Justin Eagleton is a professional artist, illustrator and designer who has drawn portraits of the likes of Manchester United and England’s Rio Ferdinand and more recently two very special drawings of Sir Bobby Charlton and Eric Cantona.
He is encouraging the nation to pick up a pencil and draw their way through lockdown with his live virtual art classes.
With over 25 years’ experience working in the creative industries from designing and making props and sets for TV and exhibitions in his early days to becoming a lead graphic artist within the games industry, working with industry giants such as EA Sports on many of its best-selling FIFA titles – you know you’re in good hands.
“I wanted to give something back to people and I thought art classes would be a great way to break the doom and gloom of lockdown life. Mental health is really important and it’s something that a lot of people are struggling with at the moment, lockdown causes a lot of loneliness and feelings of isolation. If I can help people feel good and learn a new skill, even if it’s just for an hour or so then it is an hour well spent.”
The art classes are for all abilities and ages – all you need is a pencil and a piece of paper.
“So far the feedback has been amazing. Hundreds of people are attending the classes, with attendance rocketing each week. I’ve had families taking the classes and having a draw off between them, couples and individuals of all ages and abilities and the feedback has been overwhelming.”
“I cover a lot of the basic skills and techniques you need to draw something really special. We cover everything from constructing the bare bones of an image to shading and adding fine details. I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they are terrible at drawing, and haven’t picked up a pen or pencil to draw in years, who have then gone on to create some really impressive work.”
Classes are live-streamed every Thursday at 7pm or you can catch up with classes already passed on Justin’s YouTube channel here.
