Virtual Art Academy Review

Wednesday, March 3rd

2021 Painting Lesson Reviews

Virtual Art Academy

• Cost: $49/month for beginners basics package
• $79/month for beginners, intermediates, and professionals
• $599 for 3 months, then $10/month thereafter (for advanced artists)

The Virtual Art Academy provides a wealth of information and lesson plans that would satisfy any aspiring artist who takes their painting seriously. By providing a comparable level of art instruction to that of a traditional college or art school, and at much less cost, they are an excellent value for the dedicated student.

The Virtual Art Academy Apprentice Program is divided into four separate years worth of course materials. In all, there are 192 painting lessons divided among these four years. A breakdown of the curriculum structure for each year is provided on the website.

Their lesson plans include a vast library of knowledge. With the full program you'll receive all of the following:

• Background reading material covering the painting materials and techniques you need
• Short painting video segments (200 in total) to break down difficult concepts
• Focused learning assignments (350 in total) to assist you in mastering and internalizing each painting technique
• A comprehensive and integrated downloadable library of 48 professional eBooks that cover all 9 building blocks of the course. Each book is Information Mapped for ease of reading and understanding. This library covers everything you need to know to paint well, saving you the cost of purchasing a lot of art books.
• A tip of the day to help you solve common painting problems

The website provides a free online preview of eBooks in each of the 9 building blocks in the program, so you can see the quality of the reading materials before you purchase. Plus you can request a prospectus with a detailed description of all the lessons in the 4-year program to help you decide.

Virtual Art Academy offers 3 membership options for their painting lessons program:

• Apprentice Lite, the beginner membership, is the least expensive at $49/month for a 6-month program ($294 for the total course). This covers all the basic fundamentals of painting. If you want to continue past the beginner program to the more advanced material, you just continue with your membership at $49/month. A number of lessons are added to your account every few months until you have received all 192 lessons at the end of four years.
• Apprentice Pro costs $79/month for the first 24 months, and then $10 per month thereafter ($2,136 for the full four-year program). This program is designed for beginners, intermediates, and professionals, and will give you an art education equivalent to attending a 4-year program at a prestigious art academy or university for a fraction of the cost. You'll get access to the full one-year program immediately upon joining, and you will receive year two lessons after just six months.
• Apprentice Platinum gives you the same lessons as Apprentice Pro, but you can pay in 3 installment payments of $599 ($1,797) then just $10 per month thereafter ($2,247 for the full four-year program). With this option you get access to the complete four-year program immediately upon purchase of your membership.

There are some free guides and painting techniques available on the website. These can help you with things like choosing an oil painting palette, critiquing master paintings, working on contrast of color, block studies, and a few other topics.

One important feature to note - unlike a traditional university program, you do not have to commit to the four-year program in advance. If you're not satisfied with the level of instruction, or become too busy to continue the lessons, you can cancel the program (and your monthly payments) at any time.

The Virtual Art Academy is a professionally designed and exceptionally thorough program that provides a structured learning experience available on an affordable monthly subscription basis. For hobbyists looking to just start with the basics and paint some fun artwork, this course probably offers too much depth, and there are cheaper alternatives. But if you are a dedicated beginner, or a more advanced artist who wants to take their work to a high level in a structured and systematic way that builds your skills one step at a time, then Virtual Art Academy is your best choice.