Been debating trying out New Masters Academy (I currently have skillshare but can never stick with their classes) and I think you convinced me! Thanks for such a thorough review, love your channel 😊
Oooooh let me know how that goes if you decide to try it! 🤗 I haven't been able to stick with Skillshare or Domestika classes either, it's very different.
I am 46. Have gone to school for multiple degrees but I find myself wanting to study art. Thank you for your video I may give this a shot instead of going back to university ❤
It's the hardest part I think... But here's how I see it: I want to be an artist for all my life. It's like a marathon. Now I have two options: 1) not study fundamentals, and compensate for it, which is definitely doable and I have been doing it in the past, that would be like running the whole thing with a rock in my shoe and putting my foot down weirdly and suffer more and longer to avoid just taking care of the problem, or 2) invest time to take care of it now, and run better, and enjoy it more, get more satisfaction out of the process and my performance, know I have done my best. It's not the best metaphor, studying fundamentals is probably more tedious than untying shoes but that's really the idea. At a group coaching session recently Joshua talked about drawing skulls and portrait drawing and said "study this exercise, study it deeply, it's going to take 3 days and then your heads will look better for the rest of your life". It took me a few month to go through the fundamentals classes, maybe it can be tiresome at times but I also enjoyed it, and it's so little in regards to the many years I intend to be drawing... I know they say you have to "draw everyday" "stay in shape" and stuff, but really some things can't be lost, once it's learned it's part of you forever. And it's so satisfying! I wish I could come up with a better metaphor. I'm honestly so grateful to my former self for having started this. Right now I'm drawing more and more and really starting to love it, thanks to all that previous effort. Definitely worth it. So worth it! There is nothing like the gratification you get from true effort and dedication, no scrolling dopamine can compete.
I don't think I'm ready for group coaching, but I did wonder how that would work with the time zones. Do they have sessions at reasonable times for people in Europe?
I checked before replying, this week there are 11 sessions at reasonable hours (ending at 10 pm for the latest ones, I sleep early) 😄 I typically attend 5 a week. For the sessions you can’t attend live, recordings are available for a week 🙂
I do think they are a good option for people, that for whatever reason cannot go to an art school but still want to work on their skills to take. I did the art school thing and im still not sure if it was worth it lol😝
I discovered it with Kesley channel too, but you participated to convince me to try ! Thanks very much, because it is an excellent school. I have the same feeling as you about art schools in France, definitely too expensive and I wonder if they provide you with the same level of technicality that you can find in nma lessons. Will you make a video about your progress after 1 year for example or something like that ?
I'm so happy you enjoy it! I'm pretty sure they don't provide the same level of technicality, just because no regular school can afford to provide that many hours of demos, and if they did, how could 20+ students in a classroom get a perfect view of what the instructor is doing? But I don't want to undermine art schools, we have a few that teach future animators and they seem a lot more technical (and in some regards maybe more academic) than the Beaux-Arts for example. I'll think about it for the video! It's not as easy as it seems, when I started the lessons I was doing mostly course work, and the best way to measure progress would be to tackle the same subject a year apart... Until then, I think my sketchbooks give a good idea of my progress 😊
Thank you very much for this video and information 🙏 this helps a lot. I struggle with my art currently because i took classes on Udemy, Domestika etc. but always had problems because there is no structured way. May i ask if there is a structured way after the fundamental classes as well? And a last question: there are three Levels of subscription. Would you recommend to start with the most expensive one at the beginning? Thank you 🙏
I'm so glad it helps! I didn't try Udemy, but I can attest NMA is nothing like Domestika. I think Domestika is fun to try techniques, and classes are meant to be accessible and allow one to get a nice result at all levels - but it's not about deep skill building, and it makes sense with their economic model. The structure (they call it the course guide) goes beyond the fundamental classes, yes. "Drawing Foundations" is just a module, and each proposed path (sculpture, illustration, figure painting, portrait painting and others) has multiple modules in it, so it takes years to follow any given path. For the level of subscription I would recommend starting with the lowest to give it a try! It gives you access to all the pre recorded classes (aka all the classes that are in the course guide), and it comes with interactive feedback for the assignments at no additional cost at the moment. I don't remember the detail of their current plans as I took mine during a special offer last year, but with the other tiers you get access to the photo library, the recordings of previous live classes, access to live classes (where you get the opportunity to submit to the instructor), group coaching... All these are great, but in my opinion the pre recorded classes and following the course guide is really the most important, so it's a good place to start without spending too much. That's what I did personally 😊 But if you feel like you want the full package you can take a higher subscription! You can always change from month to month so there's no commitment. And you can start with the lowest and upgrade as well.
