Develop your artistic voice through the art of drawing.
Drawing is a method for exploring and reinterpreting the world around you. As an area within the Visual Arts major, it offers diverse techniques and tools to translate ideas into visuals, express unique perspectives and push the boundaries of what drawing can be.
What You’ll Learn
Explore contemporary and traditional materials, experimenting with various processes, tools and media.
Courses blend studio work with theoretical studies, allowing you to situate your practice within broader themes and histories.
You’ll be free to define your approach, creating images that reflect or reimagine the world around you through narrative, memory, abstraction, and conceptual processes for drawing from ideas.
Program Highlights
- Experiment with diverse techniques using traditional materials alongside experimental media
- Learn from expert faculty who are established, award-winning artists offering personalized mentorship
- Build community and refine your visual art and research practice in a supportive environment
- Prepare for your professional future by developing a strong portfolio for careers in the arts
- Explore interdisciplinary connections by combining drawing with other art forms to create multifaceted works
Program Structure
Drawing is one of the discipline areas within the Visual Arts Major. In your first year, you’ll complete the Foundation Year alongside all other majors.
Starting in second year, you can tailor your studies by choosing from a range of Drawing courses that match your interests and goals.
Sample Drawing Courses
DRWG 208 Materials/Techniques DRWG 218 Process/Transformation DRWG 308 Drawing Studio DRWG 215 Human Figure DRWG 312 Anatomical DRWG 307 Collage DRWG 309 Narrative ImagesShops + Studios
Studio culture is at the heart of your educational experience at Emily Carr University, with spaces where you can create, learn, collaborate, experiment and play.
Drawing students work in spacious, well-equipped shops and studios.
Drawing students have access to:
- Drawing Studios
- Photography Studio
- Painting Studios
- and more
Expert Technical Staff
Each space is maintained by expert technical staff who collaborate with faculty and staff to provide students with instruction and guidance.
Technical staff ensure safe and accessible working environments and lead instructional workshops to enhance your learning.
Faculty
Beyond the Classroom
We’re Canada’s #1 art and design university, known for creative excellence that extends from your academic and studio experience into opportunities outside the classroom and after graduation.
You’ll be part of a dynamic arts community both locally and internationally.
The Drawing program is designed to give students as many opportunities as possible, such as:
- On-campus exhibition space to present your work to the public
- Regular speakers and networking events with notable artists
- Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant and apprenticeship opportunities with faculty
- Industry experience and work-integrated learning opportunities facilitated by our Careers team
- Connections with local studios, shops, and labs outside ECU
In Others’ Words
“Sometimes you just need to go and make that first mark. Whether that first mark is exactly what you want or, later on, you erase it, it doesn’t matter. Because once you put that mark down, you have started your drawing. You’ve started your project.”
Fiona Tang, BFA, Visual Arts
Opportunities after Graduation
Graduates bring many in-demand skills to the job market, from advanced technical abilities to critical knowledge. Many pursue careers as artists or find creative and commercial work while continuing with their own craft.
Upon graduation, students follow a variety of career paths and roles:
- MFA and PhD studies
- Visual artists
- Roles at artist residencies and artist-run centers
- Gallery technicians
- Curational roles
- Art conservation and restoration
- Art teaching and post-secondary positions
- Research chairs and arts boards
Our alumni have gone on to found their own print shops, publish art works, and embark on successful multidisciplinary art careers.