The idea behind these lessons:
I strive to create communicative lessons that playfully introduce students to drawing, from art history masterpieces to imaginative illustrations and comics. Drawing lessons and art appreciation combined! By choosing pencils as accessible basic material, the emphasis is on visual communication and ease of use rather than materials and techniques. Of course, some of us, young or old, have more talent than others (just like with sports, language arts, math, music, DIY, etc.), but with good examples and solid exercises, anyone who wants to can learn something concrete and find satisfaction at any level. Learning to draw realistically and room to express one’s imagination always go hand in hand. The lessons are suitable for individual use but also ready-made for use in schools, starting in upper elementary school. Many thanks to the designers of Hollands lof Haarlem for their beautiful creation of this website.

 The three levels
Basispotlood.nl is not a strict drawing method with a prescribed order. The three levels do have a slightly increasing difficulty scale: Level 1 focuses on flat shapes. Level 2 focuses on composition and the suggestion of 3D/plasticity. In level 3, perspective plays a more important role.

Materials
Standard size drawing paper (eg A4/A3), a nice drawing pencil (2B), a good eraser and a sharpener. Other materials are fine but not necessary. Digital drawing (e.g. on an iPad) is also a possibility

About the author
Rogier van der Erve (1953) graduated from the Rietveld Academy Amsterdam in 1991, specializing in drawing and free graphics. In 1993 he obtained his first degree in drawing/art history at the HKU. Since that time he has worked as an art teacher for 20 years with children in the upper years of an elementary school and up to 2025 as an art teacher in secondary education exam classes havo/vwo in Rotterdam.