Expressive Drawing, Painting & Mixed Media Techniques Course (Udemy.com)
Learn methods+materials for amazing art: watercolor, acrylic, ink, pens, charcoal, pencil, pastel, abstract and more.
Created by: Chad Neuman, Ph.D.
Last updated April 2020
What you will learn
- Learn how to use charcoal, graphite pencil, pens, and makers to effectively draw, individually and in combination with other materials
- Learn how to use watercolor paint, India ink, and acrylic paint to produce artistic, colorful washes
- Learn how to effectively paint with India ink and acrylic paint, using various dynamic mark making techniques
- Practice creativity and artistic expression
- Learn how to use optional materials such as salt, water, rubbing alcohol, and acetone to produce interest and texture in artworks
- Draw and paint creative, expressive portraits, landscapes, still life artworks and more, using a combination of representational and expressive techniques
Course Description
Welcome to the expressive drawing, painting, and mixed media techniques masterclass! In this online artistic drawing and painting course, you will apply creativity and learn various dynamic mark making techniques in various drawing, painting, and mixed media projects.
You will learn how materials such as graphite, charcoal, watercolor paint, acrylic paint, India ink, ink pens and markers, and pastel can work individually or with each other in order to produce beautiful, amazing works of art. There are specific considerations for each of these materials, and by completing this course, you will become a "materials master"! I also show how to use optional materials such as water, rubbing alcohol, acetone, denatured alcohol, vellum paper, unique mark making tools such as feathers and mop brushes, and masking materials such as painter's tape, rubber cement, and masking fluid.
However, if you only have access to paper, pencil, and some paint such as watercolor or acrylic, that is okay as well! I demonstrate these techniques and how they can be applied across a variety of mediums with a variety of mark making, erasing, and blending tools.
This course also allows you to practice creativity and expressiveness as you draw and paint in various artistic projects.
By the time you complete this expressive drawing and painting course, you will have produced a portfolio of amazing drawings, paintings, and mixed media works of art, including expressive and creative landscapes, portraits, still life drawings, and much, much more.
Once you enroll in this course, you get:
Lifetime access to all of the content, including over 8 hours of on-demand, helpful video demonstrations and instruction.
Various PDF handouts and support files.
Access to our exclusive Drawing Club forum, for helpful feedback and critique from peers and me, the instructor of this course, Jonathan Simon.
After the introduction section (where we provide helpful considerations of mark making and materials), the sections in this drawing course focus on specific projects, so you can follow along with my demonstration. Each section includes a material list and support files:
Expressive Ink Pen Eye Drawing with Watercolor - You will draw and paint an fun, beautiful, and expressive drawing and painting of an eye using various materials, including watercolor paint and ink pen and optional materials (salt and gesso).
Flowing Fish Drawing with Color Wash - By the time you have completed this project, you will have learned various relevant mark making, drawing, painting, blending, and erasing techniques and how to effectively transfer images. You will also learn flowing drawing techniques for the fish drawing and various ways to produce a beautiful watercolor wash.
Ink and Watercolor Expressive Portrait - During this project, you will learn how to produce an interesting, expressive portrait drawing and painting, by using various dynamic mark making and painting methods with ink and watercolor.
Atmospheric Ink Landscape with Acrylic Wash - You will draw an interesting landscape composition using ink, then we will apply a color wash using acrylic paint. Considerations of using ink and acrylic together as we draw and paint are included.
Ink and Pastel Artistic Tulip Landscape - In this project, you will draw an artistic landscape with colorful ink and add tulips with bright pastels. Material- and tool-specific considerations are included. Have fun!
Charcoal Still Life with Masking Methods - You will learn charcoal mark making methods and assorted masking techniques to produce an artistic still life drawing. We will then show how to safely tear and burn the edges for artistic effect.
Final Project: Portrait and Cityscape Artwork - In this final project of this course, we will use a variety of materials and methods used earlier in the course to produce an expressive portrait with a cityscape background. We will add layers of ink, charcoal, pastel, and gesso using two photos as reference.
Enroll now and get started producing amazing, beautiful works of art! We'll see you in the course. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you don't like the course, you can get a refund. But we know you'll love this course, as you produce awesome drawings, paintings, and mixed media art projects in this course.
