For artists who have stopped improving
The Artist Roadmap 2027 A figure drawing course in Milton Keynes
Six months of structured figure drawing in Milton Keynes. For anyone who has drawn for a while and hit a plateau, or wants to start properly from the ground up.
- 24 sessions4 terms of 6 weeks
- 11 Jan – 19 JulMondays 7–9pm
- Max 9students per group
Sound familiar?
Drop-in classes give you a model and a clock. They rarely teach you what you're looking at.
If you've drawn for a while and your figures still come out stiff, flat or slightly wrong, it isn't a talent problem. Observation on its own only takes you so far. Without the mechanics underneath (construction, anatomy, light), most people plateau.
The Roadmap is built to get you past that point, one deliberate step at a time.
Study · Capture · Construct · Render
Four terms in a fixed order, because each skill depends on the one before. Study how the Masters solved the figure, capture the life of the pose, construct it from the inside, then render it in light.
Mondays 7–9pm at Arts Central Studios, Kiln Farm. No class on 15 Feb (half-term), 29 Mar (Easter Monday), 3 May and 31 May (bank holidays).
1 · Study
Old Masters 6 weeks
11 Jan – 22 Feb · From master drawings, no live model
Before you tackle the complexity of a live model, learn from the giants: Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Albrecht Dürer and Peter Paul Rubens. You aren't tracing; you're analysing how the Masters solved problems, from line quality and shading logic to their anatomy shortcuts.
- One method, start to finish: we develop a way of working that begins with a quick gesture and builds up gradually into a longer study, using different tools at each stage.
- Inside out: build the figure structurally, drawing what's underneath first.
- Maths and nature: balance proportion and angle with curve and flow.
The result: real confidence and hand control, and a set of techniques ready for the life room in Term 2.
Book Term 1£145or all four in the Mastery Pass
2 · Capture
Line & Gesture 6 weeks
1 Mar – 12 Apr · Live model
Stop drawing stiff figures. This term is about capturing energy. Working from the live model, we put details aside and focus on the action of the pose, with short, dynamic sketches that get you drawing with your whole arm, not just your wrist.
This is where the Old Masters method gets tested: everything you learned in Term 1 now goes in front of a live model, drawing from life.
- From 2D to life: the Old Masters method, applied to a living person.
- Drawing is design: rhythm, variation, contrast, and line weight that guides the eye.
- Anchor points: the anatomical landmarks that hold a pose together.
The result: you stop worrying about mistakes and start capturing life and movement. Often the most freeing part of the year.
Book Term 2£145or all four in the Mastery Pass
3 · Construct
Anatomy 6 weeks
19 Apr – 7 Jun · Live model and 3D anatomy model
Drawing what you see is good; knowing what you see is better. We strip it back to the skeleton and the major muscle groups, using a 3D écorché model alongside the live model to see where muscles attach and how they move.
- Hybrid study: the theory on the 3D model, the reality on the live one, side by side.
- The major muscle groups: where each one starts and where it ends, and what that does to the surface of the body.
- Origins and insertions: the Latin names and attachment points, learned properly so you can draw them from memory.
Be prepared: this is the hardest term of the year. There are a lot of Latin names, origins and insertions to learn, and it takes real study between classes, not just drawing. It's also the term that changes your understanding of the human body the most.
The result: your drawings gain weight and logic. You'll know why a shadow falls where it does.
Book Term 3£145or all four in the Mastery Pass
4 · Render
Light & Shadow 6 weeks
14 Jun – 19 Jul · Live model, longer poses
This is where everything comes together: the structure, the muscles and, finally, the rendering. With the line and the anatomy in place, we practise the refining, the fine part of fine art, with the focus on light, shadow and volume. We slow down with longer poses and build tone in graphite and charcoal, with control of hard and soft edges and the way light wraps around form.
- Light logic: how light falls on a sphere, and how to apply it to the body.
- The toolkit: cross-hatching for texture and energy, blending for smooth transitions.
- The finish: structure, anatomy and light brought together in one finished piece.
The result: fully finished, three-dimensional drawings, and the point where your own style starts to show.
Book Term 4£145or all four in the Mastery Pass
Every term includes one-to-one feedback from Csaba, weekly printed handouts and optional homework to keep you moving between classes.
January to July
You won't draw like Leonardo by July. You will stop guessing.
Skill is built by steady, ordered practice, not by one-off workshops. Twenty-four evenings with the same tutor and the same small group is enough to change how you see: you'll stop copying shapes and start building the figure on purpose.
The compound effect
Each term makes the next easier. Construction from Term 1 is what makes anatomy in Term 3 click.
A tutor who knows you
Over six months Csaba gets to know your habits and sticking points, and guides you past them.
A shared journey
The same small group all season: shared struggles, celebrated breakthroughs, and friends at the easel.
★★★★★
“I've been going to life drawing classes for years, but I feel like I've made some real breakthroughs on this course. I will never approach drawing in the same way.”
“Deliberately challenging but 100% worth doing!” Jennie · “The class was small, so there was lots of 1:1 support. Highly recommend.” Ruthie
Your tutor
Csaba Tibor Palotas
Csaba is a painter, tattoo artist and lifelong student of the human form. His own work explores spirituality and philosophy, using the body to express the deeper human experience.
Self-taught, he learned by deconstructing the methods of the Old Masters and committing to daily practice. Having walked that path alone, he understands the hurdles beginners face and how to get past them. For Csaba, art isn't about talent, it's about learning to see: the structure, light and mechanics beneath the skin.
24 evenings, January to July
Every Monday, 7–9pm at Arts Central Studios, Kiln Farm. Here is every session, so you can put them in your diary now.
