Introduction to Landscape Drawing by Steve Huston

A no-nonsense crash course in landscape drawing. Steve Huston shows you how to use gesture and structure to lay in scenes that actually hold together, then design them with clear values and light.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Use gesture and structure to build landscapes with movement and solidity
• Control values and gradation with a simple 3-value system
• Design compositions using quadrants, framing, and perspective
• Apply light and shadow logic with halftones to natural forms
• Simplify trees, rocks, cliffs, and terrain into readable masses
• Put it all together in a full forest scene demonstration

✅ Requirements

• Skills: No prior landscape experience needed, basic comfort with drawing helps
• Tools: Pencil and paper or sketchbook, or Photoshop / Procreate if you work digitally

📝 Description

This isn’t a paint-pretty-trees class. Steve starts with gesture and structure — how to get movement into a hillside and then hold it up with solid construction. You will think in boxes and spheres before you think in leaves.

Then he gets into what actually makes landscapes read: values and gradation. You will work with a simple 3-value system to keep masses clear, plus framing, quadrants, and composition tricks to stop your drawings from feeling random.

The second half covers light and shadow logic, halftones and how to break down trees, rocks, and cliffs without getting lost in detail. It wraps with a full forest scene demo where Steve pulls everything together, and downloadable assignments so you can practice each idea as you go.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Beginners who want a clear, structured entry into landscape drawing
• Figure, illustration, or concept artists who want stronger backgrounds and environments

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Steve Huston is a veteran instructor at New Masters Academy known for his direct, structural way of teaching drawing. He has taught for decades, including at ArtCenter, and is the author of Figure Drawing for Artists: Making Every Mark Count. His classes focus on gesture, construction, and light logic you can actually use on the job.

🏁 Final Result

• A finished forest scene drawing built on gesture, structure, value control, and light logic — solid portfolio piece for beginners