Short-term Classes in Austin

At Atelier Dojo, we are dedicated to fostering the next generation of artists. We offer 6-week classes led by nationally recognized artists in an intimate and welcoming environment in Austin. We believe art education should be accessible to everyone which is why we offer classes to all skill levels with evening and weekend flexibility! Our immersive adult art classes focus on the fundamentals and classical skills of realism art through drawing and painting. From figure drawing and painting to portrait painting, our art classes in Austin can help artists discover their artistic potential and learn valuable skills. Explore our upcoming classes below and register today! 

Have any questions about our classes? Get in touch with us for more information!

Clothed Figure Drawing

Saturdays 9:30am -12:30pm (3 hours)

6 classes: $450

Starts July 11th, 2026

Dates: 7/11, 7/18, 7/25, 8/1, 8/8, 8/22

Instructor:

Pedro Cardoso

Class Description:

Clothed and Costume figures can quickly become a daunting subject to draw. Folds twist and, well, fold all over the forms of the body, concealing what the artist is used to drawing in your typical figure drawing class. It’s hard not to want to draw all of those surface details, and impossible to not get lost in them.
This class will present you with a few systems to help you understand and simplify clothing on the human figure. Much like human anatomy, there is a pattern that fabric will adhere to when the body moves underneath which will help guide us in our artistic practice. In this class you’ll brush up on your figure drawing skills and learn how to relate gesture and structure to fold dynamics, how to identify and draw different kinds of folds and then expand that knowledge to varying styles of clothes and more complex costumes.

It is recommended that you have Figure Drawing experience before taking this class.

Day 1:
Review of figure drawing techniques and how the movements of the body relates to folds. Introduction to Fold Dynamics through the idea of Squash and Stretch of the figure and the resulting lines of the fabric on top. Poses will vary in length, but stay within the short pose range of 2-5 minutes.

Days 2 and 3:
We’ll cover the 7 Types of Folds and their behavior according to the positions of the cloth over the body, and how they change according to the movements of the body parts. Poses will vary in length, but stay within the short pose range of 5-20 minutes.

Days 4, 5, 6:
We’ll continue our investigation into folds and their dynamic movements over the body. Models will wear different styles of clothes with varied types of fabric so we can observe how the pattern changes between each type and style. We’ll cover drawing techniques from how to capture folds with lines to different rendering techniques for tones. Poses will vary in length, but stay within the longer pose range of 20-60 minutes.

SUPPLY LIST:

• Strathmore 400 Series 18”x24” Sketch Pad - White

• General’s Charcoal Pencil 2B, three to four pencils.

• Compressed Charcoal sticks. Conte or Alpha Color brands recommended.

• Kneaded and regular white eraser

• Paper Stumps

• Exacto Knife or Box Cutter knife. Box Cutter recommended.

Figure Drawing

Thursdays 6:30 - 9:30 pm

6 classes: $450 (includes model fees)

Starts June 25, 2026

Instructor: Danny Grant

Prerequisites:

None

Class Description:

This class is designed to teach students a step-by-step process for approaching every figure drawing. We'll learn to take our drawings from a series of simple, flat, two-dimensional shapes to clean, organic line drawings and, ultimately, to fully rendered three-dimensional figure drawings. We'll use tools like comparative measuring, and learn to judge relationships better by focusing on points, tilts, and shapes. Students will also learn to judge value relationships better by studying the nature of the various forms of the figure and how they relate in space to the light source.

Supply List:

• Graphite pencils - 2B, B, HB, H, 2H (more HB than the others)

• Strathmore 400 Medium Drawing Paper 18 x 24 (Brown cover)

• Kneaded eraser

• Pencil sharpener

sculpting for painters

Saturdays 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

6 classes: $550 (all supplies included)

Starts May 23rd, 2026

Instructor:

Kaelin Palcu

Class Description:

This 6-week course introduces painters and drafts-people to figurative sculpture as a tool to deepen their understanding of form, functional artistic anatomy, and gesture. By building the body, students have the opportunity to deeply understand the structure and movement of the body—skills that directly strengthen and inform their two-dimensional practice.

Students may choose to focus on Sculpting the Portrait, Sculpting the Torso, or combine both across the six weeks. Working from the same model over all six sessions, students have an opportunity to develop a resolved portrait, a torso study, or a small-scale study of both.

All materials and armatures are provided. The clay work is clean and simple, with minimal mess, making it approachable even for those who have never sculpted before.

