Digital Pencil Rendering with Jens Claessens

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Join Jens Claessens as he teaches everything he knows about his popular digital pencil rendering style. Jens will explain the fundamental concepts behind successful pencil drawing: core artistic principles that go beyond any one tool. This class is taught digitally in photoshop and Jens will share his pencil brushes, but the techniques are fully transferable to traditional pencil on paper, so you’re free to follow along with whatever medium you prefer.

We’ll Cover:

Week 01:  We’ll learn the fundamentals and techniques of the old masters, then turn them into an efficient pencil rendering method.
Week 02:  Working with edges and exploring hatching and cross-hatching techniques.
Week 03:  Creating detailed drawings from reference.
Week 04:  Learn how to draw and render hands, fingers, and nails from imagination.
Week 05:  Learn how to draw and render faces from imagination.
Week 06:  How to approach a full character concept in pencil.
Week 07:  How to evolve as an artist, improve, and develop a style.
Week 08:  Learn how to apply what we’ve learned digitally to working traditionally with a pencil, including a traditional pencil demo.

Duration: 8 weeks
Date & Time: Sundays at 8AM ET starting July 5, 2026. Class will be off August 9 & 16.
Skill level: All skill levels welcome
Tiers: 12 Critique spots – Receive feedback or spectate without homework feedback
Format: 4-5 hour live class with combination of lectures, demos, and feedback. Recordings will be provided within ~2 days of each class.
Materials: Any digital or traditional mediums.