Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is Pencil Kings and how does it work?
Pencil Kings offers training and support for artists of all levels. Members pay a monthly or annual fee to be part of the community and have access to our course library.

Members have full access to:

  • All current and future Pencil Kings courses
  • The private artist community where members can interact with on another, get feedback, participate in challenges, and where you can share and record the progress of your personal art journey
  • Join our private chat room and online hangouts
  • Live training workshops & coaching programs delivered online

What’s the Best Way to Get Started with Pencil Kings?
With all of the lessons on the site it may be a bit overwhelming. If you are a beginner what I would like you to do most of all is get a sketchbook and sketch in it at least 5 minutes every day (even the on the weekend!), and don’t worry about the quality of your drawings at all – only worry about enjoying the process and finding things that interest you to try and draw.

We have a series about this called ‘Sketchin Out‘ and it’s a good series to at least look at the first few lessons for it because I think it will help get you in the sketching mood.

Then once you have been sketching for a while and gone through these initial lessons you should have a better idea of which lesson you would like to focus on next, and the skills to get into them. I would recommend any of the LaurieB lessons as a great place to look next to keep improving your figure drawing.

Also, make sure to get started inside the community by sharing some of your artwork and seeing what other people are doing.

With so many lessons on our site it may be a bit overwhelming, but we have a solution! As a member you can make use of any one of our course tracks to guide you through a series of courses to help you master a particular subject.

If you are completely new to drawing and would like to get to know some of the basics, you can go through our Beginner Breakthrough Track to help you find your footing.

If you are a more advanced artist, you can dive into topics such as Figure Drawing and Character Design, or Designing Creatures and Animals.

Payment and Account Management

Which forms of payment do you accept?
We accept all major forms of credit card and Paypal.

How do I log in and log out?
To log in, simply click the log in button on the top menu of the site. Similarly if you need to log out, click the log out button located on the top menu of the site.

How do I find or reset my password?
Please visit the forgot password page and enter the email address you used to signup.

I am a Member and I can’t login – what do I do?
Please try using the forgot password link, but if that is not working for you please look for the email from us that should have been delivered when you signed up. If you can’t find that email from us please contact us here and let us know which email you used to sign up and we will look into your account for you.

How do I change my password?
First, log in to the website, and then click on the ‘Profile’ link at the top of the page to access your user account. You can change your password from inside there. If you can’t login to the site please contact us and we can help you out with it. 

Do I need to sign a contract?
We don’t believe in long term contracts, so you can become a member of the community on a pay-as-you-go month-to-month basis. If you would like to receive a discount on your membership you can sign up for our yearly plan.

Is any tax collected on payments?
Pencil Kings is based in Canada, so only residents of Canada are required to pay tax, and any taxes for Canadians will be added at the time of purchase.

How can I cancel my account?
We really hate to see you go, but if you really need to leave the community you can do so by logging into the site, clicking on the ‘Profile’ link and then using the button at the bottom of the page to cancel your account.


Video Courses

Who will I be learning from?
All of the instructors are professional artists that make a living with their art. Some have worked at large movie and game studios while others are freshly out of college. All courses are pre-screened and edited to give you the best learning experience possible.

How long is each course?
It varies from course to course with the shortest being an action-packed 30 minutes and the longest spanning over 10 hours.

The videos won't load or get stuck - what can I do?

Sorry to hear that the video is acting up! Here is a quick fix that you can try and if these steps don't work, please contact us so we can notify our video host.

  1. Try a different browser to see if the issue is persisting there.
  2. Try switching between the HTML5 and Flash player by right-clicking on the video and selecting the "Switch to..." option.
  3. Try restarting your computer and web browser.
Can I download the courses?

Our content is not available for download, but any content you purchase will always be accessible through the account you used to purchase it.

Is there a book or DVD version of the courses?
Unfortunately we don’t have a hard copy of our Pencil Kings site at this time as we are focused and committed to delivering the absolute best online learning experience possible.


Video Courses

Who will I be learning from?
All of the instructors are professional artists that make a living with their art. Some have worked at large movie and game studios while others are freshly out of college. All courses are pre-screened and edited to give you the best learning experience possible.

How long is each course?
It varies from course to course with the shortest being an action-packed 30 minutes and the longest spanning over 10 hours.

The videos won't load or get stuck - what can I do?

Sorry to hear that the video is acting up! Here is a quick fix that you can try and if these steps don't work, please contact us so we can notify our video host.

  1. Try a different browser to see if the issue is persisting there.
  2. Try switching between the HTML5 and Flash player by right-clicking on the video and selecting the "Switch to..." option.
  3. Try restarting your computer and web browser.
Can I download the courses?

Our content is not available for download, but any content you purchase will always be accessible through the account you used to purchase it.

Is there a book or DVD version of the courses?
Unfortunately we don’t have a hard copy of our Pencil Kings site at this time as we are focused and committed to delivering the absolute best online learning experience possible.


Live Courses & Challenges

How do the live courses work?
Live courses cover one topic and provide a private community, homework exercises and live coaching calls where you can participate and ask questions to the instructor. These courses are designed to push you outside your comfort zone and help you have a breakthrough with your art.

How long are the live courses?
Live courses last for 30 days.

When do you offer live courses?
We offer an intensive live course every second month that will cover a different topic related to the fundamental skills that every artist needs to have.

Is there any extra fee for attending the live courses?
No. The admission fee for the live courses is included with your membership. All you have to do is show up and participate.


Private Artist Community

How does the community work?
When you become a member a link to the community will be added to the links at the top of the website. First make sure you are logged into Pencil Kings and then click the 'Community' link to get in.

How is this different from any other community?
We consider our community to be a studio where you and like minded artists can safely explore art without judgement. This is the perfect place to experiment and challenge yourself, while also having a built in support system to help keep you accountable, and on track so that you can achieve your goals. You can feel safe to share here because it’s only you and the other Pencil Kings members that can see what’s posted inside.

Is there any chance for feedback on my work?
Absolutely! We believe having someone to help you with feedback is so important to help you make fast progress as an artist. Inside the community you are free to post your work and ask for feedback from the other members of Pencil Kings.