Graphite
& Charcoal
Studio

Begin drawing.
Or begin again.

Guided pencil and charcoal lessons for kids, teens and adults, including those returning after years away. Build your skills step by step, at a pace that fits around school, work and everyday life.

Watch a free lesson Explore programmes
Realistic portrait artwork
Graphite portrait artwork
Detailed pencil portrait artwork
Charcoal portrait artwork

A place for every beginning.

Young beginners

Build observation, confidence and a love of drawing with patient, step-by-step guidance.

Creative teens

Develop your own interests while learning the foundations behind expressive, realistic drawing.

Adults starting or returning

Loved drawing once, but studies, work or family took over? Make room for it again, or discover it for the first time.

What you will learn

Real art. Real skills.

A drawing journey from your first confident lines to expressive, finished artwork. Explore observation, technique and creative practice across five areas. Select a topic to explore what you’ll learn.

Foundations

Tools & Materials

Choose pencil grades, paper, erasers and blending tools, and understand how each affects your drawing.

Pencil Grip & Line Control

Practise confident strokes, smooth curves, pressure control and drawing from the wrist and shoulder.

Seeing Simple Shapes

Break complex objects into circles, boxes and cylinders before adding detail.

Measuring & Proportion

Compare angles, lengths and alignments to build accurate drawings from observation.

Value Scales & Tonal Control

Create a full range of light and dark, from delicate gradients to strong tonal contrasts.

Understanding Light & Shadow

Explore highlights, form shadows, cast shadows, reflected light and the direction of illumination.

Drawing Skills

Freehand Sketching

Use block-ins, negative space and contour drawing to capture what you see with confidence.

Grid Method

Transfer proportions one square at a time, then use the grid as a bridge towards independent observation.

Shading & Blending

Explore hatching, cross-hatching, layering and blending while keeping your values clear.

Hard, Soft & Lost Edges

Control where forms stand out, turn away from the light or merge into the background.

Perspective & Foreshortening

Build depth with one- and two-point perspective, ellipses and forms that turn towards the viewer.

Composition & Focal Points

Arrange subjects, balance empty space and guide the viewer’s eye through a drawing.

Portraits & Figure

Loomis Method & Head Construction

Construct heads from different angles using simple volumes, centre lines and facial landmarks.

Eyes, Nose, Lips & Ears

Study each facial feature through shape, structure, proportion and careful shading.

Hair, Skin & Facial Hair

Draw hair as masses before strands, build skin tones and describe beards without outlining every hair.

Expression, Age & Likeness

Observe the small changes in features and proportions that give a face its character.

Hands, Feet & Gesture

Simplify hands and feet into useful forms, and capture the movement of a pose with gesture studies.

Complete Portrait Drawing

Bring construction, proportion, values and edges together in a finished portrait from reference.

Materials & Textures

Charcoal Pencils & Sticks

Explore broad marks, deep darks, controlled blending and the expressive range of charcoal.

Drawing by Lifting Light

Use kneadable and precision erasers to lift highlights and develop forms from a toned surface.

Fabric & Drapery

Understand folds, tension and gravity while shading cloth, clothing and flowing fabric.

Glass, Metal & Reflections

Observe sharp contrasts, distorted reflections and transparency to describe reflective surfaces.

Wood, Stone & Natural Textures

Suggest grain, cracks, fibres and rough surfaces without losing the larger form.

Fur, Feathers & Layered Textures

Follow growth direction and overlapping groups to build texture with a clear sense of volume.

Subjects & Finished Projects

Still Life & Everyday Objects

Draw fruit, vessels and household objects, from simple form studies to composed arrangements.

Flowers, Leaves & Trees

Explore organic shapes, petals, branching structures and the rhythm of natural forms.

Animal & Bird Portraits

Study structure, eyes and expression to give animal and bird drawings a sense of life.

Anime & Cartoon Characters

Explore stylised proportions, expressive faces, clean outlines and character design.

Landscapes & Architectural Sketching

Create depth through overlapping forms, perspective and value changes in outdoor scenes.

From Reference to Finished Artwork

Choose references, make thumbnail studies, plan values and refine a drawing through self-critique.