I am curious if the program has students using reference photos for the drawing fundamentals courses or if students must find the objects and set up the still life with lighting themselves?
For all assignments where you work from references, those are provided with the lessons (even if your subscription doesn't grant you access to the image library, you still have the assignment references). There is one still life in Drawing Foundations I for which you have to setup the still life yourself, and putting it together is part of the assignment. Otherwise references are provided, although for some assignments you are welcome to work from life and take a picture of your reference if you submit your assignment, so the TA can see it too. In all cases it's written in the assignment PDF. 🙂
Hi Julie! I love your videos and really relate to you. I have been interested in joining nma for quite a long time now (1 year+) but i didnt have the time until now. I have read on their website that as of August 1st 2024, they dont offer free feedback on assignments (while following the interactive tracks). I honestly find that change to be a huge turn off for me and i feel like subscribing would be a waste of money and time (sorry). The token system isnt to my liking at all but i would like to know your opinion on this. Do you still recommend people to subscribe if we wont get feedback (without paying extra)? I think i already know what your answer is going to be but i am very very doubtful of this new change. Thank you in advance, and for these wonderful videos.
Thank you for your comment! And you don't have to be sorry. I totally get you, the token system changes a lot. If you want to get feedback on assignments, it's going to be more expensive now than it was (and still is) for me, and that's unfortunate. I am in a privileged position as I don't have to pay for tokens until my subscription expires. I did the math, and had I needed to pay for tokens, I couldn't have afforded to move through the courses as fast as I did. I feel very lucky, but at the same time people who joined before I did had even better deals. I still wholeheartedly recomment NMA. It doesn't change anything to the quality of the education (actually some of their new offers improve it), and regardless of the price I don't know anything that compares. On top of that I think the tokens and different level of critiques are fairly priced and if you have the discipline to follow the courses, they provide more value than you could get elsewhere for the same price, as far as I know. I still recommend the most basic subscription, it's more than enough to get started. If you can afford tokens to submit your assignments, it adds a lot of value (especially now the new "video tutoring" option where you get a draw over of your assignment, I still have to try it out but I heard great things about it from other students). If you can't afford tokens, here's what I would do: - there's a study buddy club on Discord, you could join it to get feedback from other students currently doing the same class, and / or ask for critiques from the community - do all the assignments no matter what, and save them somewhere: maybe you'll be able to afford tokens at some point and you'll want to submit them to get certificates for the courses If you stil doubt (and this is my advice no matter what) just get a month of sucbsciption to try it out, it doesn't engage you to anything. I hope you can find the best option for you to study art now that you have time 😊
Thank you so much! I started drawing when I was a little girl so I really can't tell you... I'm 28, and I had long interruptions in my life, and periods when I drew intensely.
Hi! I‘ doing the drawabox free course and I‘m thinking of joining NMA after. I’d like to assess the workload for doing the foundation course. I can practice for about an hour a day, how much time do you think it would take you with this kind of practce schedule?
