Have you ever experienced creators’ block? Struggled to draw anatomy? Wanted to compose a music piece but haven’t had access to a piano? If any of these apply to you, the following free resources are sure to help!

VISUAL ART AND DRAWING

If you’re looking to improve your drawing skills Arty Factory provides free art lessons! The site provides lessons on aboriginal art, to portrait drawing, to drawing animals. It includes tutorials and lessons for pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, and acrylic paint! https://www.artyfactory.com/art-lessons.html

If instead you want some practice drawing people – starting with quick gesture drawings and moving forward to longer processes – Line of Action can provide you with reference photos, a timer, and some basic classes! https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing?fbclid=IwAR1H5rqEX6NVNVXB5rfgdLawhes0UGy6T4c12Cq3O4XO5mIqKTObOyV70MA

WRITING AND CREATIVE WRITING

Writer’s Digest is a site that provides resources and articles for improving your writing skills. There are tabs for improving your fiction writing, your nonfiction writing, and your poetry writing. The site also includes writing prompts, interviews with writers, and information on how to get published. https://www.writersdigest.com/

Another good resource for writers is the National Centre for Writing. This site includes free writing courses, including short, self-paced courses. If you’re looking for more in depth writing training, the site also offers premium courses with tutors, however these courses do cost money. That said, the site provides many, many resources at no cost! https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

MUSIC AND COMPOSITION

Musictheory.net provides music theory lessons starting from the very basics, such as the clefs, all the way to musical analyses of famous pieces such as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Musictheory.net is recommended repeatedly as a resource for those starting out learning music theory. https://www.musictheory.net/

If you already have some knowledge of music theory and want to start writing and composing your own pieces, MuseScore is a great program. I have been using MuseScore since I was in music theory in high school. The program can be a little difficult to learn at the beginning, but as you start using the program more, it becomes easier to understand and compose on. https://musescore.org/en