Looking for the best painting online classes? Well, look no further… We’ve put together a list of the best painting tutorials on the internet. We’ve made sure we’ve included free and paid ones to give you a variety of options.
Technically-speaking, painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment or color to a solid surface. But really developing your painting skills involves improving your understanding of technique and perspective, while learning how to communicate feelings and emotions through the use of color and space. Certainly formal education (such as a college major in Art) is one way to develop your painting skills. But thankfully there are also plenty of online classes and courses that cover everything you need to know to improve your painting abilities.
Suitable for those of all levels, we have spent the time researching the best painting courses online. If you’re looking to progress your fine art skills, either in preparation for a career or just for fun as hobby, the below courses will help you become a better painter.
1. Acrylic Painting: Learn the Basics for Beginners (Skillshare)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 2h 6m
- Cost: 14-day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 24,329
- Course rating: N/A
Laurie Anne Gonzalez is a full time painter who captures her travels in paint! In this course, you will learn how to get started with acrylic painting.
Laurie covers lots of information, but the class is broken down into six categories, which are: 1) your workspace, where you are taught how to make your workspace the perfect place to paint; 2) color mixing, where you are taught how to mix colors to get a beautiful range of colors; 3) brushes, where you are shown the best brushes to use and what marks they make; 4) texture, where you are taught how to use acrylic mediums to build really nice texture; 5) dimensions, where you are taught how to create dimensions when painting objects; and 6) depth of field, where you will learn how to achieve depth when painting a landscape.
At the end of this class, you will have the skills to begin painting your own beautiful acrylic paintings!
2. Intro to Abstract Painting #1 and #2 (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 3h 25m
- Cost: $39.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 8,874
- Course rating: 4.3/5 (out of 1,065 ratings)
Taught by Andy Morris, a full time abstract painter with years of experience, this Udemy course gives you a concise, yet in-depth intro, into Abstract painting!
No previous experience is needed to complete this course, just a bit of enthusiasm and the desire to learn! Andy will take you over all the essential topics, including how to paint your first painting, understanding abstract art, design and composition, how to paint landscapes, strategies for selling paintings, how to add the finishing touches to paintings, and much more!
By the end of this course, you should be able to paint exceptional Abstract Art with a huge wow-factor, even if you’ve never painted before!
3. Online Painting Course (Shaw Academy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 16 weeks
- Cost: 4 weeks free unlimited access
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 24,676
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 948 ratings)
Certified by Austin Peay State University, this Shaw Academy course offers a fantastic way to learn new painting skills and become a master painter. Taught by expert teachers, you will learn how to paint using naturalistic, expressive and experimental styles. You will also learn how to create still life, landscape and portrait paintings, how to use different paint mediums (e.g., acrylic and watercolor), how to use visual literacy and how to use the creative process to create original ideas.
After completing this course, you will receive a globally recognized certification that you can show to employers to increase your earning potential and career advancement!
4. How to Paint From Beginner to Master – Acrylic Painting (Udemy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 21h 2m
- Cost: $39.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 7,157
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 948 ratings)
In this class you will learn time honored painting techniques, combined with contemporary approaches.
Taught by Joseph Daniels, a fine artists and illustrator based in New York, this course is suitable for absolutely anyone wanting to learn how to master the art of painting! In this 21 hours course, you’ll learn to familiarize yourself with the terminologies used in the class. You’ll then complete exercises designed to determine your strengths and weaknesses and you’ll learn specifically how to correct these. As well as this, you’ll learn visualization and simplification techniques, how to mix colors, how to paint in detail, how to draw attention to focal points, the science behind different materials and how to underpaint. The course will then finish by teaching you how to paint a portrait, how to varnish a painting, and much more!
5. Absolute Beginners Acrylic Course (The Will Kemp Art School)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 3.5h
- Cost: $69
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
Taught by Will Kemp, a famous artist who has set up a well-recognized online art school, this course is best suited to complete painting newbies.
In this class, Will will teach you how to overcome ‘blank white canvas’ anxiety, so you can switch from the ‘art admirer’ to the ‘art creator’. You will learn the foundations of working with acrylic paint and will discover how they art the simplest, and most effective, paint choice for absolute beginners.
With over 3 hours of expert tuition, you will learn both beginner and advanced painting methods, from underpainting and glazing to textural effects. You’ll also cover set setup and materials, color mixing and pigment choice, brush-handling and palette-knife techniques. You’ll also complete a still-life, landscape and seascape using three different color palettes.
6. Adventures in Gouache: Painting and Pattern Making Techniques (Skillshare)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 45m
- Cost: 14-day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 5,732
- Course rating: N/A
Suitable for those of all levels, from complete painting beginners to experts, you’ll learn how to paint with gouache and get the best out of it. You will start with some paint tech exercises, and then you’ll move on to pattern making. You’ll get to grips with what materials you will need, the different qualities of the paint pigment, how to paint, how to layer paint and what effects different brushes have.
After completing this course, you should have a library of inspiration! On top of this, you’ll be able to use gouache, an incredibly versatile medium, to create wonderful paintings.
7. Color Theory & Mixing (Youtube)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 13m
- Cost: Free
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 197,391
- Course rating: N/A
This very short, and very simple, Youtube tutorial will give you a thorough introduction into color theory and mixing.
Taught by Jeanette Jobson, who has over 5,000 subscribers, you will learn how to mix colors using a split primary pallet. After completing this very short course, you should feel confident using oil paints and mixing them to create a whole array of beautiful colors to paint with!
8. How To Solve Painting Problems (Udemy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 4h 1m
- Cost: $39.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 1,304
- Course rating: 4.5/5 (out of 134 ratings)
Taught by Malcolm Dewey, a professional artist with over 20 years experience in painting, this class will help anyone, of any level, to progress their art skills and address their calling to be creative and overcome typical painting problems.
Every artist, whether they are new or experienced, will come across problems with painting. This course will teach you all the important skills you need to tweak these problems and save yourself a lot of time and frustration! In this class, you will plan, prepare and complete a landscape painting that will leave you feeling more confident for the next time and increase your enjoyment of painting!
Conclusion
So, there you have it… the 8 best online painting classes.
There are a huge variety of online classes available to teach you everything you need to know about painting. Some of the painting tutorials are quick and free. Others are more expensive and take more time to complete – but they offer a more in-depth exploration of different painting techniques. Similarly, some are better suited to complete beginners with no illustration experience. Whereas others are far better suited to experienced creatives.
All of the above online classes are excellent. They are the best of the best. Each is taught by an experienced and dedicated teacher and they all have lots of satisfied and happy customers.
So, which course you decide take depends on you experience, funds and spare time. Are you a complete illustration newbie? Or have you got years of experience in the industry and just want to refresh your knowledge? Do you have a huge amount of money to spend on your skill development? Do you have a lot of spare time, or are you just looking for a quick, but effective, skill top up?
