master the fundamentals, you’ll have drawing skills as well as the meta skills of focus, discipline, and consistency which are needed to ascend to an advanced level of art in any medium.