CourseVerdict

The Art & Science of Drawing vs Figma UI UX Design Essentials

Same Bayesian formula, same rubric — so the difference in scores reflects the difference in the courses, not the difference in how we evaluated them.

Skillshare · Design

The Art & Science of Drawing

4.5/ 5 · 29 opinions
24 positive4 neutral1 negative/ 29 total

Skillshare · Design

Figma UI UX Design Essentials

4.4/ 5 · 38 opinions
27 positive8 neutral3 negative/ 38 total

Per-criterion

Content quality4.7 / 5

A genuinely systematic fundamentals curriculum — mark-making, measuring, proportion, 3D form, contour, and light-and-shadow — taught one skill at a time with clear demonstrations. Reviewers repeatedly call it the clearest beginner drawing instruction they have found. Capped only because it is deliberately foundational: no advanced rendering or stylistic range.

Instructor4.7 / 5

Eviston is the standout. Across our sample he is described as thorough, clear and easy to follow, and a Hacker News user recommended his series "without reservation". Twenty-plus years of studio and academy teaching show in the structured, one-skill-per-lesson pacing.

Value for money4.5 / 5

Included in the Skillshare subscription (~$14/month). The full multi-class Art & Science of Drawing path — basic skills through shading — sits inside one subscription, so a learner who works the sequence over a month or two gets an entire foundations program for the price of one month of access.

Portfolio output4.4 / 5

Every lesson ends with a concrete practice project, and the Skillshare projects tab carries thousands of student submissions. Learners report visible week-one improvement. Capped because the projects are skill-building drills, not a portfolio-grade body of finished work, and peer feedback is light.

Real-world use4.4 / 5

The fundamentals — observation, proportion, constructing 3D form, controlling value — transfer directly to illustration, design and any subsequent drawing study. Reviewers note the skills make it easier to pick up later, more specialised classes. Limit is scope: it teaches the foundation, not a finished professional specialism.

Content quality4.4 / 5

111 lessons span UX/UI basics through advanced auto layout, components, variants and interactive prototyping. Comprehensive for a subscription course; slightly capped because Figma ships new features faster than course updates follow.

Instructor4.7 / 5

Daniel Scott is Adobe-certified with 14+ years of teaching experience and founder of Bring Your Own Laptop. His methodical, shortcut-dense style is consistently praised by independent reviewers as clear, practical, and professional.

Value for money4.3 / 5

The Skillshare subscription (~$14/month) also unlocks the companion advanced Figma course at no extra cost. No completion certificate and the rising subscription price are the main drags on value.

Portfolio output4.1 / 5

Real desktop and mobile projects produce shareable portfolio pieces with genuine creative latitude. Depth of feedback is limited compared to mentored programmes; learners self-assess their output.

Real-world use4.5 / 5

Auto layout, components, variants, constraints and prototyping are exactly the skills hiring managers test for. The frames-over-groups discipline and shortcut density transfer immediately to professional Figma workflows.

Scoring methodology applies identically to every course on the site — see the formula.