Line Weight Fundamentals by Proko

Proko Line Weight Fundamentals is a short, self-paced online course taught by Len Nicholas, a concept designer and illustrator with more than 20 years in the toy, film and games industries. It focuses on one skill: using line thickness and quality to describe form, depth and texture. The course covers the three line weight method, character of line, opening up your lines and hatching. It runs to about 5 hours and 23 minutes of video, and the full course costs $75 as a one-time purchase.

Most drawing courses treat line as something to get past on the way to shading. This one treats line as the finished result, which makes it especially relevant for inkers, comic artists, product and toy designers, and anyone who works mainly in pen.

What You Will Learn

According to the official course page, you will learn:

• The three line weight method for separating near and far, light and shadow
• Drawing complex organic objects with line alone
• Character of line: varying pressure, speed and texture
• Opening your lines to suggest light and keep drawings airy
• Hatching to build volume and form
• How to combine these in a finished drawing

Who Is Proko Line Weight Fundamentals For?

Proko lists it as suitable for beginners and intermediate artists. It is a good fit if your drawings look flat or overworked, if you ink comics or illustrations, or if you sketch in pen and want more control. Industrial, toy and concept designers who rely on clean, readable line drawings will also benefit.

It is not a course on construction, anatomy or perspective; you will need some basic drawing ability to apply it. Drawing Basics on Proko covers those foundations.

Course Structure

The course follows a clear pattern of lecture, demonstration and assignment:

• Introduction and introduction assignment
• Three Line Weight Method, with a "ream of paper" exercise
• Drawing an Organic Object
• Character of Line, with a 33-minute demonstration
• Opening Your Lines, with a 30-minute demonstration
• Hatching, with a 26-minute demonstration
• Final Demo (about 41 minutes) and final assignment
• Outro

Each topic ends with a short assignment, so you can practise before moving to the next idea.

Price and Access

The full course costs $75 as a single payment. Split payments are offered at checkout, and adding more Proko courses to the cart gives a bundle discount of up to 15%.

The introduction is free to watch. Premium includes the demonstrations with commentary, assignments and photo downloads for offline personal use. You can post your assignments in the Proko community, but personal critiques from the instructor are not guaranteed. Refund requests go to Proko support within 30 days and may be reviewed if more than a quarter of the content has been downloaded.

About the Instructor

Len Nicholas, known online as Toyagogo, has worked for more than 20 years as a freelance concept designer and illustrator in the toy, film and games industries. Clients named on the course page include Ubisoft, Hasbro and Silvergate Studios. He has spent over three decades refining his line work.

Things to Consider

• Time: About five hours of video, which makes it one of Proko's shorter courses. You could finish it in a couple of weeks.
• Tools: Traditional pens, pencils or markers. Digital tools are optional; Photoshop or Procreate are suggested.
• Lesson count: The page lists 25 lessons; the visible syllabus shows 19 items, so some content may be grouped differently.
• Feedback: Community feedback is available; instructor critiques are not promised.
• Pairing: It works well alongside a structure course such as Drawing Basics or a sketching course such as The Ultimate Sketching Course.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with Proko?

Start Line Weight Fundamentals

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

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Last verified: October 16, 2026