THE 5 BEST ONLINE ART SCHOOLS 2021

Chapters:
0:00 Why I chose online art school
3:08 TheVirtualInstructor.com
5:32 21-Draw.com
9:42 CreatureArtTeacher.com
13:49 Schoolism.com
20:34 NMA.art

These are the 5 best online art schools that I've tried personally (and I've tried over a dozen). The criteria I used for making this list are that the school has a great roster of classes, exceptional teaching, it offers a subscription (monthly and yearly) and that subscription plan has to be affordable (below $100/month. All of the art schools that I chose are well below that).

Here are the online art schools I chose:

5. The Virtual Instructor: TheVirtualInstructor.com

What it is: a school that offers projects and instruction on mastering a diverse range of specific mediums.

What stands out: You can learn the basics (and often much more) about just about every medium on the planet here.

Who it's great for: hobbyists, beginner artists, artists who want to break out of an art block and artists who want to learn the basics of a specific medium that's new to them.


4. 21 Draw: 21-Draw.com

What it is: A school that offers courses in fundamentals and specialty classes, like illustrating appealing characters and environment design.

What stands out: Its fun classes that are jam-packed with info.

Who it's great for: All artists can find something here, but it's especially helpful for intermediate and advanced artists. Artists wanting to break out of an art block or a style rut will enjoy the school's diverse classes and fun style.


3. Creature Art Teacher/Aaron Blaise: CreatureArtTeacher.com

What it is: A school that offers classes on core principles like light, perspective, etc., as well as a heft selection of animation classes and specialty classes in anatomy, character design and nature drawing/painting.

What stands out: Its comprehensive and well taught human and animal anatomy courses and its animation courses.

Who it's great for: Artists at all levels will find something here, but it's especially helpful for intermediate and advanced artists to level up their skills. Artists who are planning to/already work in the entertainment/animation or illustration industries would especially love and get a lot from this site.


2. Schoolism: Schoolism.com

What it is: A school that offers specialized courses for artists pursuing a particular area of the art industry like character design, creature design, book illustration, etc., as well solidifying core principles like light, perspective, etc.

What stands out: Its roster of huge-name artists from the entertainment & gaming industries who are teaching.

Who it's great for: Intermediate and advanced artists will benefit the most from classes here. Artists who are planning to/already work in the entertainment or gaming industries would especially love and get a lot from this site.

#bestonlineartschools #onlineartclasses #onlineartschoolreviews


1. New Masters Academy: NMA.art

What it is: A school that offers the option of either pursuing particular art tracks, just like you would in an in-person art school or taking the classes that interest you (or both). The school emphasizes solidifying the core fundamentals like figure drawing, anatomy, perspective, etc. and offers a vast array of classes to help do that, as well as a huge number of additional classes in supporting topics, such as animal anatomy, landscape painting, character design, etc.

What stands out: The volume of comprehensive courses; The ability to follow a course/career track from beginning to end; and the titans of the art industry teaching.

Who it's great for: Artists of all skill levels. It's especially geared toward the serious art student. They have a full section for beginners to get started with fundamentals and intermediate & advanced artists will find more than enough to help them hone, refresh and level up skills. Any artist following or interested in pursuing a career in fine art, illustration or entertainment will especially love the classes here.

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Side note: There are other great online sites that offer courses, but that didn't fit the bill for my criteria. One such site is Proko.com, which offers excellent teaching, but doesn't offer a subscription model. Another one is CG Academy, which offers great classes that are the same level of education as the sites I've chosen, but for a lot more money.