About the Certificate
Refine your studio practice as a fine artist while working toward a portfolio that can be used for professional opportunities, including exhibiting, selling your work, and applying for postsecondary art studies.
The Fine Arts Certificate Program at Otis Extension provides an overview of the concepts, language, and skills of fine art practice. A strong emphasis is placed on helping you develop your personal artistic vision. That vision is facilitated by a close working relationship between faculty and students. This program is designed to prepare students as fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and printmakers.
What You Will Learn
- Visual art fundamentals, including drawing, composition, design, and color
- Art history to provide context for artistic ideas
- Essential foundations of painting, photography, sculpture, and more
- How to present and articulate your artistic ideas to an audience
- Relevant art and design terminology, techniques, and tools
- Exposure to business practices relevant to fine art professions
Prospective Student Resources
- Attend an Info Session for certificate details and a registration discount
- View a course planning document to learn more about course sequence and timelines
- Submit materials to waive a required course
- Review our policies and FAQs for answers to common questions, including refund schedules, information for international students, and details about various certificate processes
- Chat with us during drop-in hours: Wednesdays from 3:00-4:00 p.m. via Zoom
- Schedule an appointment with an Extension Advisor
- Email certificates@otis.edu with any questions
Program Costs
- Approximate Course Cost: $553*
- Total Number of Courses: 8
- Estimated Total Tuition: $4,424**
*Cost for an online course after certificate tuition discount. Upon submitting the
certificate application and fee, students qualify for a 15% tuition discount per course
at the time of enrollment.
**Cost after certificate tuition discount. Courses are individually priced. Tuition
and course fees are paid at the time of enrollment in each course. Total tuition is
not paid in advance or in a lump sum. Additional course fees or materials costs may
apply.
Eligibility and Requirements
Students must be 18+ years of age to enroll. No portfolio or prior experience is required.
Individuals interested in this certificate program can take up to two courses before committing to the program. Before beginning their third course, students are required to submit a Certificate Program Enrollment Application with a non-refundable $185 application fee.
Students are notified of their certificate application results three times per year according to the following dates:
- Between 8/6/2026 - 9/26/2026 for Fall 2026 start
Required Courses
Color is emotional. A color resonates based on memory, cultural bias, and personal preference. Artists and designers alike communicate effectively through choice of hue, saturation, and value. In this course, knowledge and understanding of color are developed through weekly exercises and homework projects. Through lecture, demonstration, critique, and practical experience, students investigate color theory; fundamental elements, principles, and terminology; color systems, color modes; and more. Students develop an investigative process for problem-solving, revising, and inventing through the application of color as it exists in physical and digital worlds.
Deepen your understanding of color systems and their strategic applications across design disciplines. In this course, students expand beyond foundational principles to explore how color operates in professional contexts such as fashion, interiors, graphic design, gaming, product design, and branding. Through practical, software-integrated assignments and industry-specific critiques, students refine their palettes and develop advanced visual fluency with color. Artists and designers with foundational color theory knowledge are encouraged to enroll.
Want to draw, but the blank page scares you? Then start here. Through demonstration, class exercises, and critiques, students in this beginning course learn the elements of drawing and composition. Students create finished drawings with attention to line, shading, composition, perspective drawing, and positive versus negative space.
Throughout human existence, art making has been one of the most tangible expressions of our highest aspirations and deepest emotions. All over the world people have mirrored, decorated, critiqued, and even changed society through their creative works. Through hands-on painting exercises students deepen their creative abilities, while exploring significant artistic achievements from prehistory through contemporary times, including the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Impressionism, Expressionism, and Pop art.
This introductory course focuses on the techniques of painting. Students explore the use of brushstroke, grounds, mediums, palette knife, glazing, layering, impasto, collage and photo image transfer. Students also experiment with techniques using textures and mixed media. In addition, this course covers color mixing and basic color theory, optical blending, composition, value, and texture. The focus of this course will be acrylic painting.
Foundational knowledge of photography is a critical building block for a photographer’s development of basic shooting and lighting techniques. In this hands-on course, students investigate black and white and color film and digital photographic images as they develop technical and conceptual skills. Topics include using a 35mm camera, Film and Digital DSLR, black and white film choices, camera formats, lenses, ISO, aperture, shutter speeds, taking a light meter reading, depth of field and basic lighting techniques. In addition, they are exposed to optional photography equipment for shooting such as a tripod, cable release, hand held light meter and flex fold. In this 10-week course, students achieve their own photographs that consider composition and shooting in natural lighting conditions such as bright light, low light and extreme low light.