Choose your studio

Learn independently.
Or learn together.

Both programmes begin with the same detailed, guided library. Choose self-paced access or add regular live support and a student community.

Self-paced learning

Studio Access

Make room for drawing around work, studies and family, with a guided library you can return to whenever you have time.

  • Lifetime access to the studio video library
  • Detailed tutorials from foundations to realistic drawing
  • Pause mid-lesson, practise a little and return when you’re ready
  • For kids, teens and adults, from first-time beginners to returning artists

Price to be announced. Register your interest for updates.

Enquire about Studio Access

Guided learning

Studio Live

Everything in Studio Access, with regular opportunities to ask questions and get guidance as you build your drawing practice.

  • Complete Studio Access video library
  • One or two live doubt-clearing sessions every month
  • Sessions hosted on Zoom or Google Meet
  • Private WhatsApp student community

Price to be announced. Register your interest for updates.

Enquire about Studio Live

From our young artists and their families

Small steps. Beautiful progress.

A glimpse of what our young learners have created, and the confidence their parents have seen grow.

Made with patience

Cube shading study created by a 5-year-old student
Cube shadingAge 5
Realistic eye drawn in graphite by a 7-year-old student
Realistic eyeAge 7
Harry Potter portrait drawn in pencil by a 9-year-old student
Harry Potter portraitAge 9
Stylised portrait drawn in pencil by a 9-year-old student
Stylised portraitAge 9
Dobby character drawn in graphite by an 8-year-old student
Dobby characterAge 8
Young Krishna drawn using the grid method by a 10-year-old student
Krishna grid drawingAge 10

Words from parents

Thank you, Vivek, for all the guidance and love for the kids. It was one of the best summer camps, and my child enjoyed it a lot. Keep inspiring.
Sunita - Parent
My child was reluctant to join at first, but you taught so well that he ended up really enjoying the four weeks. He learned many useful techniques. We really appreciate your patience and guidance.
Vandana - Parent
Thank you for taking the effort and showing infinite patience in teaching the kids almost professional-level techniques. I would have loved to join your classes myself.
Meenakshi - Parent
Really appreciate your effort in shaping the kids' artistic skills. It is great to see their improvement and enthusiasm. My child is already looking forward to the next session.
Neethi - Parent

Video Library

Get a feel for learning with me.

Watch free lessons from Core Studio and explore my step-by-step teaching style. Enrol when you’re ready for the full video library.

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No sign-in needed for the free lessons. Already enrolled? Sign in below.

Keep learning

Your next lesson is waiting.

Enrol in the course to unlock this lesson and get lifetime access to the full video library. Learn at your own pace, with guidance every step of the way.

Enrol for full library access

Student Access

Sign in with your Google account to access your tutorials. Enrolled students can view the full library.

⏳ Verifying your access…

Drawing Materials Guide

Keep the recommended pencils, paper, erasers and blending tools ready before you begin.

View materials list ↗

How it works

Watch. Practise. Grow.

01

Get access

Fill in the form and Vivek reaches out personally. Once enrolled, your email is added to the library - no passwords, just sign in with Google.

02

Watch at your pace

Every tutorial is scripted as a personal teaching session. Pause, rewind, watch again - it is designed to feel like Vivek is sitting right next to you.

03

Draw along

Set up your drawing book next to the screen. Follow each step, practise the same subject, and build the muscle memory that only comes from actually drawing.

04

Keep going at your pace

New tutorials give you more to explore. There is no need to keep up with every release. Work through the foundations and return to your next lesson when you’re ready.

About Vivek Patil

Engineer by profession.
Artist by passion.
Teacher by calling.

I stopped drawing after 10th class when studies took over. Years later, after my MTech, I picked up a pencil again. Today, drawing has a place alongside my engineering career, and I teach others how to begin, or return, with patience.

