Sketchbook Skool

Sketchbook Skool is an online drawing school built around one idea: that keeping a sketchbook can change your life, and that anyone can learn to draw. It is a learner product. You buy on-demand video courses, watch them in your own content library, and practice in your own sketchbook, with an optional private community alongside. The FAQ describes it as "a small, family-run business owned by Danny Gregory", and the legal name in the footer is Sketchbook Skool, LLC. The school calls itself SBS for short.

Danny Gregory tells his own story on the home page: "I was 38 and hadn't drawn since I was a kid." After a tragic family accident sent him looking for meaning, he found it in "keeping a sketchbook diary full of drawings and words." He says he has "filled over a hundred sketchbooks", and the school's courses are his way of helping others build the same habit. The Art Bootcamp page names Koosje Koene as "the co-founder of Sketchbook Skool".

The courses

The catalog is organized by where you are starting from. For complete beginners, the home page points first to How to Draw Without Talent, "a friendly, step‑by‑step path that makes drawing feel doable, even if you've never drawn before." The FAQ repeats that recommendation for a total beginner. Other beginner courses promise to help you "see and draw like an artist", "refresh their skills" or "sketch anything with speed, clarity, and joy".

A second group of courses is about the sketchbook habit itself. One is a 31-day course for building a life-changing art habit, another shows how to "Turn an ordinary sketchbook into a gorgeous memoir", and others offer "A complete, practical toolkit for growing your creativity" and a newer "easy but meaningful creative project".

A third group teaches specific techniques. In a portrait course, "Seven very different artists show you how to draw anyone with confidence." A watercolor course covers the basics and then encourages you to "break the rules and get creative". Another course teaches dip pen drawing and hand lettering, and an iPad course is aimed at people who own a tablet but are unsure how to draw on it.

Art Bootcamp

Art Bootcamp is the course the site presents as "The essential foundation for your sketchbook practice." Danny Gregory explains that he built it because working out "where to start, what materials to use, which techniques actually work" on your own can be overwhelming. It starts with drawing fundamentals: learning to see like an artist, breaking the world into simple shapes and lines, contour drawing, proportions and sketching with confidence, so you can capture anything from the objects on your desk to the city outside your window. It then introduces color through watercolor and mixed media, including combining pencil, pen and watercolor, and closes with help on creative blocks.

The page calls it "Eleven fun, inspiring instructors" with "Dozens of step by step demonstrations", filmed on location in the artists' studios. The instructor list names Andrea Joseph, known for intricate and detailed illustrations, Felix Scheinberger, described as a master of watercolor, Koosje Koene, Tommy Kane, known for detailed urban sketches, Jane LaFazio, Michael Nobbs, Ohn Mar Win, France Van Stone, Prashant Miranda, Salli Swindell and Vanessa Brantley Newton, with Danny Gregory guiding the course throughout.

Bootcamp comes in two formats: a 2-week program for $49 and a 6-week program for $99, each a one-time payment. Both are "Made for artists of any skill level", with all videos available immediately, a supportive online community and lifetime access to view the course on the platform.

How the courses work

The FAQ says "All of our courses are 100% on-demand." On purchase you get all the videos for the modules you choose. Some courses suggest a multi-week flow, but you can go at your own pace, and the school recommends taking it slowly and repeating exercises. Most courses are for all levels, and you keep lifetime access to your content on the platform. Courses cannot be downloaded: you need an internet connection and a browser, with Chrome or Firefox recommended.

The school runs "2 separate platforms for different purposes". The Content Library, reached through the student login, is where you watch what you bought. The Skool Yard is the social network, which the FAQ describes as "like Facebook but private", hosted on Mighty Networks. It is optional for anyone who buys something, there are instructional videos on using it in your content library, and once you have set up a profile in a browser you can use an optional app. Students rate this community highly. Ellen G from Atlanta writes that "the COMMUNITY is powerful magic", and Marta K from Leysin, Switzerland, calls its support "incomparable to anywhere else".

Price, discounts and refunds

Art Bootcamp is the course with prices printed on its page; the other course pages are reached through Learn More links. First-time customers who sign up for the newsletter get "a one-time 15% off deal right away", and people on the mailing list hear about sales. The refund policy is simple: "We offer a full money back guarantee, just let us know within 30 days of your purchase." The Bootcamp page adds "No questions asked."

Free inspiration

A good share of Sketchbook Skool is free. Danny's Essays arrive each Friday and cover "what goes on in our creative heads" and how to get unstuck. The school posts weekly tips, runs a weekly podcast hosted by Danny Gregory that "covers all sorts of creative issues", and holds a free sketching exercise every Thursday at 9 am Pacific Time, which the FAQ describes as a free hour-long live drawing class on its YouTube channel. A free guide is available for your email address, and a new live workshop with Danny was announced for Saturday, October 10, from 9am to 12pm Pacific Time.

What students say

Testimonials focus on habit and confidence. Erik B. writes: "My drawing is finally a habit!" Jacqueline M from Toronto says she had tried sketching many times and became impatient with the result, and that the course "gave me great tools and more importantly, great advice." Karin M from Chandler, AZ, was hesitant about drawing people and now feels "so much better about drawing people...even myself."

Who it suits

Sketchbook Skool suits adults who have not drawn since childhood, people who want drawing as a personal and daily practice, and hobby artists who want to add watercolor, ink, portraits or iPad sketching. The school's tone is warm and encouraging, and the Art Bootcamp format makes it easy to try for a modest fee with a 30-day guarantee. Support is by email, and help with logins is in the FAQ.

The focus is personal creativity and sketchbook journaling. Someone preparing a professional illustration portfolio would use it as a foundation for daily practice rather than as career training.