Drawing Fundamentals for Beginners

Are you ready to reconnect with or begin exploring your curiosity for drawing? This course offers a welcoming and supportive space for anyone looking to pick up the pencil again, whether after years away from the sketchbook or for the very first time.

Across the course Stephanie Eather will introduce the foundations of observational drawing—line, tone, and perspective—while building your confidence to create drawings both small and large from life. Each week you’ll explore different elements of drawing and be introduced to historical references while developing technical skills that broaden your perception of the world around you. Stephanie guides you into the expressive side of drawing, working with a range of materials such as charcoal, Conté, ink, and pastel, using reference images, still life objects, and the inspiring surrounds of the NAS campus.

* NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students between 15 - 17 years of age.

* Drawing and painting short courses may be held in upstairs studios. If access to stairs is not suitable, please contact us at short.courses@nas.edu.au 

* What to bring? Please refer to the list of required materials in the Art Materials field below. 

Students must supply their own art materials, please refer to the list below.

Materials required for the first class:

• 1 x pad of A2 cartridge paper (approx. 20 sheets)
• A4 or smaller sketchbook with smooth paper
• 1-2 x Progresso (solid woodless graphite) pencils – 2B, 4B
• 1 x pencil sharpener or cutting blade
• 1 x hard eraser
• 1 x kneadable eraser
• 2 bulldog clips
• 1 x box willow charcoal (approx. 10 sticks)
• 1 charcoal pencil
• 1 - 3 x sticks of compressed charcoal
• 1 x white pastel pencil or white charcoal pencil
• 1 x fixative spray
• 1 x roll of masking tape
  

Additional materials (not required for the first class):

• 1 x small bottle black ink (approx. 60ml)
• 1 x old ice cube tray
• 3 x plastic containers with lids for ink
• 1 x soft synthetic paintbrush (approx. size 14 to 20) or any paintbrush that you have already
• 2 x A3 sheets of brown Kraft paper (around 200gsm)
• 1 sheet of 200gsm hot pressed paper (Fabriano, Arches, Canson or similar brand)

Enclosed footwear is essential in all studios on campus.

Stephanie Eather is a visual artist, living and working between Naarm (Melbourne), Gadigal land (Sydney) and rural Eastern Australia. Her painting practice explores the intersection of memory, materiality, and textile sustainability, informed by both traditional and contemporary drawing sensibilities. Stephanie completed a Master of Fine Art (Drawing) in 2023 at National Art School in Darlinghurst. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Art History from the University of Melbourne in 2013, and a Bachelor of Fine Art (Drawing) obtained from RMIT in 2009.
Eather’s artwork has been showcased in group and solo exhibitions across Australia and has been selected for prizes including the Gosford Art Prize and the Dobell Drawing Prize #21 and #22. In 2022, Eather was awarded the Bonner and Tonkin Drawing Award and won runner-up for the Vincent Prize in 2024. She is currently represented by Nanda\Hobbs in Chippendale, NSW. She teaches drawing and painting at National Art School, Sydney and at The Art Room in Melbourne.

https://nandahobbs.com/artist/stephanie-eather