Please note that anyone who wants to draw or paint expressively can join this course, but if you have trouble drawing the eye or face in three of the projects, we suggest you enroll in our Drawing Masterclass, which is an unofficial prerequisite for this course. It is not required, and we show you in this expressive course how to use tracing and transferring methods instead of sketching from reference or imagination, but just in case, this is an FYI. We do not go over the forms and subforms of the eye in this course, since it is more about expanding beyond that and drawing expressively and creatively and adding to the representational drawings and paintings that we produce in this course. Our other course can be found here on Udemy by clicking on our profiles.
Instructor Details
- 4.8 Rating
245 Reviews
Chad Neuman, Ph.D.
I love seeing students succeed in their designs, photos, productions, artistic work, and careers.
Do you want to learn become a better designer or communicator? Do you want to learn industry-standard editing and effects in Photoshop? Do you want to create logos for your brand or for clients? Do you want to learn new skills that are in demand in the new digital economy?
I'm passionate about communication, writing, art, and design education, and I'm currently a full-time professor of communication and digital media. I've developed curriculum and taught classes on design, photography, and writing for over a decade. My university students have become full-time, award-winning photographers, web designers, creative specialists, reporters, and layout designers. And now, you can learn from me as well!
Get started by enrolling in my courses, learning new skills and knowledge, and asking me questions in the courses and forums.
My Three-Part Qualifications to Teach You (Professional Experience, Education, and Experience Teaching):
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Reviews
By Nadja Tuschhoff on 1/12/2026
Bisher finde ich den Kurs sehr gut. Man kann den Videos gut folgen, mitmachen, entdecken und lernen Ich bin gespannt was noch so kommt!
By Neelam Aggarwal on 7/23/2024
Learnt various techniques as a beginner. My go to as and when I’m progressing in my artwork to understand the medium that I want to use in my painting to create a multimedia artwork.
By Dee Ross on 5/1/2024
No, not really but went thru course anyway
By Whitney S on 8/23/2023
Taking the drawing masterclass first definitely allowed me to get the most out of this class and really have fun with it. With the two together, I find I am able to really take the techniques and run with them. I cannot 'express' (sorry) my gratitude enough!
By Andrea Dyson on 11/13/2021
Absolutely loved this course. I learned so much and had lots of fun in the process. I totally recommend this to anyone interested in creating expressive artwork that looks amazing! Two thumbs up!
By Lorrie Jonas on 9/19/2021
I am an experience artist and I enjoyed this class immensely. Of course, I put my own flair into my work but it was nice to take a class that was meant for all levels and be free in my choices and expression.
By Amaya Azriel on 6/18/2020
Another inspiring course form Jonathon Simon. I love watching him create pieces from start to finish. Very relaxed and good paced classes
By Thania Wehmeyer on 5/17/2020
I have so enjoyed using mixed media together in one artwork. The lessons are excellent, very informative, easy to follow and nice that there is not constant talking. The range of materials is great and helps you think of other materials you can use as substitutes or your own materials. The techniques shown is great to try out. I have learnt to loosen up and be happy with mistakes I can turn into something else. I love strong colour and texture in my work so have loved layering. I need to get an electric eraser! I mainly work with watercolour, coloured pencil and pen but have loved using charcoal and the Velum paper. I like that it crinkles as it adds an added dimension. Thank you! It has been brilliant to do. Thania Wehmeyer ( Dalgety Bay, Scotland )
By Tiffany White on 5/12/2020
This is the first of a few courses I have taken in art/drawing on Udemy to provide a list of materials for the entire class at the beginning as well as embedded into each lesson. It is so much easier to be prepared for class and to follow along with instructions with this resource. I am about half way through the course and I am super excited about the projects and the inspiration I have gotten from it. Expressive art just may be my thing! If you are an absolute beginner and do not feel very confident in your abilities to draw free-handed, the second lesson provides some good instructions on tracing and transferring so that you can focus on the different techniques. I am looking forward to the upcoming course using colored pencils and cannot wait for it to become available soon.
By Liza Welfare on 12/1/2019
Instruction is very clear, at a nice easy pace. The first lesson did have some audio issues, where the sound seemed to fade in and out a bit. I love how they have different media shown here and different ways of using them. Learning so much at the moment. Thank you for your wonderful courses.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 96 / 100