It's not easy to tell and it's going to vary from week to week, but I find the estimation NMA gives on their course guide for the time each lesson takes is close enough. Between the video lessons and the assignments, the workload is estimated to be 8 hours for a lesson (which is called a "week" in the classes) - so with approximately 7 hours a week, you shouldn't expect to complete more than a "week" every week. It's going to vary from week to week, lesson to lesson, because some of them will feel easier to you and others naturally require more time (like the final assignments for Fundamentals of Drawing and Perspective for example), but it's an average. With limited time, I think it's especially important to make space for your personal projects and practice. If you calculate how much time the NMA tracks would take you, it may be very long, but you don't have to complete it all (it's impossible, there is just too much content) before you can start to make art or even to work as an artist. So I would encourage you to keep time for your own art, then work seriously on the lessons and do your best of course, but don't focus too much on the time it's going to take. Just take the info and practice in and let it inform your own art, rather than rushing... Unless giving yourself deadlines is motivating to you! I hope that was helpful and not confusing. I am very lucky to have a lot of time for NMA myself, so I'm not the best person to talk about balancing it with other commitments, but the first free class actually talks about it a little bit. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's called Drawing 1 and at the moment it's available for free on the NMA Discord. 🙂
Hello! Do I understand that you have to follow every lesson of all classes in a track to get feedback or you can do, for exemple, all assignments of Drawing 1 & skip to Painting 1 & get feedback doing all the assignments? Merci !
You have to do every lesson of every class and start from the first one (Drawing foundation I at the moment), and right now the interactive feedback is only available for the first module (classes from Drawing foundation I to Introduction to Inking in the tracks) 😉
Right now I have the 4 year plan, it's an offer they ran a year ago that isn't available any longer, it's basically the live subccription with some extras 🙂 I started with the lowest a year ago, so the equivalent of the library, with just the pre recorded courses.
Hi thank you for this video. Do you have to subscribe to the most expensive subscription of 199€ per month for getting feedback at finished exercises? Or do they also offer feedback on the most cheap subscription? I discovered their forums where you can get critics of other students on your drawings, do you do that too? And is that a different kind of way to get feedback on your drawings of the teachers? Thank you. Best regards Martijn.
Hi Martjin, sorry for my long response time! No you don't have to get the most expensive tier, as long as you follow the classes in order you can get feedback from the team in the Discord forums, no matter your subscribtion. I am on the 4 year plan right now (a plan they offered a year ago), but I started with the lowest subscribtion and started submitting my course assignments right away. There are also forums for peer critique but I don't really use them, it's a separate thing. To get feedback from the teachers there are two options: - the first one is to participate in a live class (in which case you need the most expensive subscription to be able to participate), and you don't have a guarantee you'll get a critique since there are a lot of submissions - the second one is that if the teacher also happens to be a coach, you could bring your assignment to group coaching... In which case you would also need the most expensive subscription. But really I don't think you need it to start, there's a lot to discover with the classes and the events and the Discord, it can even be good to start with the lowest subscription to focus on the pre recorded classes at first, it's the most important part for me... And you can get feedback from teachers assistants :)
You can join the Discord and start taking Drawing 1, this is free and doesn't require expensive materials. Once you're in the Discord you'll be able to know when they offer discounts, it's usually on yearly plans but not always... And depending on the country you live in they may have special offers, you could reach out to ask. I hope your situation improves soon! You can also check out Drawabox, this is free 😉
@@Julie.Miette omg thanks for the suggestion, now btw I have like zero money so I am planning to learn drawing from UA-cam mainly also on discord like you said , and other platforms also offer some free beginner courses i'll check that out too
Been debating trying out New Masters Academy (I currently have skillshare but can never stick with their classes) and I think you convinced me! Thanks for such a thorough review, love your channel 😊
Oooooh let me know how that goes if you decide to try it! 🤗
I haven't been able to stick with Skillshare or Domestika classes either, it's very different.
