Absolutely!

The Point was designed for complete beginners who’ve never touched a colored pencil before as well as self-taught colorists who still struggle with basic pencil technique.

No previous art experience necessary.

The Point was designed for Prismacolor Premier colored pencils because pigment quality matters when you're learning to color.

Many inexpensive colored pencil actually resist smooth blending, layering, or even just sticking to the paper. This make learning far more difficult for beginners.

Inside the course, you'll learn techniques that help you use your colored pencil more effectively, but even professional level strong technique cannot fully compensate for poor-quality pencils.

Having said all this, I also don’t recommend rushing out to purchase the most expensive artist grade pencils. In the learning stages you need a reliable brand, not a luxury brand.

I teach with Prismacolor Premier pencils because in the true artist grade category, they’re the most reasonably priced. Prismacolor also offers several benefits not found in more expensive brands which is why so many professional artists still use Prismacolor today.

I know this is contrary to popular internet advice but this kind of honesty is what makes my instruction different. I’m invested in your success, so let’s make learning easy with a product designed for success.

Grainy coloring happens for two reasons:

First, colored pencils are naturally grainy. In many ways, we’re asking a pencil to do what it wasn’t designed to do. Overcoming graininess requires proactive steps, even the professionals face this daily.

Grainy coloring is also often a sign of choosing the wrong paper.

We cover smooth pencil tactics and paper selection in-depth in The Point.

Honestly? It’s a bit of both.

I’m a professional illustrator, so of course I teach colored pencil from an artist’s perspective. We spend a lot of time developing realistic color rather than quick tricks or recipe-style coloring.

At the same time, many Point students come from adult coloring, card making, stamping, and other creative hobbies. People often find me when they’ve reached a point of frustration, where they want more information than typical tutorials provide.

So yes, we do think deeper about color but you do not need formal art training to take The Point.

You simply need the willingness to slow down, practice foundational skills, and color more intentionally.

The Point focuses on basic colored pencil technique…

But as much as I love pencils, they have their limitations, especially when it comes to the amount of time and layering required to get realistic results.

In The Point, we use a small number of markers to base-coat the paper, reducing time and frustration.

The marker techniques are extremely simple and always kept secondary to the marker lessons.

For a full exploration of my Copic Marker techniques, you’ll find more info on The Point’s companion marker course, The Blend here.

The Point is taught over 12 weeks, but very few students actually complete the course in exactly 12 weeks.

This is actually good. I want you to work at your ideal pace!

You'll have extended access to the lessons for years, giving you plenty of time to practice, revisit demonstrations, and even repeat the exercises later as your skills grow.

The live feedback portion of the course lasts for 16 weeks. After that, the Point Forum shifts into a quieter hiatus period while I turn my attention to the next session of The Blend. The course materials and forum remain open, however, so you can continue coloring and chatting with fellow students year-round.

One important note: online education has changed a lot over the years, and truly permanent “forever access” is no longer realistic for most independent educators.

Instead, I use the term Extended Access, meaning you'll continue to have access to the course materials for as long as I’m actively running the business and maintaining the course.

Please see the updated Point page at Marker + Pencil for current information on the next session of The Point.