This foundational sculpture course leads students to develop a sculpture from concept to execution. Students are exposed to sculpture history, with emphasis on modern and contemporary artists. Through instruction and demonstrations, students learn techniques in sculpture fabrication, maquette building, mold making, plaster casting, assemblage, paper mâché, air-dry clay, and hard foam carving. An area of emphasis is heightening the visual awareness of line, shape, form, space, scale, texture, and viewer perspective.
Select Two of the Following Electives
What is good design? Line, space, balance, value, texture, perspective—these are just a few of the elements and principles that designers engage with to create strong design solutions. This course provides a thorough introduction to visual elements, language, and applications fundamental to 2-dimensional design. Through weekly assignments, students apply design principles using digital or traditional media. This course builds confidence in the design process for beginners and professionals by focusing on perception and thinking, historic and current references, and craftsmanship. Instruction includes design projects, online lectures, online discussion, process, and critique.
Have an idea for a room, furniture, or a toy? This introductory course provides the foundation for any three-dimensional design. Students explore the elements of shape, form, line, space, texture, and value as they relate to specific visual functions. Employing a variety of construction materials and techniques, students utilize space, mass, light, and shadow. The class includes hands-on assignments and students create a final project in their own area of interest.
Getting dirty is half the fun with ceramics. Whether you want to try your hand at clay or expand upon your existing ceramics practice, this course has something for everyone. Students learn the basic methods of building ceramic pieces including pinch pots, coils, and slab building techniques. Topics include adding colored slips and glazes for beautiful effects and helping your ceramics last forever. With an emphasis on functional ceramics, students create a variety of work. At the end of the course, finished pieces will be bisque fired, glazed, and glaze fired.
Adobe Photoshop isn’t just for photographers. Its multitude of applications makes it a go-to tool for creatives. This course teaches a comprehensive understanding of Photoshop and how digital imaging and is used in various professional applications. Students learn the basics of interface elements, keyboard shortcuts, and file management before diving into more advanced topics such as masks, selections, color correction, and layering techniques to create various effects. Through hands-on projects, they develop essential skills to paint digitally, retouch images, and manipulate photos. This course is recommended for anyone who wishes to develop technical foundations for a range of digital art and design careers.
Why draw from a photograph or magazine when you can draw from life itself? Observing and drawing the live model allows the artist to learn about proportions, foreshortening, light and shadow, and the fundamentals of drawing. This beginning/intermediate course places emphasis on the structure and proportion of the human form. Using a variety of drawing media, students are instructed in a gesture as well as long and short poses.
Whether you’re getting serious with your hobby or want to open your own workshop, woodworking begins here. In this course, students design and construct objects of their choice using the basics of woodworking and safe practices on large industrial grade equipment. Through demonstrations and hands-on training, students learn about selecting and milling lumber, elementary wood joints, Japanese and European hand tools, and more.
Explore essential tools and methodologies in the first of three techniques-based surface design courses. Using principles of design, color theory, and marketability, students cover the entire design process from initial motif conception to tear sheet presentations with pattern repeats and mock-ups. Bespoke techniques and materials include watercolors, acrylics, block printing, cyanotype, photographic alteration, alcohol, and India inks, which are used to create designs. Students then digitize their artworks using the Adobe Suite and/or Procreate. Students create work with attention to product categories, copyright information, and effective surface marketing techniques.
A New York Times article calls welders and other fabricators the “unsung heroes” of the art world. Some of the biggest names rely on them to create sculptures and installations. So, adding welding to your repertoire is a huge plus. Focusing primarily on steel, students in this course learn the visual and physical properties of metal as well as various welding procedures, including gas, arc, and plasma cutting. Shaping and fabricating, tools, and techniques are also taught. With the guidance of the instructor, each student completes one welding project based on skill level and equipment restrictions.
This program requires two (2) elective courses. Students may select any of the following courses.
Note: Additional elective options may be available. Please consult your certificate advisor for guidance.