I am 46. Have gone to school for multiple degrees but I find myself wanting to study art. Thank you for your video I may give this a shot instead of going back to university ❤
Yayyy the NMA review! It honestly sounds great. But pushing through fundamentals all alone sounds hard :’)
It's the hardest part I think... But here's how I see it: I want to be an artist for all my life. It's like a marathon. Now I have two options: 1) not study fundamentals, and compensate for it, which is definitely doable and I have been doing it in the past, that would be like running the whole thing with a rock in my shoe and putting my foot down weirdly and suffer more and longer to avoid just taking care of the problem, or 2) invest time to take care of it now, and run better, and enjoy it more, get more satisfaction out of the process and my performance, know I have done my best.
It's not the best metaphor, studying fundamentals is probably more tedious than untying shoes but that's really the idea. At a group coaching session recently Joshua talked about drawing skulls and portrait drawing and said "study this exercise, study it deeply, it's going to take 3 days and then your heads will look better for the rest of your life".
It took me a few month to go through the fundamentals classes, maybe it can be tiresome at times but I also enjoyed it, and it's so little in regards to the many years I intend to be drawing... I know they say you have to "draw everyday" "stay in shape" and stuff, but really some things can't be lost, once it's learned it's part of you forever.
And it's so satisfying!
I wish I could come up with a better metaphor. I'm honestly so grateful to my former self for having started this. Right now I'm drawing more and more and really starting to love it, thanks to all that previous effort.
Definitely worth it. So worth it! There is nothing like the gratification you get from true effort and dedication, no scrolling dopamine can compete.
I’m really resonating with this. Thanks a lot :)
Thank you! ☺️
I'm near the end of DF1 at NMA (very much a beginner, so I need it). Great review! I agree that the interactive track really helps you stick to it.
I don't think I'm ready for group coaching, but I did wonder how that would work with the time zones. Do they have sessions at reasonable times for people in Europe?
I checked before replying, this week there are 11 sessions at reasonable hours (ending at 10 pm for the latest ones, I sleep early) 😄
I typically attend 5 a week. For the sessions you can’t attend live, recordings are available for a week 🙂
@@Julie.Miette Thanks! I guess I could have checked myself 😳. Good to know if I eventually get that far. Your drawings are wonderful.
I do think they are a good option for people, that for whatever reason cannot go to an art school but still want to work on their skills to take. I did the art school thing and im still not sure if it was worth it lol😝
I discovered it with Kesley channel too, but you participated to convince me to try ! Thanks very much, because it is an excellent school. I have the same feeling as you about art schools in France, definitely too expensive and I wonder if they provide you with the same level of technicality that you can find in nma lessons. Will you make a video about your progress after 1 year for example or something like that ?
I'm so happy you enjoy it! I'm pretty sure they don't provide the same level of technicality, just because no regular school can afford to provide that many hours of demos, and if they did, how could 20+ students in a classroom get a perfect view of what the instructor is doing?
But I don't want to undermine art schools, we have a few that teach future animators and they seem a lot more technical (and in some regards maybe more academic) than the Beaux-Arts for example.
I'll think about it for the video! It's not as easy as it seems, when I started the lessons I was doing mostly course work, and the best way to measure progress would be to tackle the same subject a year apart... Until then, I think my sketchbooks give a good idea of my progress 😊
Thank you very much for this video and information 🙏 this helps a lot. I struggle with my art currently because i took classes on Udemy, Domestika etc. but always had problems because there is no structured way. May i ask if there is a structured way after the fundamental classes as well? And a last question: there are three Levels of subscription. Would you recommend to start with the most expensive one at the beginning? Thank you 🙏
I'm so glad it helps! I didn't try Udemy, but I can attest NMA is nothing like Domestika. I think Domestika is fun to try techniques, and classes are meant to be accessible and allow one to get a nice result at all levels - but it's not about deep skill building, and it makes sense with their economic model.
The structure (they call it the course guide) goes beyond the fundamental classes, yes. "Drawing Foundations" is just a module, and each proposed path (sculpture, illustration, figure painting, portrait painting and others) has multiple modules in it, so it takes years to follow any given path.
