{"id":8737,"date":"2014-07-21T03:22:51","date_gmt":"2014-07-21T03:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/?page_id=8737"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:31:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T17:31:46","slug":"the-colored-pencil-course-landscape-drawing-part-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-landscape-drawing-part-1","title":{"rendered":"The Colored Pencil Course &#8211; Landscape Drawing Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"coursetitlecontainer\">\n<div class=\"coursetitle\">\n<h1><span>The Colored Pencil Course:<\/span> Landscape Drawing - Part 1<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"insertbackground\">\n<div class=\"removep\">\n<div class=\"videoflexwrapper\">\n<div class=\"videotop\">\n  <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/126867808?color=ffffff&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebartop\">\n<div class=\"vertalign\">\n<div class=\"logoimage\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/logosmall75.png\"><\/div>\n<p>\n    <div class=\"sidebarcarddescriptiondark\">\n<span>JOIN THE VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR<\/span><br>\n    Get ALL of our courses, ebooks, live lessons, critiques, lesson plans and more today.\n<\/div>\n    <\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebarbuttonholder\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebuttonsmem\">START FREE TRIAL<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<hr style=\"background-color:#ffffff;margin-top:1.5em;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/register-the-colored-pencil-course\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebuttons\">BUY COURSE $67<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"courseperkscontainer\">\n<div class=\"courseperks\"><span>This course features:<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"courseperks\"><i class=\"far fa-clock\" style=\"margin-right:10px;\"><\/I>5 Hours of Instruction<\/div>\n<div class=\"courseperks\"><i class=\"fas fa-film\" style=\"margin-right:10px;\"><\/I>22 Videos<\/div>\n<div class=\"courseperks\"><i class=\"fas fa-book\" style=\"margin-right:10px;\"><\/I>21 eBooks<\/div>\n<div class=\"courseperks\"><i class=\"fas fa-shield-alt\" style=\"margin-right:10px;\"><\/i>30 Day Money Back Guarantee<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p>\n\n<div class=\"contentfix\">\n<div class=\"favorites\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tabs\">\n  <input name=\"tabs\" type=\"radio\" id=\"tab-1\" checked=\"checked\" class=\"input\"\/><br \/>\n  <label for=\"tab-1\" class=\"label\">Description<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"panel\">\n<h2>Lesson Description<\/h2>\n<p>\nLesson Eleven, Part One of <em>The Colored Pencil Course<\/em> introduces students to the techniques and strategies for creating realistic landscapes using colored pencils on textured and toned paper. This lesson emphasizes the importance of planning and organization in landscape drawing, helping students develop an ordered approach to achieve depth, perspective, and atmospheric effects. The focus of this lesson is beginning a landscape drawing featuring a small barn set in a field, providing an excellent opportunity to apply foundational landscape techniques while exploring the interplay of color, value, and texture.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Working on Textured and Toned Paper<\/h2>\n<p>\nMatt begins by explaining the advantages of using textured and toned paper for landscape drawings. Textured paper enhances the natural look of foliage, grass, and other organic surfaces by creating a subtle, varied surface for pencil application. Toned paper serves as a mid-range value, allowing artists to establish both highlights and shadows more efficiently. Students learn how to choose pencils and layering techniques that take full advantage of the paper\u2019s properties, allowing them to create depth and realism while maintaining control over value and color saturation.\n<\/p>\n<h2>An Ordered Approach to Depth<\/h2>\n<p>\nOne of the key concepts introduced in this lesson is an ordered approach to achieving depth in a landscape drawing. Matt emphasizes starting with the background first, working through the middle ground, and finishing with the foreground. This method ensures that each element is properly placed and that the illusion of spatial recession is maintained throughout the drawing. By layering elements in this sequence, students can avoid common mistakes such as foreground objects overpowering background details or the scene appearing flat and unbalanced.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Beginning the Landscape: Background Elements<\/h2>\n<p>\nWith these principles in mind, Matt demonstrates how to begin the landscape drawing by focusing on the background. Students start with distant hills, sky, and atmospheric elements, using light pressure and subtle color transitions to suggest distance and depth. Matt explains how to incorporate soft gradients, fading colors, and lighter values in the background to enhance the illusion of space. This approach allows students to gradually build layers while keeping distant elements less saturated, which contributes to a natural sense of depth in the composition.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Middle Ground: Establishing Structure and Form<\/h2>\n<p>\nNext, the lesson addresses the middle ground of the landscape, where the small barn and surrounding field begin to take shape. Matt demonstrates how to establish the form and proportions of the barn using careful observation and precise colored pencil application. Students learn to balance color, value, and detail so that the middle ground feels connected to both the background and foreground. Techniques such as layering, blending, and using directional strokes are highlighted to suggest the texture of grass, trees, and architectural elements without overwhelming the composition.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Setting the Stage for the Foreground<\/h2>\n<p>\nWhile the foreground is not fully completed in Part One, Matt provides guidance on how to prepare this area to ensure cohesion with the rest of the drawing. He explains that foreground elements will often have the highest level of detail, darkest values, and most saturated colors to create visual impact. Students are encouraged to plan placement carefully, using light sketching and observation to ensure that the transition from middle ground to foreground will feel seamless. By thinking ahead, the final layers will enhance depth and realism while maintaining compositional balance.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nBy the end of Lesson Eleven, Part One, students have learned how to approach a colored pencil landscape using a structured, ordered method that ensures the illusion of depth. They have begun a landscape drawing of a small barn in a field, working from background to middle ground while preparing for the detailed foreground. This lesson provides essential strategies for layering, value control, and compositional planning, equipping students with the tools to continue developing a realistic, harmonious landscape in subsequent lessons. Through careful observation, patient layering, and thoughtful sequencing, students gain the confidence to tackle complex landscapes with precision and creativity.