Online education, then, can serve two goals. For students lucky enough to have access to great teachers, blended learning can mean even better outcomes at the same or lower cost. And for the millions here and abroad who lack access to good, in-person education, online learning can open doors that would otherwise remain closed. - Daphne Koller
Types of Online Art Learning Experience
Regardless of your interest and passion, be it, canvas painting, portrait painting, oil painting, pastel painting, abstract painting, collages, watercolour painting or painting with acrylics – you’ll need to set a long-time commitment (through ongoing lessons) in order to master how to draw and paint well.
If you are a self-paced learner who loves to explore and progress with minimal “interruption” and you find that you can progress in your painting independently, then we highly recommend you to seek the advice of an experienced online teacher to help you further improve your skills from the comfort of your own home.
Nobody can really immediately produce a still life image or a figure drawing (life drawing) done with oil paints or even how to paint the human hand in watercolour, pastel or charcoal without knowing some basic drawing techniques.
Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash
Having said that, online art learning can take on a variety of forms, including browsing your Pinterest or Instagram feed for some references, learning how to draw through Youtube tutorial videos, opting for digital painting on your mobile devices, or enrolling for online art lessons.
If you are currently on the lookout for some wholesome and reliable online art and painting classes, you are in the right place. This article will certainly help you to find a suitable art/painting teacher to enhance your painting skills regardless of your present learning level.
What Should You Look For In A Good Online Painting Teacher/Tutor?
Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is. - Jackson Pollock
Online Painting Tutor – Keys To Find Someone Reliable
Take our word for it, learning how to paint with an experienced art teacher can help you to improve progressively and consistently more than you would through self-learning.
Before you dive deep right away in your online search for an ideal painting tutor, it’s best to list down some key criteria for the type of painting teacher that you want before you begin:
- Your preferred physical location of the tutor
While you may be looking for an online painting tutor, the physical locations of the tutors do matter because it helps you to communicate with your tutor in terms of language, culture and the scope of your art lessons (should any school-based/public examination) is involved.
For example, you can hire any Malaysian painting tutors who are well versed in the syllabus of SPM or STPM Pendidikan Seni Visual (Visual Art subject) to help you prepare better for the actual examination.
- Teaching level (Scope of lessons)
When it comes to online tutoring, most tutors tend to focus on a selected age group or a selected painting specialisation in this context. It’s a fact that not all tutors are able, willing or qualified enough to teach all kinds of painting or drawing levels.
It is not a big deal if you are an absolute newbie as most tutors will offer some sort of painting course to beginner-level art students. For instance, watercolour painting for beginners or acrylic painting for beginners.
However, if you have now at the intermediate level or at an advanced level in your painting lessons and would like to master more complex painting techniques such as colour theory, colour mixing, blending, shading, reflection, shapes, tones, shadows, realism or brushstrokes, then be sure to verify what level that your selection of tutors can teach.
- The tutors’ experience and qualifications in the field
Ask yourself which element matter most to you between these two. Some of you may prefer a tutor with direct painting experience and someone who has held exhibitions without a fancy art degree. On the other hand, some of you would be more comfortable learning from a tutor with a specific amount of teaching experience at an educational institution or someone who has graduated from a prestigious art university.
We admit that this decision is quite relative. That’s because if you are learning to paint solely as a hobby, you would probably prefer someone that is more down to earth and is around your age to have a more flexible and relaxing learning experience.
- Lesson specialisation
It is important to note that there are many online painting classes that revolve around the preferences and competencies of the tutor.
Let’s say you are looking for a specialised painting lesson ranging from watercolour painting courses, acrylic painting courses, à la carte painting courses, history of art courses or landscape painting, it’s important to state what you’re looking for right from the very beginning to avoid disappointments later.
- Affordability (Cost)
Money is mostly the deciding factor when other criteria are covered before we make the final decision. We totally get that not everyone has an unlimited budget when it comes to paying for a series of painting lessons. If you are still a student or a parent of a young child, this is certainly at the top of your priority. Generally, tutoring fees will vary depending on your requirements (quality of teaching, learning level, mode of learning, general or specialised lessons).
