Beginners Art & Design Courses
Every great artist started here. Embark on your creative journey with art and design courses for beginners at the City Lit Art School. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refresh your skills, our expert-led courses provide a supportive environment to help you unlock your creative potential.
Our courses cover a range of artistic techniques including drawing, painting, printmaking, and graphic design. Learn the fundamentals of creating art, from sketching to using colour, and discover how to bring your ideas to life through different mediums. Whether you’re interested in traditional methods or digital design, we offer a variety of options to suit your artistic preferences.
With hands-on learning, live sessions, and individual feedback from experienced tutors, you’ll gain the skills and confidence to express your creativity. You’ll also be part of a vibrant artistic community where you can share your work, get feedback, and be inspired by others.
Explore our range of beginners art and design courses today, available both online and in London, and take the first step towards developing your artistic skills.
346 courses available
- Site specific sculpture: public sculpture
This two-day course immerses you in modern and contemporary sculpture through a guided visit to Tate Modern and a practical session at City Lit’s sculpture studio. On the first day, explore key works, discuss techniques, and gather inspiration with an expert tutor. On the second day, develop an exhibition proposal or create a small 3D artwork using clay, plaster, latex, and wax, while exploring foundational sculptural concepts in a supportive, hands-on environment.
Keeley Street
Sat 12 Sep 2026Valerie MerloFull fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Cyanotype printmaking in a dayCyanotype is a photographic printing process which produces a beautiful deep blue print from a variety of artwork, including drawings, photographs, physical objects or combinations of all of these. All levels welcome.
Keeley Street
Mon 14 Sep 2026 (and 6 other dates)Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00 - Clay sculpture: life and portrait
Follow in the footsteps of Michelangelo and Rodin to learn how to capture the human figure, both physically and emotionally, on this fascinating practical sculpting course. You will work from a life model to develop your own clay sculpture of the human form.
Full fee £619.00 Senior fee £495.00 Concession £402.00 - Metal sculpture: beginners to intermediate
Learn the techniques required in making sculptural or functional objects in steel: cutting, bending, welding and joining small scale metal. Please bring ideas, inspiration and scrap metal. This course is for beginners and those at intermediate level.
Full fee £499.00 Senior fee £399.00 Concession £324.00 - Drawing from plants and flowersExplore the delicacy and beauty of plants and flowers through the medium of drawing. Respond to their structural qualities and colours, using a range of media and taking inspiration from a rich and varied history of the subject. Suitable for all levels of experience.Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £279.00 Concession £227.00
- Jewellery: beginners evening course
This year-long evening course is ideal for learners with some basic jewellery-making experience, as well as motivated beginners keen to challenge themselves - all ready to expand their technical skills and creative confidence. Across three progressive terms, you will explore a wide range of traditional and contemporary techniques, including soldering, stone setting, chain making, stones in place sand casting and Mitsuro Hikime wax technique.
Keeley Street
Mon 14 Sep 2026Kinga OlahFull fee £1,599.00 Senior fee £1,279.00 Concession £1,039.00 - Pottery: introduction to throwing and decorationLearn basic throwing skills to enable you to make a variety of simple forms including cylinders, bowls, vases and lidded jars. Gain a basic understanding of surface decoration using slips, oxides, underglazes and glazes.
Keeley Street
Mon 14 Sep 2026Trish SpenceFull fee £649.00 Senior fee £519.00 Concession £422.00 - Art and design portfolio projects
Develop and realise your creative language in art and design through a series of workshops and small projects. You will build a portfolio of work in 2D and 3D that will help you discover your personal style and interests.
Full fee £479.00 Senior fee £383.00 Concession £311.00 - Photography for beginners
Do you sometimes take great photographs but feel that it’s hit and miss whether things come out how you want them to? Maybe you have a great camera but don’t know how to use it beyond Auto? Maybe you’re just mystified at what half the buttons on your camera actually do? Discover how to have more control over your image-making, even as a complete beginner. Getting the right amount of technical knowledge explained in an accessible way, plus lots of creative guidance will mean you can really enjoy taking great photographs. An ideal first step to start you off on your photography journey.
Full fee £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00 - Watercolour painting: mixed media techniquesWatercolour has a rich tradition - this course will explore the more experimental ways of using this pleasurable medium and will present new possibilities for producing exciting new work with mixed media. Make inventive combinations of media to draw from your own found imagery, photographs and sketches.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
- City Lit textiles: mixed mediaInvestigate mixed-media textiles through this project-based course which introduces a variety of materials, techniques and design processes. You will develop a creative portfolio of textile samples using sketchbook research and finally work towards a finished piece.Full fee £529.00 Senior fee £423.00 Concession £344.00
- Introduction to pattern cutting IExpand your clothesmaking knowledge and learn introductory skills and techniques of pattern cutting and learn how to draft a classic dress block.You will then learn how to use the block to create patterns and silhouettes from a design. This course is suitable for those who have some experience in clothes making and would like to learn how to craft their own patterns.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00
- Try it out: animation
Ever fancied producing your own animations for web, devices and video? Come and learn the basics of creating professional-looking animated sequences using the software application Adobe After Effects.
Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00 - Draw, paint, printOn this experimental course, you will draw, paint and print in often unfamiliar ways in order to catch the unexpected. Through experimentation and reflection, you will collate a personal collection of work.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00
- Mosaics introductory: direct methodDevelop creative expression and confidence in this classic art form. Explore manufactured/recycled materials and surface qualities by applying them directly onto a base to create your own Mosaic Please bring ideas/sketchbooks. Basic materials are provided. All levels welcome.Full fee £549.00 Senior fee £439.00 Concession £357.00
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