What You’ll Learn

• How sculpting enhances your ability to see and understand form for painting and drawing

• Building a clear sculptural block-in (comparable to a painter’s under-drawing)

• Understanding and simplifying anatomy for accuracy and expression

• The role of light and shadow in describing form

• Gesture, balance, and weight distribution in the human body

• Working at small scales to improve observation and decision-making

Level: Painters and drafts-people of all levels (no prior sculpting experience required)

sculpting the Torso/Portrait

Saturdays 1:30 - 4:30 pm (3 hours)

6 classes: $550 (all supplies included)

Starts May 23, 2026

Instructor:

Kaelin Palcu

Class Description:

In this 6-week course students will have the choice of working either on torso or portrait sculpture. Working at half-life scale, students will develop a deeper understanding of proportion, mass, and anatomical structure through sustained study from life. Participants will work from both female and male models over the duration of the course, gaining exposure to different body types and structural rhythms.

Torso

The focus is on clarity: organizing the ribcage and pelvis, understanding their relationship, and building the torso from the inside outward.

The course emphasizes:

• Structural block-in and proportional accuracy

• Major masses of the ribcage and pelvis

• Skeletal landmarks and surface form

• Planes of the abdomen, back, and thorax

• Compression, tilt, and directional force

• Translating live observation into three-dimensional form

Early sessions focus on establishing primary masses and spatial relationships. As the weeks progress, students will examine skeletal structure and major muscle groups, refining their understanding of how form wraps, overlaps, and connects.

The goal is not simply to complete a finished torso, but to build a clear working knowledge of its architecture. Through guided demonstrations and individual feedback, students will strengthen their ability to move between observation and construction, developing structural confidence that supports all future figurative work.

Portrait

The focus will be on developing a deep understanding of the portrait through working from a live model. The emphasis is on block-ins, learning to sketch with clay, and becoming comfortable interpreting the features of the head in three dimensions.

Students will begin with multiple short starts in order to build confidence and fluency in clay — treating sculpture as a form of note-taking and observation rather than a single long project. These early exercises are designed to help students loosen up, simplify, and organize information quickly while sharpening tools of observation.

The course introduces a basic functional artistic anatomy of the head so students understand not just what they are seeing, but why forms appear the way they do. We will focus on the structure of the skull, major planes of the head, and how features sit within that structure. The goal is to give students a clear and practical framework they can return to in both sculpture and two-dimensional work.

After the initial sketching phase, students will transition into a longer pose using the same model over the remaining weeks. This portion serves as an introduction to naturalistic modeling — learning how to interpret, refine, and develop the portrait over time while maintaining structural clarity.

Throughout the workshop, students will:

• Practice block-ins and organizing form

• Learn to sketch and restart in clay

• Study functional artistic anatomy of the portrait

• Develop observational accuracy

• Interpret features three-dimensionally rather than symbolically

• Begin developing longer, more resolved modeling

The class is designed both as a standalone introduction to portrait sculpture and as a foundation for continued sculpture study. It also directly supports painting and drawing by strengthening spatial understanding, form construction, and visual memory.

GESTURE drawing BOOTCAMP

Mondays & Wednesday 6-10pm (4 hours)

6 classes: $500 (includes model fee)

Starts July 6th, 2026
(Dates: July 6, 8, 13, 15, 27, 29)

Instructor:

Pedro Cardoso

Class Description:

In this intensive Gesture Drawing course, students will learn how to capture the essence and energy of the human figure. Pedro will demonstrate how to use line and tone to achieve the impression of the pose, while breaking down the mechanics of the human body into a series of simplified concepts. Through the course students will use different drawing techniques varying from line drawing to mass drawing, as well as sepia and white chalk on toned paper. For the purposes of gesture drawing, model’s poses will be limited to 1, 2, and 3 minute poses. This class compliments the topics covered in Pedro's Constructive Figure Drawing Class.

Days 1 and 2:
Pedro will demonstrate how to use lines as a drawing technique. He will explain how lines can be used to describe shapes in space, as well as rhythms that move through the body. Students will use charcoal pencils on sketch paper in class.

Days 3 and 4:
Pedro will demonstrate how to use mass as a drawing technique. He will explain how to combine mass and line for expressive purposes, as well as the advantage of working with tone. Students will use willow charcoal and charcoal pencils on sketch paper in class.

Days 5 and 6:
Pedro will demonstrate how to use lines and masses together as a drawing technique. He will explain how to work with toned paper, and how to use white chalk and highlights for expressive drawing. Students will use willow sepia and white chalks on toned paper in class.

SUPPLY LIST:

• Paper: Strathmore 400 Series 18”x24” Sketch Pad - White

• Strathmore 400 Series 19"x24" Toned Sketch Paper Tan

• General’s Charcoal Pencil 2B - two to three.

• Willow Charcoal, boxes of 3 or more.

• Sepia pastel pencils or sticks. Koh-I-noor brand is recommended. 1-2 of each.

• White Chalk pencil or sticks.

• Koh-I-Noor Gioconda pencil recommended. 1-2 of each.

• Kneaded Eraser

• Paper Stumps

• Exacto Knife or Box Cutter knife. Box Cutter recommended.