Free Art Education Courses
If you're looking to learn about art but don't think you can afford it, then think about these free online courses we've listed for your benefit. Courses are found at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Utah State University, among other places.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT offers a studio seminar in color and visual design and a theatre production course. In the visual arts course, students will be responsible for projects on topics that include color history in the arts and color balance. The textbook for the course is The Art of Color by Johannes Itten. Assignments for the theatre course include design and production meetings. Students will use as resources an assortment of texts on technical theatre, lighting design, sound design, and costume design.
About University
About University offers free online instruction in painting and art history. Choose from a daily email of painting trivia or read through various articles on topics such as watercolor painting and abstract art. Some subjects allow you to test your knowledge with interactive quizzes. Articles on art history are also available for free, and they include areas of study like the Renaissance or Greek art.
Utah State University
This course centers around Roman and Greek drama. The text for the course is A Guide to Writing in History and Classics. The professor also recommends reading the handout Classical Drama and Society: A Select Bibliography.
Drawspace
This website offers 450 lessons in drawing, at all levels of expertise. Some lessons are interactive, while others can be accessed as an eBook.
Larry's Art
This website offers free online watercolor lessons. Choose from subjects like color mixing and perspective.
Free Online Art Education Courses At a Glance
| Course & School | Program Level | Format | Assignments | Quizzes & Exams | Downloadable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art of Color course from MIT | Undergraduate | Text | Yes | No | Yes |
| Theatre Arts course from MIT | Undergraduate | Workshop/meetings/performance | Yes | No | Yes |
| Painting courses from About University | Beginner | Emailed/articles | No | Yes | No |
| Art History courses from About University | Beginner-advanced | Articles | No | No | No |
| Classical Drama and Theatre course from Utah State University | Undergraduate | Text | Yes | Yes | No |
| Drawing lessons from Drawspace | Beginner-advanced | Varies; interactive lessons, eBooks | No | No | Yes |
| Watercolor lessons from Larry's Art | Beginner-advanced | Text/video lessons | No | No | No |
