Proko Course Sampler

The Proko Course Sampler is a free online collection of 20 lessons taken from Proko's premium courses. It brings together lectures, demonstrations and assignment examples on figure drawing, anatomy, portraits, shading, painting, caricature and character design, taught by several of the site's instructors. The lessons add up to about six and a half hours of video. It costs nothing, but you need a free Proko account to access it.

Proko's free lessons are spread across many course pages. The sampler gathers premium-level material in one place, so it is the easiest way to compare instructors and subjects before deciding which paid course to buy.

What You Will Learn

The official page lists lessons on:

• Character line-ups and character design
• Creating atmosphere, preparing paintings and pushing a painting forward
• Exaggeration and drawing from memory, from caricature teaching
• Grayscale painting
• Drawing the front of the head with the Loomis method, and realistic hair
• Figure drawing examples
• Human anatomy: the obliques, biceps and lower leg
• Shading basics, and studying gesture

Who Is the Proko Course Sampler For?

Proko lists it as suitable for all skill levels. It suits anyone thinking about buying a Proko course who wants to see premium lessons first, beginners looking for a varied free introduction to drawing and painting, and teachers who want to point students to good free material.

It is not a structured course. The lessons come from different courses and do not build on each other, so if you want a step-by-step path, choose a single course such as Drawing Basics or Figure Drawing Fundamentals.

Course Structure

The sampler draws on lessons from courses including:

• Figure Drawing Fundamentals
• Anatomy for Artists
• Character Design Monster Lab
• The Shading Course
• Art of Caricature
• Realistic Portrait Drawing
• Classical Portraiture Techniques and Concepts
• Studying With Sargent
• Digital Painting Fundamentals

The lesson list also includes material from Drawing Basics, such as a simple animal portraits project and demo, and a lesson on how animators use basic shapes.

Each item is a self-contained lesson, demonstration or assignment example, so you can watch them in any order.

A practical way to use it is to watch one lesson from each subject that interests you, then try the related assignment. Drawing along, rather than only watching, gives you a much better sense of whether an instructor's method works for you. The painting lessons and the drawing lessons also show quite different teaching styles, which helps if you are unsure where to focus next.

Price and Access

The Proko Course Sampler is free. You add it to your cart and check out with an email address, which creates a free Proko account. The account saves your progress and gives you access to the community, where you can post assignments for feedback.

Two downloads are included: a gesture reference sampler and an anatomy reference sampler, both designed for use with the Proko Timer. The gesture pack includes nude reference.

About the Instructors

The sampler features several of Proko's instructors, including Stan Prokopenko (founder of Proko), Stephen Bauman, Dorian Iten, Court Jones, Jon Neimeister and Scott Flanders. Lessons from Andrew Joseph Keith and Aaron Blaise also appear in the lesson list.

Things to Consider

• Time: About six and a half hours, which you can dip into as you like.
• Account: A free Proko account is required, but no payment details are needed for a free checkout.
• Not a full course: Expect excerpts. The premium versions of these lessons are often longer.
• Choosing a course: Note which instructors you enjoy and follow up with their full course.
• Reference packs: The free gesture and anatomy samplers are useful for timed practice, even if you never buy a course.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with Proko?

Start Proko Course Sampler

For the full syllabus and pricing, visit the official Proko website.

Looking for more ways to learn? Browse all courses and learning resources on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 16, 2026