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <input name=\"tabs\" type=\"radio\" id=\"tab-2\" class=\"input\"\/><br \/>\n  <label for=\"tab-2\" class=\"label\">Materials<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"panel\">\n<h2>Lesson Materials<\/h2>\n<p>Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper, Prismacolor colored pencils, colorless blender, graphite pencil.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <input name=\"tabs\" type=\"radio\" id=\"tab-3\" class=\"input\"\/><br \/>\n  <label for=\"tab-3\" class=\"label\">Resources<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"panel\">\n<h2>Lesson Resources<\/h2>\n<p><i class=\"fas fa-lock\" style=\"margin-right:10px;\"><\/I>Download eBook<\/p>\n<p><i class=\"fas fa-lock\" style=\"margin-right:10px;\"><\/I>Reference Image<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><input name=\"tabs\" type=\"radio\" id=\"tab-4\" class=\"input\"\/><br \/>\n  <label for=\"tab-4\" class=\"label\">Curriculum<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"panel\">\n<h2>Course Curriculum<\/h2>\n<div class=\"curriculumcontainer\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-introduction-and-materials\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 1: Introduction and Materials (4:12)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-colored-pencil-basics\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 2: Colored Pencil Basics (15:44)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-the-magic-of-burnishing\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 3: The Magic of Burnishing (19:20)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-value-and-the-underpainting\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 4: Value and Underpainting (17:11)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-using-color-theory-in-drawings\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 5: Color Theory (21:53)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-composition-and-still-life\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 6: Composition and Still Life (23:08)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-reflection-and-transparency\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 7: Reflection and Transparency (15:56)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-transferring-images\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 8: Transferring Images (9:03)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-creating-texture-part-1\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 9: Creating Texture - Part 1 (17:13)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-creating-texture-part-2\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 10: Creating Texture - Part 2 (15:55)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-landscape-drawing-part-1\" class=\"curriculumselected\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 11: Landscape Drawing - Part 1 (14:42)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-landscape-drawing-part-2\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 12: Landscape Drawing - Part 2 (16:05)<\/a\n\n><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-portrait-drawing-part-1\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 13: Portrait Drawing - Part 1 (15:55)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-portrait-drawing-part-2\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 14: Portrait Drawing - Part 2 (11:29)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-portrait-drawing-part-3\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 15: Portrait Drawing - Part 3 (12:13)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-portrait-drawing-part-4\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 16: Portrait Drawing - Part 4 (13:03)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-portrait-drawing-part-5\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 17: Portrait Drawing - Part 5 (9:37)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-watercolor-and-colored-pencils-part-1\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 18: Watercolor and Colored Pencils - Part 1 (15:03)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-watercolor-and-colored-pencils-part-2\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 19: Watercolor and Colored Pencils - Part 2 (10:48)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-watercolor-pencils-part-1\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 20: Watercolor Pencils - Part 1 (13:07)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-watercolor-pencils-part-2\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 21: Watercolor Pencils - Part 2 (11:07)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/the-colored-pencil-course-conclusion\" class=\"curriculum\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Lesson 22: Conclusion (4:32)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebarbottom\">\n<div class=\"relatedcourse\">Your Instructor<\/div>\n<div class=\"instructor\">\n<div class=\"instructorimage\">\n<div class=\"instructorpic\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/images\/mattauthor.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Fussell - Instructor\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"instructorname\">Matt Fussell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instructordes\">\n<p>Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.<\/p>\n<p><div style=\"padding-top:10px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/author\/admin\">Learn more about Matt<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relatedcoursescontainer\">\n<div class=\"relatedcourse\">Related Courses and Classes<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/3-little-birds-with-colored-pencils\" class=\"sidebarbottom-curriculum\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftlean\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>3 Little Birds with Colored Pencils<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightlean\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/3-little-birds-with-colored-pencils-course.jpg');\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/colored-pencils-plus\" class=\"sidebarbottom-curriculum\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftlean\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Colored Pencils PLUS<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightlean\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Colored-Pencils-Plus-Course.jpg');\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/peacock-with-colored-pencils\" class=\"sidebarbottom-curriculum\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftlean\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Peacock with Colored Pencils<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightlean\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Peacock-colored-pencils-lesson-series-400.jpg');\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Colored Pencil Course: Landscape Drawing &#8211; Part 1 Description Lesson Description Lesson Eleven, Part One of The Colored Pencil Course introduces students to the techniques and strategies for creating realistic landscapes using colored pencils on textured and toned paper. This lesson emphasizes the importance of planning and organization in landscape drawing, helping students develop [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"paget-iframe.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8737","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46198,"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8737\/revisions\/46198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}