THE MCCLURE METHOD
$99.00
- Artist – Derek McClure
- 5+ Hours of content
- Lifetime Access/Downloadable Content
- Private FB Group
- Course Price – $99
- All Sales Final
Description
Do You Want to Learn a Step-by-Step Method for Expressive, Realistic Portraits?
There’s nothing quite as rewarding as capturing someone’s likeness in a portrait—especially when it resonates with realism and personal style.This course is designed to guide you through an approachable, engaging method for drawing portraits that not only resemble your subject but also invite viewers in with expressive detail. The techniques you’ll learn are versatile and can be seamlessly applied to your own work, helping you create portraits that both impress and delight. In this lesson, we’ll dive into the expressive features of a friend of mine and explore how I use graphite to bring his portrait to life. By carefully breaking down each element—eyes, nose, mouth, moustache, ears, and surrounding details—I’ll guide you through a technique that’s both approachable and adaptable. You’ll be able to apply these steps to your own portraits, building confidence as you capture character and likeness with style.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course students will have an understanding of the following concepts:
- Master the foundations of portrait drawing.
- Capture likeness and character with accuracy.
- Use graphite techniques for depth and expression.
- Break down facial features into simple steps.
- Blend realism with your personal style.
- Apply a repeatable process to future portraits.
- Build confidence in your artistic voice.
COURSE OPENS OCTOBER 22ND
Lifetime Access - Download All Content
Cost - $99
DESCRIPTION OF LESSONS
This course begins with the essentials—an overview of the materials you’ll need and an introduction to the grid method, a practical tool that helps scale drawings while keeping proportions accurate. You’ll then move into establishing a strong outline, laying the foundation for a portrait that captures both likeness and structure. With these basics in place, the lessons progress into the most defining features of the face. Starting with the eyes, you’ll learn how to capture their shadows and highlights to set the emotional tone of your drawing, then move on to the nose to master form, depth, and realism. The mouth and moustache follow, offering guidance on rendering subtle expressions and personality with clarity and accuracy.
From there, we’ll explore more challenging areas of the face. You’ll learn to tackle the forehead with subtle shading, create believable ears by breaking down their complex forms, and finish the portrait by shaping the chin, beard, neck, and shoulders to anchor the entire composition. By the end of the course, you’ll not only have a completed portrait but also a clear, repeatable process for drawing expressive, lifelike faces with confidence.
COURSE OPENS OCTOBER 22ND
Lifetime Access - Download All Content
Cost - $99
MEET DEREK MCCLURE - ARTIST/INSTRUCTOR
Derek, husband of one and father of two, enjoys the idea of drawing famous people. Not knowing any famous people personally, he exercises his skill with graphite on family and friends in the hope that they will one day become famous for his idea to become a reality.
His desire to capture hyper-naturalistic faces in graphite, was seeded at a young age by his grandmother upon visiting a local art fair where a magnificent self portrait of an elderly gentleman was on display. ‘You’ll do well to draw as well as him by that age’, were her words of encouragement that later became the fuel for what would manifest his relentless desire to create magnificent portraits well before ‘that age’.
Derek’s pursuit of portraiture was filtered and tempered through the higher education system in the form of a Visual Arts degree from where he stepped into the wonderful world of Art education, teaching young people that they are capable to realise their magnificent expressive potential, first as humans and second as artists.
DEREK'S ART
PRIVATE GROUP FOR THIS COURSE
There is a private FB group for this course. Once you are signed up for the course, you can access the FB group where only you and other students signed up for the course will have access. Keep in mind, teachers are only active the first four weeks. After that, some may be involved, while others are not. We are looking forward to seeing your artwork!
SUBSTRATE
300gsm Hot Pressed Watercolour paper
DRAWING TOOLS
Graphite pencil (B) (I use a Blackwing 602)
Mono zero eraser (a mechanical pencil eraser works the same)
Eraser
Tsquare
Blending stumps
Kneadable eraser
Make up brush (I use an eyeliner)
Pencil eraser (I use a derwent pencil eraser because of its softness)
Brush for keeping page clean
PASTELS
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON ACCESSING CLASSES AND SELLING WORK CREATED IN THIS COURSE:
**Upon purchasing your course, you will be asked to create an account and go through the purchase process (even if the cost is $0 for a free course). If you have already created an account, after purchase your course will IMMEDIATELY be available under “LOGIN” at the top right-hand of karabullockart.com.
**If your course does not show up, please email us at karabullockart@gmail.com
**Due to the nature of the immediate availability of the course, all purchases are nonrefundable.
**Please talk to the artist of the course about his/her policy on selling artwork created in this course prior to selling any works created during course. Some artists will allow it, while others do not. Thank you for your support.
2 reviews for THE MCCLURE METHOD
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Andrew Ludlam (verified owner) –
I thought this was an excellent course. Derek has such a great approach to drawing: relaxed, positive and above all, motivational. Each part of the course builds naturally on the previous lessons, starting with the fundamentals of materials and the grid method before progressing through each facial feature.
What sets this course apart is Derek’s teaching style. He presents his graphite techniques in a way that feels achievable rather than intimidating, showing how to build depth and realism through careful observation and patient layering.
I’d highly recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their portrait drawing, whether you’re returning to art after a break or looking to develop a more structured approach to capturing likeness. Derek’s encouraging approach makes the journey as rewarding as the results.
Anita Collett (verified owner) –
Awesome!