Most beginners dread perspective, but Stan makes it visual and intuitive.
Yes, emphatically.
If you asked 100 professional illustrators to name the best resource for learning to draw from scratch, at least 60 of them would say "Proko." It has become the gold standard for online atelier training. proko drawing basics course
The free version is the best free art education on the internet. The premium version is a steal compared to the $20,000+ you would spend on a single semester at a private art university.
Around the anatomy or advanced shading sections, many students hit a wall. Stan explicitly warns: “You will get worse before you get better.” This is the “dark night of the soul” in the story — but he provides a clear map out: drills, repetition, and forgiving yourself for bad drawings. Most beginners dread perspective, but Stan makes it
If you’ve ever searched for “how to draw” on YouTube, you’ve almost certainly run into Stan Prokopenko (Proko). His energetic, no-fluff teaching style has made him a favorite among beginners and intermediate artists alike.
But his free YouTube lessons are just the tip of the iceberg. The paid Proko Drawing Basics course promises to take you from stick-figure-level to actually understanding form, gesture, and perspective. The free version is the best free art
So, is it worth your time and money? Here’s what you actually need to know.
Proko offers a massive amount of free content on YouTube. In fact, most of the video lessons for the Drawing Basics course are available for free on his channel. So why pay?
| Feature | Free Version (YouTube) | Premium Version (Proko.com) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Video Lessons | Yes (Full length) | Yes | | Downloadable Models | No | Yes (3D models you can spin) | | Assignment Demos | No (You see the result, not the process) | Yes (Step-by-step video of Stan doing the homework) | | PDF Worksheets | No | Yes (Traceable exercises) | | Critique Videos | No | Yes (Real student work reviewed) | | Community Access | No | Yes (Discord & Forum) |
Verdict: If you are broke, the free YouTube playlist is excellent. However, the premium version is worth the money solely for the "Assignment Demos." Watching Stan struggle through the same homework you are doing is where the real learning happens.