Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

One becomes a member by paying a membership fee. The fee shown in the homepage includes all taxes. Once paid, membership fees, monthly tuitions, etc. will not be returned no matter what the reason.

Members can participate in all classes held on any days. The classes on the six days from the first Monday to Saturday of every month are open to the general public as well by just payment of a class fee without paying a membership fee.

We recommend that you join the Kansai Bijutsuin as a member if after participating in workshops open to the general public for a while you get used to them and think the environment is a match for you. If you pay the membership fee, you can attend all of the classes each month（monthly tuition additional）. Further, you can attend quick pose sessions at the member rate.

The tuition for open workshops is collected by our administrative assistant starting from around 9:10 on the first day. Cash only please. We don’t accept credit cards or electronic money. Please bring exact change.

Please pay the monthly tuition at the beginning of the month. For the membership fee, please pay along with the monthly tuition when first becoming a member. Cash only please. We don’t accept credit cards or electronic money.

Experience is not required. Anyone interested in seriously studying drawing can participate.

If you wish to draw with pencil or charcoal, please bring pencils and drawing paper, charcoal and charcoal paper, and gauze or bread or other erasing materials. If you wish to paint with oils, water colors, or acrylics, please bring your paint etc., canvas, paper, or other support.

Classes in cast drawing for the general public run from 8:00 to 18:00 on Monday to Saturday of the first week of every month. Life drawing classes run from 9:30 to 12:20. 9:30 is the starting time of model poses. On day 1, you pay the class tuition, therefore please arrive earlier than 9:30.

Yes you can. While attending a workshop, you can leave your art supplies on your seat until the last day of the workshop. There is no need to take your art supplies home every day. Note that there are no locked storage places etc., so please take your valuables home with you.

In classes at the Kansai Bijutsuin, lots are used to determine the order of selecting seats. If you get a good number in the lottery, you can choose your desired seat, but you can’t draw the model up close. Easels are set up at a fixed distance from the model.

If sitting while drawing, you are limited to charcoal paper size in terms of paper size and to No. 15 in terms of canvas size. This is so that the field of vision of a person drawing standing in back of you is not obstructed. If drawing while standing, you can draw using a larger size paper or canvas, but if there are too many people, sometimes this is not possible.

In a class, please turn off your mobile phone or smart phone or please set it to the silent mode, place it in your bag etc., and do not take it out during the class. Taking photos by your camera etc. is also forbidden. Do not get too close to the model and do not start talking to the model (except when model starts talking to you) or otherwise bother the model. In addition, please do not bother other class participants.

Models pose for 20 minutes at a time interspaced with 10 minutes rest. During poses, the doors are locked and entry into the studio is not possible. Please wait until the rest period to enter.

The model’s pose is determined by a rotating member of the class at 9:30 am on Monday. The pose determined at that time is continued up to the final pose on Saturday.

You can change your seat so long as not blocking the line of sight of other students and after obtaining their permission. However, if changing your seat, please take your belongings from your original seat. Further, only change your seat during a rest period. Do not move during a pose.

Persons joining an open workshop can participate in life drawing in the morning, then participate in cast drawing in the afternoon. Participants with enough energy can even draw from castings in the rest periods of the life drawing class.

Experience is not required. Anyone interested in seriously studying drawing can participate.

Anyone can participate in a quick pose session by just paying the session fee on the same day. No advance signup or signup fee etc. is necessary. The quick pose sessions are basically held Saturday of every week except for the year end and start, two days a year for major cleanup, days when weather advisories are issued, and other special cases. On days when quick pose sessions are cancelled on an emergency basis due to weather advisories, notification is provided on this homepage.

No instruction is provided in the quick pose sessions.

In a quick pose session, please turn off your mobile phone or smart phone while the model is posing. Alternatively, please set it to the silent mode and place it in your bag etc. during posing and do not take it out during posing. Taking photos by your camera etc. is also forbidden. Do not get too close to the model and do not start talking to the model (except when model starts talking to you) or otherwise bother the model. In addition, please do not bother other participants.

In general, a quick pose pad and board, graphite, etc. are standard, but everyone is different. There are people who draw on copy machine paper and people who draw with 6B or other dark pencils, ballpoint pens, bamboo pens, brush and ink, etc. If you want to add color, you can bring pastels, color pencils, portable solid watercolor palettes and water brushes, color markers, etc. In the latter cases, please be careful not to splash on the clothes of surrounding participants. Oil paints and tablets and other electronic devices may not be used.

If you are using charcoal or pencil, we have some drawing boards you can borrow.

Kansai Bijutsuin does not sell art supplies. Please purchase them in advance at an art supply shop.