Frequently Asked Questions

Totally normal, and honestly, most people who join me are! I've designed everything at Makings & Musings for beginners, so you won't find any judgment here about experience or talent. My focus is on building your confidence and helping you enjoy the process, not on getting things perfect. Lots of my community members and course students are picking up a pencil for the first time in years, or ever. Try my free content on YouTube or the Freebies page first if you want to get a feel for how I teach before committing to anything.

It's my £49 a quarter or £180 a year membership for anyone who wants to explore art with gentle guidance and a supportive group around them. Every week I host a live class on Google Meet, and you'll get access to a private community group plus a growing library of around 300 past class recordings, so there's always something to dive into.

Great question, they're designed to work together, but serve different purposes. The Sketch Hub (£5/month) is where you build your drawing fundamentals: five short sketching videos a week to build the confidence and core skills that sketching takes, since that's the part I see people struggle with most when they're starting out. The Sketchbook Circle (£49 a quarter or £180 a year) is where you experiment with colour and painting: my weekly live class plus a supportive group and hundreds of recordings, ideal once you want to play with materials and develop your own style. Courses (from £19, one-off) are best when you want to master a specific skill in depth, like watercolour or portraiture, at your own pace with lifetime access. Many people start with Sketch Hub to build their sketching confidence, then move into the Sketchbook Circle for colour and experimentation, adding courses as they find techniques they want to go deeper on.

I'd point you toward Wobbly Fantasy Houses, it's my most popular beginner course, and it's designed to ease you in without any pressure to get things right. If you'd rather ease in for free first, start with my Freebies page or Sketch Hub, both are gentle, low-commitment ways to get a feel for how I teach before you invest in a course.

That's exactly who I'm here for. You don't need any existing skill to start with me, I promise. My approach is about playing with materials and colour first, and letting your drawing skills follow naturally, not forcing them from day one. Give yourself permission to make bad drawings while you're learning; that's part of the process, not a sign you're doing it wrong.

Honestly, not much! Many people watch their first class or video just to see what I'm using, then join in next time with basic materials they already have, like a pencil and paper. I list the materials for every class and course so you can gather what you need, but I always teach in a way that lets you substitute with what you already own. Nothing fancy required to start.

Yes! My Freebies page is home to A Week of Art and Inspiration, a free 7-day course, you'll find all seven days of recordings there, plus YouTube videos and other free tutorials I share regularly. If you complete one of my free email courses, you'll get a link at the end inviting you to sign up for more. Sketch Hub's first month is free too, it's just £5/month after that.

This trips people up sometimes, so don't worry, you're not doing anything wrong! I currently have two separate logins: one for courses and Sketch Hub, and a separate one for my community group, where members share their art, connect with each other, and where I post updates about live sessions. I haven't been able to align these into one login yet, so if you've joined more than one thing (say, a course and the Sketchbook Circle), you'll need to log in to each separately using the details you received when you signed up. If you're still stuck, email me at contact@makingsandmusings.com and I'll help sort it out.