Principal Engineer · Cohesity Ex-Cisco · 9 Years IIIT Bangalore · MTech University Rank 6 · UoP Maharashtra · Latur · Pune · Bangalore Meditator

Vivek Patil is a Principal Engineer at Cohesity, where he builds AI-driven automation solutions for some of the world's largest enterprises. Before that, he spent nine years at Cisco as a Solutions Architect - designing, delivering and explaining complex systems to the people who depend on them. He holds an MTech from IIIT Bangalore and ranked 6th among more than 14,000 students in the University of Pune final-year examination.

Teaching has always been at the core of who Vivek is. During the pandemic, he began weekly sessions with kids aged 10 to 16 in his hometown of Osmanabad, teaching Mathematics, Computer Science and Python - bridging a real technology gap in a town where internet infrastructure lagged behind Tier-1 cities. Cisco featured this story on their official blog. He also taught Python to keen young learners in the UK, taking his classroom truly global.

Read the Cisco Blog story ↗

"What is this earth without Art? Just a rock."

What makes Vivek's teaching rare is the bridge he builds between analytical thinking and artistic intuition. He teaches drawing the way great engineers approach problems - breaking complexity into layers, building from fundamentals, and training the eye to observe what is actually there rather than what the brain assumes. Paired with a meditative, unhurried approach to learning, his classes build far more than drawing skills. They build focus, patience and a quiet confidence that carries into everything a student does.

50+
Students
10+
Years drawing
100+
Hrs of content
Vivek Patil - Principal Engineer and Artist

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to begin.

Clear answers about the tutorials, access and learning format. If your question is not here, email Vivek directly.

Who are the drawing tutorials for?

The studio welcomes kids, teens and adults, including complete beginners and people returning after a long break. Younger learners may benefit from a parent helping them set up materials and the video.

I haven’t drawn since school. Can I start again?

Yes. Begin with the foundations and rebuild your confidence one exercise at a time. You don’t need recent experience or a finished portfolio to join.

Can I learn alongside a full-time job or family responsibilities?

Yes. The recorded lessons are self-paced, with lifetime library access. Choose a time that works for you, pause when you need to and return without a weekly deadline. Studio Live adds one or two live doubt-clearing sessions each month.

Do I need to finish a lesson in one sitting?

No. Watch a section, practise it and continue another day. Detailed projects can take several sittings, and you can replay any part whenever you need a reminder.

How often are new tutorials added?

A new guided drawing tutorial is added every week. Lessons build progressively from drawing foundations toward realistic portraits, shading and charcoal techniques.

What is included in Studio Access?

Studio Access includes lifetime access to the guided video library, with detailed tutorials that can be paused, repeated and revisited at your own pace.

What is included in Studio Live?

Studio Live includes everything in Studio Access, plus one or two live doubt-clearing sessions each month and access to the private WhatsApp student community.

Are the programmes fully online?

Yes. Tutorial access and live support are online, so students can learn from anywhere.

How do students access the tutorial library?

Students sign in with the approved Google account provided during enrolment. No separate studio password is required.

What drawing materials are needed?

Vivek explains drawing materials in detail in the first tutorial. To begin, a set of graphite pencils from HB to 10B, good drawing paper, a charcoal pencil, a kneadable eraser and blending tools are enough for realistic drawing.
View the complete materials list ↗

How much do the programmes cost?

Pricing has not been announced yet. Submit the registration form and Vivek will share current pricing and availability personally before you enrol.

Start Learning

Wherever you are.
Whenever you are ready.

Whether you’re exploring a new interest, returning to an old one or looking for guidance for your child, you’re welcome here. Learn online from wherever you are. Vivek will reach out personally to help you get started.

Get in touch

Instagram

@universeofvivek

Express interest

Ready to pick up the pencil?

Share a few details below and Vivek will reach out personally to discuss availability, format and everything you need to get started.

Verify your email before submitting

Google confirms that the email belongs to you. Your password is never shared with the studio.

What would you like to draw?
Consent *

Your verified email and registration details are sent securely to the studio. If you have trouble submitting, email hello@universeofvivek.in.

Privacy notice

We use the information you submit only to respond to your enquiry, arrange classes and manage student access. Registration responses are stored in the studio's Google Forms and Sheets account and are not sold. To request a correction or deletion, email hello@universeofvivek.in.