Art Department

Drawing and Figure Studies

The Foothill College Art Program emphasis in Drawing & Figure Studies is geared toward students with a variety of skill levels. In this emphasis, students take Fundamentals in Drawing, Figure Drawing, Heads and Hands Drawing, as well as intermediate and representational drawing, to enhance their portfolios for transfer into art programs, build life drawing skills, find their voice, and be part of a community of artists.

Drawing Facilities & Rooms

Rooms 1601 and 1602 provide students enrolled in the drawing classes access to the following facilities and tools:

Standing easels and horse easels
Drafting tables
Drawing boards
Large art design tables
Light tables
Still life prop room with plaster busts and forms
Life skeleton
Model stands and ceiling spotlights
Class access to life models

Special Events and Workshops

In addition to the drawing credit classes, Foothill hosts annual community-based life drawing marathons hosted through our Community Education program.

Join Us This Spring • Sunday, May 4

Join Foothill art instructor Hilary Gomes for an all-day figure drawing experience, from 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. on the Main Campus.

Students, local artists, and the community in the Peninsula and South Bay area are invited to draw from the live models. There will be three rooms for quick and long pose robed and unrobed figure drawings.

Register to Reserve Your Spot

Cost: $50 for General Admission and $35 for Students, includes high school, community college, or college; no ID required.

General Admission: $50

Students: $35

Questions?

Email Hilary Gomes at gomeshilary@fhda.edu.

Degrees & Certificates

Earn an Associate in Arts (AA) in Art or a Certificate of Achievement (CA) in Art — with an emphasis in Drawing & Figure Studies.

For a possible schedule that fulfills program and college requirements, VIEW program map and SELECT Drawing & Figure Studies from dropdown menu.

Course Offerings

Our drawing credit courses provide a welcoming community with classes on weekdays, Saturdays, as well as hybrid and online options. Each course consists of 6 hours per week, with plenty of open lab time for assignments and technique refinement.

ART 4A Fundamentals in Drawing

In this beginning-level drawing course, students will analyze form and incorporate value, the concepts of light and shadow patterns, perspective, proportion, and composition in the practice of drawing. In-depth theory and practice of charcoal drawing. Great works of historical drawings will be studied in relation to value, line, form, space, and composition.

ART 4B Intermediate Drawing

Exploration of artistic concepts, styles, and creative expression related to intermediate-level drawing, focusing on complex subject matter and concepts, using a variety of color drawing media, techniques, and methodologies. Students will build on fundamental drawing skills to develop personalized approaches to content and materials in exercises covering multiple historical and contemporary approaches to drawing.

ART 4C Representational Drawing

An intermediate-level representational drawing course concentrating on observation and depiction of volume, texture, and linear perspective in a variety of drawing media.sual development, and composition principles.

ART 4D Figure Drawing I

Beginning drawing course focusing on the representation and interpretation of the human figure, with attention to drawing from life.

ART 4E Heads & Hands Drawing

Developing drawing skills for communicating ideas. Learning to simplify complex realistic images to express design concepts rapidly and effectively.

ART 4I Figure Drawing II

Intermediate figure drawing course emphasizing the development of drawing skills in depicting the human figure. This is a practical and theoretical course that emphasizes proportion and basic human anatomy. Additionally, the course exposes students to great works of historical and contemporary figure drawing in relationship to figure drawing and human anatomy.

ART 4J Figure Modeling

This beginning life-modeling sculpture course allows students to develop personal and expressive interpretations of the human form. The principles and concepts of human proportion, gesture, additive and subtractive sculpting methods, geometry and balance will be explored from life figure models and historical context.