On average, you can expect to pay approximately RM53 an hour for a general painting lesson in Malaysia. Do take note that some tutors offer the first lesson for free (trial lesson) whilst others offer a package promotional rate if you sign up for 10 or 20 lessons at one go. Having said that, it is best to come out with your maximum budget before looking for a painting tutor and discussing about the lesson.
- Availability and response time
Occasionally, you may be recommended to a super famous tutor with a super number of students. The tutor may have a packed schedule and may be unable to accommodate your preferred schedule. Another thing to note is whether your desired tutor is responsive to your texts or any form of communication about your lessons. As the saying goes, “Time is of the essence.”
At the end of the day, you want to make sure your time and money invested in the lessons are not wasted. For these reasons, it is important to make sure that you find a tutor who is committed, responsive and able to cater the course to your needs on time.
The most effective way to find a suitable painting lesson is to write down which teachers and courses are available and match your core criteria. While doing your research, you can then adjust your own criteria according to the actual tutoring market to ensure you have realistic expectations.
For example, if you are only willing to spend RM20 an hour and you are determined to look for a highly qualified painting tutor then you may need to either reconsider your budget (which is not always easy), accept a tutor with less experience or maybe opt for a freelancer who is currently still an art school student.
Photo by Rahul Jain on Unsplash
You can read this article on the experience of learning to paint at art schools!
Where Can You Look For Engaging And Affordable Online Painting Short Courses?
If you intend to explore some online painting courses as a starter, we got you covered too!
You’ll be surprised that there are many short online courses that you can enrol online these days.
While you may have heard of big names like Udemy and Khan Academy, here are two new online learning platforms that offer both affordable and comprehensive painting courses that you can take at your own pace.
Domestika
Under Domestika, you can get easy access to various online courses with a wide range which includes design, writing, fashion, illustration and many more.
Continue reading to learn more about the best sellers that fall under the painting category.
- Modern Watercolour Techniques by Ana Victoria Calderon, a painter and illustrator.
Priced at RM39 (promotion), this course has a total of 19,4488 students so far. It has 32 lessons and the duration of the whole course is around 3 hours and 22 minutes. Once you finalise your purchase, you will have unlimited access to this course.
- Portrait Painting with Oil: Explore Light and Shade by Jane French, a painter
If you are a fan of oil painting, this course is tailored for you. It is suitable for absolute beginners and covers 17 lessons. Among the components that are taught in this course are colour mixing, tonal values, adding highlights, pre-mixing skin tones and many more. You can purchase this course for RM55.
- Fantasy Landscapes with Watercolour and Gouache by Ruth Wilshaw, an artist and author
Through this course, have an in-depth study towards the properties of watercolour and gouache and discover how you can create the best landscape paintings with the right techniques. For this course, you need to prepare a palette, watercolour and gouache paints as well as a good set of paint brushes. You can enjoy this course for RM75.
Skillshare
Skillshare is slowly making waves in online learning platforms due to its flexibility and diversity when it comes to creative lessons. To have unlimited access to the course, you would need a subscription to the service.
Here are three Skillshare painting courses that you can consider joining.
- Acrylic Painting: Learn the Basics For Beginners by Laurie Anne Gonzalez, a painter
Gain an overview of acrylic painting and learn about topics like colour mixing, brushes, texture, dimension and many more.
- Learn to Paint Botanical Watercolours with a Modern Twist by Cat Coquillette, an artist and entrepreneur
In this course, you will learn four distinct watercolour paintings which are monstera, sunflower, hibiscus and succulent. For each painting, you will be guided in terms of sketching, petals and details.
Photo by Victoria Bilsborough on Unsplash
- Watercolour In The Woods: A Beginner’s Guide to Painting the Natural World by Rozalie Haizlett, an artist, author and illustrator
Master the basic skills of painting from a reference photo and learn how to create a harmonious painting that encompasses various watercolour layers, backgrounds, textures and colour combinations.
