How to Draw Everything by SVS Learn

SVS How to Draw Everything is an online class from the School of Visual Storytelling, taught by illustrator and cartoonist Jake Parker, the creator of Inktober. It covers the elements, principles, techniques and tools of drawing, from choosing paper and pens to building drawings out of shapes and finishing them with clean line work. The class has 53 lessons in ten parts, with about four and a half hours of video and three downloads, and is included in the SVS Learn membership.

It is one of the most popular classes in the SVS library and a natural starting point for the whole Essentials curriculum. Rather than teaching a single subject, it gives you a method that you can apply to buildings, cars, trees and characters alike.

What You Will Learn

• The three elements of drawing and the difference between seeing with the brain and with the eye
• How to choose and use paper, pencils, pens, erasers and markers
• Classic drawing exercises: upside-down drawing, contour drawing and negative space
• Drawing straight lines, ellipses, squares and simple perspective
• Building objects from primary shapes, then refining line and tone
• Demonstrations of a building, a car, a tree and a character from start to finish

Who Is SVS How to Draw Everything For?

The class suits beginners who want a structured start, and hobbyists who can copy from reference but struggle to draw from imagination. It is also useful for working artists who want to refresh their fundamentals or adopt a cleaner inking process.

It is not a painting or colour class; for those, look at The Magic of Color and Light and Shadow for Illustrators.

Course Structure

The class is organised in ten parts:

1. Introduction, with an opening drawing activity
2. Fundamentals of drawing
3. Tools: paper, pencils, pens, erasers and markers
4. Drawing exercises, with a printable exercise packet
5. Basic techniques: straight lines, ellipses, squares and perspective
6. Shape, with a downloadable shape packet
7. Line
8. Tone
9. Demonstrations: building, car, tree and character
10. Closing, with a final drawing activity to compare with your first

Price and Access

How to Draw Everything is included in the SVS Learn membership. SVS lists its Studio membership at $29.95 a month, and class pages show an annual option at $300; a 14-day free trial is available with a card, and it becomes a paid subscription unless cancelled. Membership gives access to the full class library, live events and a monthly art challenge.

About the Instructor

Jake Parker has worked for about 25 years across animated films, comics and picture books. He worked at Reel FX and Blue Sky Studios on films including Horton Hears a Who, Rio and Epic, and created the Inktober drawing challenge. He now illustrates children's books and comics.

How It Fits the SVS Curriculum

How to Draw Everything belongs to Level 1 of SVS Essentials, a five-level curriculum that moves from fundamentals to character design, environment design and visual storytelling, and ends with a 12-piece foundations portfolio. Because it covers tools, line, shape and tone in one place, many students take it first and return to the demonstrations later, when they start the character and environment classes in Levels 2 and 3.

Things to Consider

• Time: about four and a half hours of video plus exercises; most students spread it over a few weeks.
• Materials: traditional tools are used throughout; a tools list is included.
• Before and after: compare your opening and closing drawings to measure progress.
• Next steps: Basic Perspective Drawing and Visualizing Drawing in Perspective build on the same foundations.
• Feedback: share exercises in the SVS community or the monthly challenge.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with SVS Learn?

Start How to Draw Everything

For the full curriculum and membership options, visit the official SVS Learn website.

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

Last verified: October 26, 2026