How to Learn to Draw for Free in 2025

Whether you are making your New Year’s resolutions, or are just deciding that now is the time to finally learn to draw, you are in the right place. Art is a hobby that can quickly become a money sink, particularly for traditional artists, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I believe that life would be better with more artists in it, so I’m going to walk you through my favorite free resources.

Tutorials

• Youtube. Channels like ProkoTV and Marco Bucci have amazing tutorials posted for free, along with literally hundreds of other channels.

• https://drawabox.com has amazingly well organized lessons, including examples and videos linked, for those that prefer more structure.

Inspiration

• https://shot.cafe — A site containing hundreds of high-quality film stills, organized by useful tags

• https://pinterest.com — A visual site allowing you to discover and bookmark inspiration, ideas, references, tips and more

References

• http://referenceangle.com — Search for human face references by pose angle.

• https://x6ud.github.io/ — Similar to above, but for animals. Rotate an animal skull to receive references of that animal facing the direction you specified.

• https://www.practicedrawingthis.com/gridspective/ — An online tool allowing you to play with perspective grids

• https://3d.homestyler.com/ — A website that allows you to virtually style a home, perfect for room/home references.

Medium-Specific Tools

What tools are available to you will largely depend on your workflow. Maybe you already have an iPad, maybe you already bought a drawing tablet. Or maybe you are working with a pencil you found on the ground and the back of a napkin. I’ll point out which of these free tools are best for which scenarios.

• Minimal Traditional

  • Art books: If you have access to your local library, they likely have instructional books available to check out. Books on line, composition, even subject-specific tutorial books.

  • Life as your reference: From the beginning, artists have been drawing what they see around them. Practicing by drawing from life will help you learn so much about proportions, light, shape, form. It cannot be understated.

  • Public courses and meetups: Check your local library, Facebook groups, and sites like Meetup to find local art courses and gatherings of other artists like yourself. Learning from others is essential.

• iPad / Smartphone

  • ibis Paint X: A free drawing app available on iOS and Android. Does contain in-app purchases.

  • Sketchbook: A drawing app with a lot to offer in the free version. Available on iOS and Android. Does have the option to upgrade to Pro version.

  • Drawing Desk: A learn-to-draw app with tips, tricks, tutorials, and a drawing space. Does include in-app purchases.

• Desktop + Drawing Tablet

  • Krita: A very popular free and open-source graphics program available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

  • GIMP: Another popular option for drawing and painting. Free and open source, available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

  • FireAlpaca: Free digital painting program available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Less popular than Krita and GIMP, but this is what I personally learned to draw with.

  • Inkscape: A free and open source vector editor, available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Final thoughts

Learning new things is hard. You are going to suck at it before you get better, and that is the hardest phase to push through. But exploring yourself, starting a new adventure, is exciting! Drawing, and by extension art in general, is a skill you will not regret investing in. I hope this list helped you gather all these scattered links in one place, and made the next steps a little less overwhelming for you. All without spending a dime.