The Journey To Find Your Online Painting Tutor
Now that you have concluded all the basic criteria for your desired painting tutor, it is time to get down to business! There are a number of places on the internet that will ease your search process.
Social Media
This is the most cost-effective method to find a suitable online tutor in the shortest time with the widest reach. Don't hesitate to advertise on Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, WeChat or Facebook that you are looking for a painting teacher to further your painting skills/ master a particular painting technique/ start out painting in order to develop your creativity.
If you are a part of a social media group or community, you can also post a specific inquiry or list and ask for recommendations by tagging direct names or the famous “PM” aka private messaging requests in order to finalise your quest for the online painting tutor of your dreams!
Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash
Like it or loathe it, social media sites are all more or less a kind of modern word of mouth. You’ll be amazed by the power of mutual friends too. Social media platforms take the principle of six degrees of separation to the next level.
For example, through a friend of a friend of a friend who happens to be taking painting classes with a certain tutor, you might just find your “Mr/Miss Painting Tutor” in just a few clicks.
Tutoring Platforms
Another good way of finding an online painting teacher who fits the bill and whose skills are in line with your preferences and requests is to use a specialised tutoring platform.
There are several platforms on the Internet where that allows users to find a tutor according to a list of detailed criteria, such as type of lessons, tutoring methodology, hourly rates and so on.
One of these platforms is, of course, Superprof, which is extremely user-friendly. All you need to do is input your preferred subject and the current city where you are located in order to discover a painting tutor near you! Or in this case, you can select the “Online” option. After that, you can then refine the search criteria by filtering the education level, maximum budget and so on.
Rest assured that the tutors on our platform are all thoroughly verified and certified in the services they offer and tutors are required to give as accurate information as possible before their tutoring ads are published.
At Superprof Malaysia, it costs RM25 for a student pass that will be valid for a whole year. The student pass allows you to connect directly with painting tutors in your area, or indeed any tutor of any subject located anywhere in Malaysia!
Kickstarting your first lesson with Superprof will lead you to greater heights. For instance, you can proceed to intermediate or advanced painting lessons as you improve.
Who knows if you will enrol in an art learning institution and turn this passion into a full-time career one day?
Discover this complete guide to art classes in Malaysia.
Evaluating the Online Painting Tutor's Trial Classes
The moment you have narrowed down your search to a handful of painting tutors that you think maybe what you are looking for, it is time to try them out!
The ultimate benefit of tutoring lessons at Superprof is that the initial hour is normally free for you to try a trial lesson. However, not every tutor offers this but for the ones who do it is a handy way of selecting which tutor you want to eventually be your online painting teacher!
The advantage of this free hour lesson is to make sure that their teaching style matches all the criteria that you were looking for and minimises the chances of you feeling disappointed.
Most importantly, if you feel that the teacher that you have chosen is not suitable while the lesson is taking place, it is absolutely fine to change straightaway without having to pay any money back.
If the first lesson turns out fine, you can then proceed and discuss the details of the lessons with regard to the frequency, payment method and others.
Sooner or later, you might want to start looking for a painting association to connect with more painter wannabes and professional painters.
Joining A Painting Community & Growing Together
Painting Workshops in a Group
Don’t get us wrong. The painting tutor of your dreams is definitely out there. However, sometimes it could be better to collaborate in a group so that you can share ideas. Also, painting workshops require less hardcore commitment like tutoring lessons so it could relatively be more relaxing and slow-paced. Furthermore, the instructor/painter will be there to adapt to your needs.
The painting workshops are carried out according to your level and naturally, your expectations and how quickly you progress. Not only that, but you also get to make new friends who share the same interest as you.
You will really work together as a team with the other classmates, which is not always the case when attending a private painting lesson. If you are a people person who loves to be enlightened and encouraged during the creating process, you will certainly love painting workshops.
We hope you enjoyed this article. May you find a reliable online painting tutor and be a step closer to being a master in painting!
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