The Virtual Art Academy Reviews

(based on 14 reviews)

44 of 81 people found this review helpful

I stuck with it for two months, but it completely killed my creativity. I found the tone of the lessons boring and even a bit irritating. There’s a (mandatory) feedback system based on etiquette, which results in very unnatural criticism from other students. I believe it keeps many students from participating as it’s only a small group who is active. The whole atmosphere feels quite sour. I am writing this review as I believe this academy works hard to keep up an image through marketing that just is not in alignment with the truth. There’s absolute nothing ‘vibrant’ about this community imo.

In summary, I would not recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

117 of 200 people found this review helpful

I wasted a year at VAA. At a similar price point, I received a better online art education at competitors like New Masters Academy (NMA) and Watts Atelier. Frankly, I'm pissed about it and wish I could get my money back.

1. Content - The lessons at VAA are shallow and presented randomly. You could speed run through the entire program in very little time, making their claim that VAA is "equivalent art education that you would get in a four-year program" both laughable and doubtful. I had to relearn drawing foundations properly at NMA from in-depth classes that were actually taught by teachers from well known schools like Art Center, instead of some random online guy like Barry.

2. Feedback - There is no feedback at VAA whatsoever after you finish your assignments. How is a student supposed to get better without this critical feedback loop? Instead, Barry suggests students critique each other which is akin to the blind leading the blind. Conversely, both NMA and Watts Atelier offer feedback from real teachers after submitting assignments, again at similar price points.

3. Marketing - Instead of improving VAA, Barry spends a lot of time marketing his school on Wet Canvas and various... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

272 of 493 people found this review helpful

I have painted for many years as a hobby without any art education. I always felt that there was a lot of potential for me to improve my art but never had the time or resources to do anything about it till I discovered Virtual Art Academy. I am over joyed to realize that there is a science behind creating art. Barry Raybould has so wonderfully broken down the material into small lessons and assignments that can be done at your own pace. My only regret is that I wish I knew about Virtual Art Academy much sooner. This is a great opportunity for aspiring artists to learn and improve their art even if they cannot afford to commit full time

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

264 of 489 people found this review helpful

Whether you like this course will depend on how much feedback you want. The curriculum and the chronology is sound, although the reading assignments are pretty shallow and the video demonstrations are quite bad. However, it's easy enough to Google better explanations of various concepts, and YouTube has hundreds of demonstrations of similar topics that are vastly more professional and helpful, so that's ok. Although each reading assignment is followed by "you can master this topic by doing the following workshop", you of course will not master it so easily. But if you are realistic and willing to practice a lot outside the course curriculum, you will improve.

The feedback (or lack of it) is the biggest failing of this course. I am well into my 4th year of course content, and I have had feedback from Barry Raybould exactly once (and it was pretty basic feedback, too). Sometimes other students give feedback, and sometimes that feedback is helpful, but the opinions of other students who in many instances have even less experience than I do is not really worth the price of admission. Feedback, and early correction of misconceptions before they become habits, is absolutely essential to improving. Each time... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

489 of 940 people found this review helpful

I am an intermediate painter and had taught myself until two years ago, when I decided to obtain formal tuition part-time at a studio.

However as this was a group class (for life and still-life drawing and oil painting), the tuition was necessarily limited although of high quality.

I decided then that a home-study course would be useful in addition to the studio. I chose the Virtual Art Academy for several reasons: the quality of the lessons, the number of exercises (250 or so), the online campus and because I like the author's (Barry John Raybould) paintings.

Although I had read some 80 books on how-to topics, this course includes topics that I had not come across before.

I can say that I am enjoying the course very much indeed: learning the material, doing the assignments, as well as benefiting from the camaraderie and critiques of other students online.

The full course of 56 units including 250 assignments costs USD $499.95. This is a lot of money in absolute terms but I have no regrets of having spent the money! I realise too that it is difficult to make a comparison with other courses because of their differing content and material provided.

While any course will... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

477 of 903 people found this review helpful

I couldn't have found a better course of online painting study, there just isn't one better. Barry John Raybould is a dedicated, teacher, and painter. His continuing research into theory and application promises even more revelations for me as a painter and artist. This isn't a "paint-along" course; Barry teaches the life blood of the subject. I purchased the full course from the get-go, it's worth many times the price, which is very affordable for most anyone. I couldn't be happier with Barry as a mentor, the Virtual Academy Online Campus, and administrative support ... the most caring, result-oriented program I've ever attended.

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

491 of 935 people found this review helpful

The "Virtual Art Academy Academy" is the best I could find.
Highly recommended for those who want to learn painting!

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

465 of 933 people found this review helpful

Being in an isolated location, and wanting to learn how to paint properly after I retired, I bought the VAA course and have been working on it on my own. It is very practical, easy, and complete, and includes lots and lots of assignments.
It is not a step-by step guide telling you e.g. to mix burnt sienna and cobalt blue to make a shadow, as some books do, but rather a very comprehensive and generous compendium of the knowledge collected by BRJ about composition, colour, technique, and all that goes on inside the brain in relation to painting.
Meanwhile I attended two workshops with Barry J. Raybould. I feel that in a short time I have made enormous progress, both in understanding about art and in actual painting.

In addition to the course, there is a VAA website, where several hundred members around the world share experiences, critiques, tips, advice and cheer.
I warmly recommend this course for anyone capable of the self-discipline needed to do the assignments and assimilate all the lessons.

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

465 of 863 people found this review helpful

Hi Everyone

I am a current student of VAA & have been around for about 8 months. What i liked about VAA is the genuineness of their teaching approach. The entire study program has given me a complete insight into what is the science of art. I had been searching for a long time to get a complete foundation, which the art workshops i had been going to failed completely to deliver. Most of these workshops are just for earning money with no benefits for the students. You end up spending a lot for nothing.

After joining VAA I was surprised & happy to find that there are individuals who are selfless in their impart of knowledge & with genuine concern for spreading the knowledge they have. Barry John Raybould has given a gift to people such as me who do not have access to such exposure.

I liked watching the videos of demonstration for important topics that dissect Old Masters painting & defines why their art is great in a simple & easily understandable way. My hope that is that Barry John would provide further demos of actual painting so we could get... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.

488 of 889 people found this review helpful

I have been an artist all my life,struggling along by trial and error,a disorganized manner of frustrating results and a lot of let downs, led to the decision of purchasing the full course.

From the start till the end it has been a guiding hand, the techniques application and assignments are easy to follow and the results for me are of a revelation.

The learning prosess never ceases, and even though I have finished the course there are always reviews and follow ups.
I still have not reached my goal but certainly my creativity,my technique and my style has benefited by these wonderful instructions.
An improvement that would be essential is to have the assignments reviewd by instructors.

I certainly recomend these courses to as many artists profecional and amature, they are certainly a wake up call to how you see and apply.One highly recomended part of the course is the notan composition, and color theory.
Monthly Newsletters are informative and always welcomed monthly assignments, keep artist focused and on the right track.

In summary, I would recommend The Virtual Art Academy to a friend.