Natural Science Illustration Art Classes
held at the
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
Due to Covid-19 all in-person classes have been temporarily suspended. Check back here for updates regarding reopening or subscribe to our website to get automatic updates.
Live Remote Online
Art Classes and Workshops Held via Zoom
Spring and Summer
2021
Please note our registration policy: Registrations must be received at least 10 days prior to the first day of class.
All 200-level classes require the successful completion of Drawing1 as a pre-requisite.
103XA Intermediate Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Thursdays, May 6 to May 27, 10 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
103XB Intermediate Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Thursdays, June 3 to June 24, 10 am to noon
$160 4 weeks, 8 hours
Students will explore, sketch, and journal outside and then will bring some seasonal specimens they find inside to work from. We will welcome guest naturalists who will help us identify things that we have discovered. In April we will be searching for early spring flowers and in June we will be looking for early summer flowers. Learn to slow down and observe more deeply as you connect and open up to the ineffable in natural objects through the making of art.
203 Pen and Ink NEW
Tuesdays, May 4 to June 22, 9 am to noon
Instructor: Susannah Graedel
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Registration closes April 24, 2021
The beauty and clarity of natural science drawings in ink have been admired for centuries. Students will master the techniques of traditional scientific illustrations using both crow quill and technical pens to depict the natural world in stipple and line.
171X From the Inside Out: How to Draw a Dinosaur
Saturdays, June 5 to June 26, 9-11 am
Instructor: Armand Morgan
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
This class will guide participants through a step-by-step illustration of a well-known Peabody dinosaur, Triceratops. We’ll begin by studying the dinosaur’s posture and drawing the skeleton. Then we’ll add the proposed musculature and finally a body covering. This process can be applied to other prehistoric and modern vertebrate animals. Drawing experience is helpful but not required.
Prerequisite: None
255 On-Line Open Critiques & Guidance
TBD - Contact instructor for available dates
Instructors: Dorie Petrochko, Jan Prentice, Susannah Graedel, Linda Miller, Bivenne Staiger
$50, One 2 hour session
Whether you are taking classes for your own enjoyment or to complete the Certificate program, this is your opportunity to receive personal guidance from an instructor on a work in progress or a final course project that you have not submitted. You will benefit from the instructor's personal insight and discussion of other student work. All media will be considered. Register
118X Getting Started in Colored Pencil
Tuesdays, July 6, 13, and 20, 9am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$180, 3 weeks, 9 hours
Dive right into this beginner class. One guided project, chosen by the instructor, introduces students to essential colored pencil techniques. No experience necessary. Register
103X Introduction to Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Session A: Thursdays, July 8 to July 29, 10am to 12 Noon
Session B: Thursdays, August 5 to August 26, 10am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Register separately for each workshop
Learn the basics of observational drawing starting with simple objects so that you can sketch what you find outdoors as well as indoors. Students will be encouraged to carry their sketchbooks and journals wherever they go. There will be a balance between presentations by the instructor and actual practice followed by group critiques. Register
172X Children’s Books: Science and Art
Saturdays, July 10 to July 31, 10am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
We will explore some of the wonderful new books out there and have the opportunity to have a dialogue with some of the authors and illustrators. We will also learn about the process of creating children’s books by journaling and creating story-boards for our own books! Register
101X Drawing I
Session A: Twice each week on Sundays and Thursdays, July 11 to August 5, 5 to 8pm
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
Session B: Weekly on Saturdays, September 4 to October 23, 9am to 12 Noon.
Instructor: Susannah Graedel
Registration closes August 25
Session C: Weekly on Tuesdays, November 9 to January 4, 9am to 12 Noon (No class December 28)
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 classes, 24 hours
Drawing I is the foundation course for all sequential courses taken at the Yale Peabody Museum. It is here that the necessary techniques in rendering light on form, value, texture, perspective, proportion, and composition are taught. Each student will be given individual assignments and critiques, along with a final project that is due at the culmination of the course. Register
128X Watercolor Workshop for Beginners
Session A: Mondays, July 12 to August 2, 10am to 12 Noon
Session B: Mondays, November 1 to November 22, 10am to 12 Noon
Instructor, Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Get a taste of what is involved when you paint with watercolor. The traditional approach to transparent watercolor painting will be taught, with the focus on limited palettes, mixing, layering, and glazing to create luminous, beautiful colors in this special medium. Register
130X Basic Color Theory Workshops
Session A: Saturday, August 7, 9 am to 12 noon
Session B: Monday, October 25, 9 am to 12 noon
Session C: Saturday, December 4, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$60 per 3-hour workshop Register separately for each workshop
Learn the fundamentals of color theory to enhance your work in any medium. The class will work mostly in water media and colored pencil, but students may use any medium of choice. Register
286X Watercolor Workshop - Flowers and Insects
Saturdays, August 14 to 28, 9am to 12 Noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$180, 3 weeks, 9 hours
Create stunning watercolor paintings of flowers with and without insects. Learn how to complete each painting in specific stages by using painting elements to emphasize what is key. Student prepares a contour drawing from motif provided by the instructor before each class. Register
241X Colored Pencil I
Tuesdays, August 31 to October 19, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 days, 24 hours
Begin your exploration of color with this approachable medium. In our first few meetings students learn and practice key color concepts: primary and secondary color, local color, color temperature, hue, chroma and value. With this background, students will then learn techniques needed to create beautiful, detailed drawings on a variety of drawing surfaces.