For the level of subscription I would recommend starting with the lowest to give it a try! It gives you access to all the pre recorded classes (aka all the classes that are in the course guide), and it comes with interactive feedback for the assignments at no additional cost at the moment.
I don't remember the detail of their current plans as I took mine during a special offer last year, but with the other tiers you get access to the photo library, the recordings of previous live classes, access to live classes (where you get the opportunity to submit to the instructor), group coaching... All these are great, but in my opinion the pre recorded classes and following the course guide is really the most important, so it's a good place to start without spending too much.
That's what I did personally 😊
But if you feel like you want the full package you can take a higher subscription! You can always change from month to month so there's no commitment. And you can start with the lowest and upgrade as well.
My type of channel 😌
Thank you! Welcome here 😊
I am curious if the program has students using reference photos for the drawing fundamentals courses or if students must find the objects and set up the still life with lighting themselves?
For all assignments where you work from references, those are provided with the lessons (even if your subscription doesn't grant you access to the image library, you still have the assignment references). There is one still life in Drawing Foundations I for which you have to setup the still life yourself, and putting it together is part of the assignment. Otherwise references are provided, although for some assignments you are welcome to work from life and take a picture of your reference if you submit your assignment, so the TA can see it too. In all cases it's written in the assignment PDF. 🙂
Hi Julie! I love your videos and really relate to you. I have been interested in joining nma for quite a long time now (1 year+) but i didnt have the time until now. I have read on their website that as of August 1st 2024, they dont offer free feedback on assignments (while following the interactive tracks). I honestly find that change to be a huge turn off for me and i feel like subscribing would be a waste of money and time (sorry). The token system isnt to my liking at all but i would like to know your opinion on this. Do you still recommend people to subscribe if we wont get feedback (without paying extra)? I think i already know what your answer is going to be but i am very very doubtful of this new change. Thank you in advance, and for these wonderful videos.
Thank you for your comment!
And you don't have to be sorry.
I totally get you, the token system changes a lot. If you want to get feedback on assignments, it's going to be more expensive now than it was (and still is) for me, and that's unfortunate. I am in a privileged position as I don't have to pay for tokens until my subscription expires.
I did the math, and had I needed to pay for tokens, I couldn't have afforded to move through the courses as fast as I did. I feel very lucky, but at the same time people who joined before I did had even better deals.
I still wholeheartedly recomment NMA. It doesn't change anything to the quality of the education (actually some of their new offers improve it), and regardless of the price I don't know anything that compares. On top of that I think the tokens and different level of critiques are fairly priced and if you have the discipline to follow the courses, they provide more value than you could get elsewhere for the same price, as far as I know.
I still recommend the most basic subscription, it's more than enough to get started. If you can afford tokens to submit your assignments, it adds a lot of value (especially now the new "video tutoring" option where you get a draw over of your assignment, I still have to try it out but I heard great things about it from other students).
If you can't afford tokens, here's what I would do:
- there's a study buddy club on Discord, you could join it to get feedback from other students currently doing the same class, and / or ask for critiques from the community
- do all the assignments no matter what, and save them somewhere: maybe you'll be able to afford tokens at some point and you'll want to submit them to get certificates for the courses
If you stil doubt (and this is my advice no matter what) just get a month of sucbsciption to try it out, it doesn't engage you to anything.
I hope you can find the best option for you to study art now that you have time 😊
💕❤💯
Great video! This was really helpful, how long have you been drawing to get that good?!
Thank you so much! I started drawing when I was a little girl so I really can't tell you... I'm 28, and I had long interruptions in my life, and periods when I drew intensely.
Hi! I‘ doing the drawabox free course and I‘m thinking of joining NMA after. I’d like to assess the workload for doing the foundation course.
I can practice for about an hour a day, how much time do you think it would take you with this kind of practce schedule?