1 · Old Masters
- Mon 11 Jan1
- Mon 18 Jan2
- Mon 25 Jan3
- Mon 1 Feb4
- Mon 8 Feb5
- Mon 22 Feb6
2 · Line & Gesture
- Mon 1 Mar7
- Mon 8 Mar8
- Mon 15 Mar9
- Mon 22 Mar10
- Mon 5 Apr11
- Mon 12 Apr12
3 · Anatomy
- Mon 19 Apr13
- Mon 26 Apr14
- Mon 10 May15
- Mon 17 May16
- Mon 24 May17
- Mon 7 Jun18
4 · Light & Shadow
- Mon 14 Jun19
- Mon 21 Jun20
- Mon 28 Jun21
- Mon 5 Jul22
- Mon 12 Jul23
- Mon 19 Jul24
All 24 tutored evenings, plus 4 free Sundays, for £449. That's £18.71 an evening, against £24.17 when you book term by term.
No class on 15 Feb (half-term), 29 Mar (Easter Monday), 3 May and 31 May (bank holidays).
Three ways to book
Same tutor, same small group, same Monday evenings. Choose how you want to pay.
Option 1
One term at a time
£145
per term · £24.17 a session
Six sessions per term. Start with the subject you need most, or try one term first.
Best value
Option 2 · The Mastery Pass
The full Roadmap
£449£479 from 1 January
£18.71 a session · early-bird price until 31 December
- All 4 terms: 24 tutored sessions
- Plus 4 free Sunday drop-ins
- A one-hour, one-to-one session with Csaba
- Your seat guaranteed, January to July
- Save £183 in total: £131 off the terms, plus 4 free Sundays worth £52
Option 3
All four terms, booked separately
£580
4 × £145 · £24.17 a session
The same 24 sessions, but £131 more than the early-bird Mastery Pass, and the four free Sunday drop-ins aren't included.
What else is out there? Drop-ins and online tutorials are cheap, but nobody shows you the structure underneath, so the plateau stays. An atelier or art school teaches it properly, but usually costs thousands of pounds, a long commute or a move, and years of commitment. The Mastery Pass gives you that structure for £449, on Monday evenings, right here in Milton Keynes.
Full refund if you cancel within 14 days of booking and before your first class.
Coming back from 2026?
More time at the easel, the same fair price
Every term is now six weeks instead of five, so the year grows from 20 to 24 tutored sessions. That means more time to settle into each subject before moving on.
Per session, the price has barely moved. The 2026 Mastery Pass worked out at about £18.75 a session; the 2027 early bird is about £18.70. Book the pass by 31 December and you keep last year's rate, with four extra evenings.
The practical bit
- When
- Mondays 7–9pm, 11 January to 19 July 2027
- Where
- The Box Arts Club at Arts Central Studios, 20 Burners Lane, Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes MK11 3HB. Use the black double doors to the left of the main studio entrance.
- Parking
- Free parking right in front of the entrance
- Provided
- Easels, boards, newsprint, vine charcoal, a Pierre Noir 1710 charcoal pencil, and a sharpening station, because sharp tools make fine marks
- Bring
- A putty eraser (essential), a hard eraser and a cheap A4 sketchbook for your daily practice. For Term 4 only: H and 2H graphite pencils and a mechanical or clutch pencil. Any favourite tools are welcome, but the essentials are all provided.
- Group
- Maximum 9 students, so everyone gets one-to-one guidance
- Feedback
- One-to-one guidance from Csaba at your easel, every session
- Between classes
- Weekly printed handouts and optional homework to keep you moving
- Booking
- Online, paid in full when you book
Honestly: you don't need any drawing experience, but you do need focus, and you need to turn up. This isn't a casual sketching club; it's a small classical academy. Attend, do the optional homework, and the progress is real.
Questions
Do I need any experience?
No. The course is built step by step from the foundations, and experienced artists use it to fill the gaps in their training. Groups are small, so teaching adapts to each person.
Why is there no live model in Term 1?
Because copying the Masters teaches you the vocabulary of drawing before you face the complexity of a live model. It's the fastest route to drawing the figure well in Term 2.
What should I practise between sessions?
We recommend the Bargue drawing method for precision, value control and form, and our Sunday life drawing sessions in Milton Keynes for time with the live model. The Mastery Pass includes four of those.
Is there a nude model?
Yes. Terms 2, 3 and 4 work from a professional life model, usually nude, as is normal in life drawing. Term 1 works from master drawings only, with no model. Sessions are for adults (18+). Students aged 16–17 are welcome with a parent or guardian's consent: fill in the parental consent form, and a parent attends the first session.
Can I join for one term, or start later in the year?
Yes. Every term can be booked on its own for £145. The terms build on each other, so if you're new to figure drawing we recommend starting with Term 1. If you already draw, you can join at any term.
What if I miss a session?
Let Csaba know and you'll get that week's handout, so you can catch up at home. Pass holders can also use their free Sunday drop-ins for extra time with the model.
Can I spread the cost?
Yes. Instead of the Mastery Pass, you can book and pay for one term at a time, at £145 each. The Mastery Pass is paid in full and is the cheapest way to do the whole year.
Can I cancel?
Yes. Full refund if you cancel within 14 days of booking and before your first class. If something comes up after that, talk to Csaba.
What's included in the Mastery Pass?
All 24 tutored evenings, four free Sunday drop-in sessions, a one-hour one-to-one session with Csaba, and your seat guaranteed from January to July.
Book your place
Booking is open for January 2027. Pay securely online through SumUp to reserve your seat. The early-bird price runs until 31 December, and groups are capped at nine.
Full refund if you cancel within 14 days of booking and before your first class.
Questions first? Email or call 07568 359538. Not ready yet? Join the letters and you'll hear when places are running low.