It's not easy to tell and it's going to vary from week to week, but I find the estimation NMA gives on their course guide for the time each lesson takes is close enough. Between the video lessons and the assignments, the workload is estimated to be 8 hours for a lesson (which is called a "week" in the classes) - so with approximately 7 hours a week, you shouldn't expect to complete more than a "week" every week.
It's going to vary from week to week, lesson to lesson, because some of them will feel easier to you and others naturally require more time (like the final assignments for Fundamentals of Drawing and Perspective for example), but it's an average.
With limited time, I think it's especially important to make space for your personal projects and practice. If you calculate how much time the NMA tracks would take you, it may be very long, but you don't have to complete it all (it's impossible, there is just too much content) before you can start to make art or even to work as an artist. So I would encourage you to keep time for your own art, then work seriously on the lessons and do your best of course, but don't focus too much on the time it's going to take. Just take the info and practice in and let it inform your own art, rather than rushing... Unless giving yourself deadlines is motivating to you!
I hope that was helpful and not confusing. I am very lucky to have a lot of time for NMA myself, so I'm not the best person to talk about balancing it with other commitments, but the first free class actually talks about it a little bit. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's called Drawing 1 and at the moment it's available for free on the NMA Discord. 🙂
Hello! Do I understand that you have to follow every lesson of all classes in a track to get feedback or you can do, for exemple, all assignments of Drawing 1 & skip to Painting 1 & get feedback doing all the assignments? Merci !
You have to do every lesson of every class and start from the first one (Drawing foundation I at the moment), and right now the interactive feedback is only available for the first module (classes from Drawing foundation I to Introduction to Inking in the tracks) 😉
@@Julie.Miette Merci (depuis, Paris ) ! 😉
Avec plaisir ! Avec le nom, j'ai pensé que vous étiez français mais dans le doute je suis restée en anglais 😊
@@Julie.Miette Intervenue en anglais pour garder les commentaires homogènes à la lecture !
So do you have the library plus or live subscription? Thanks!
Right now I have the 4 year plan, it's an offer they ran a year ago that isn't available any longer, it's basically the live subccription with some extras 🙂
I started with the lowest a year ago, so the equivalent of the library, with just the pre recorded courses.
Hi thank you for this video.
Do you have to subscribe to the most expensive subscription of 199€ per month for getting feedback at finished exercises? Or do they also offer feedback on the most cheap subscription? I discovered their forums where you can get critics of other students on your drawings, do you do that too? And is that a different kind of way to get feedback on your drawings of the teachers? Thank you. Best regards Martijn.
Hi Martjin, sorry for my long response time!
No you don't have to get the most expensive tier, as long as you follow the classes in order you can get feedback from the team in the Discord forums, no matter your subscribtion. I am on the 4 year plan right now (a plan they offered a year ago), but I started with the lowest subscribtion and started submitting my course assignments right away.
There are also forums for peer critique but I don't really use them, it's a separate thing. To get feedback from the teachers there are two options:
- the first one is to participate in a live class (in which case you need the most expensive subscription to be able to participate), and you don't have a guarantee you'll get a critique since there are a lot of submissions
- the second one is that if the teacher also happens to be a coach, you could bring your assignment to group coaching... In which case you would also need the most expensive subscription.
But really I don't think you need it to start, there's a lot to discover with the classes and the events and the Discord, it can even be good to start with the lowest subscription to focus on the pre recorded classes at first, it's the most important part for me... And you can get feedback from teachers assistants :)
I am broke 😌😑😭
You can join the Discord and start taking Drawing 1, this is free and doesn't require expensive materials. Once you're in the Discord you'll be able to know when they offer discounts, it's usually on yearly plans but not always... And depending on the country you live in they may have special offers, you could reach out to ask. I hope your situation improves soon! You can also check out Drawabox, this is free 😉
@@Julie.Miette omg thanks for the suggestion, now btw I have like zero money so I am planning to learn drawing from UA-cam mainly also on discord like you said , and other platforms also offer some free beginner courses i'll check that out too
All the best 💪