Online Painting Course

Egg Tempera. Basics

January 8 - February 12, 2026

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What Is This Course About

In this course you will learn most fundamental methods used for egg tempera techniques. We are going to experiment with the consistency of paint, explore the characteristics of powdered pigments, work with different brushes in a variety of ways, study how to apply layers evenly, and how to create soft color transitions. This course allows to work with egg tempera in detail; learning how to mix colors and how to prepare paint. We share all of the tiniest details of what's happening on the palette. Even though we don't cover the coloring, we will study color properties.

Details

FOR WHOM

For everybody willing to learn how to paint with egg tempera and how to prepare it.

PRICE

$200 USD or €170 Euros for 4 assignments with personal feedback.

Payments are non-refundable. Students are accepted on a first come - first served basis.

DURATION

4 Assignments / 6 Weeks
January 8 - February 12, 2026

RESOURCES PROVIDED

Each of the assignments includes: a Full HD video tutorial (up to 120 minutes), a PDF file with homework and assignment summary

All videos remain available after the end of the course

LEARNING SUPPORT

Learners are expected to share photographs of their drawings in Google Classroom Stream. Personal corrections / comments / recommendations from the instructors are given within 48 hours (weekends excluded). Feedback is guaranteed for the whole period of the course either written in words or/and drawn directly on the uploaded photograph.

WILL I HAVE ENOUGH TIME

Please put about 2 hours for watching the video tutorials & at least 1.5 hours for drawing practice per assignment. We recommend practicing in short 30-40-minute intervals, several times a week rather than hour-long sessions once a week. We made this course program as extensive as possible by splitting complex tasks into manageable parts. We hope it will allow everybody to study at their own pace.

Online Icon Painting Course: Egg Tempera for Iconographers



PREVIEW

one of the Course Tutorials
Online Icon Painting Course: Egg Tempera for Iconographers Online Icon Painting Course: Egg Tempera for Iconographers
Screenshots
Online Icon Painting Course: Egg Tempera for Iconographers Online Icon Painting Course: Egg Tempera for Iconographers
Tutorial Screenshots
Online Icon Painting Course: Egg Tempera for Iconographers
Tutorial Screenshots

Necessary Supplies

Click here to download the List of Materials in PDF

Surface to work on

  • Drawing Paper (A4 or letter format) about 30 sheets (at least 120 gm upwards is fine). Do not use thin paper (80 gm) and watercolor paper as well.
  • Any board to stick the paper on
  • Masking tape to tape the paper to a board (optional)

    • Paper absorbs water as well as a chalk gesso. The only problem with paper is that it warps under a wet brush. In order to prevent it and make the surface evenly flat, I'd suggest you stretch the paper on a wooden panel using gummed kraft paper tape.
    Here is a link to the video: How to Stretch Watercolor Paper - YouTube Be attentive, we are going to use only the drawing paper.

    Powdered Pigments:

  • Black (Vine black or Bone black)
  • Titanium White
  • Raw Umber
  • Yellow Ochre Light
  • Ercolano Red
  • Hematite (optional)
  • Verona Green Earth (optional)
  • Marble Dust*
    * The marble dust I found for sale was at naturalpigments.com, but I highly recommend trying it. On their website it is named Verona Bianco White Marble Dust Medium Grade.

    • We checked a lot of pigment manufacturers and sellers and found the best prices for pigments we need at naturalpigments.com Cost of each color is no more than $7.50 USD for 100 gm.

    Round Brushes:

  • Squirrel #2, 3, 5
  • Kolinsky or Sable #3
    • It will be ok to have only one brush: round squirrel or kolinsky#3, but I suggest you have both types to try the difference.
    I strongly suggest you use only natural brushes. Do not use brushes with artificial hairs or brushes with mixed hairs because they do not absorb paint as well as the brushes with natural hairs. The quality of the brush hair influences the result a lot.

    I found appropriate brushes at naturalpigments.com If you know a better site or place to buy, please share the information.
  • Pure Squirrel Watercolor Brushes (round)
  • Pure Red Sable Round Brushes (round)

    • How to check brushes in a store?
    All the brushes look perfect in the store because they all are sealed with a weak adhesive solution. You have to check them before purchasing. There is always a cup with water in the artist store. Dip the brush in water and when you get it out, all the hairs together should make a perfect tip. Also check how elastic the brush is by pressing on the hair part. The main thing, try pulling the brush hair close to the base, all hair should remain in place. It shows how long this brush will last.

    Cups and pestle for paint mixing and a palette:

  • 5 basins
  • pestle or a bristle brush (for paint mixing)
  • palette or white plate

    • Usually we use evaporating basins from a chemistry supply shop as containers for the paint and a pestle to mix pigment with egg emulsion. It’s good to have at least 5 basins. These evaporating basins have different sizes. Usually we use the smallest ones. As a cheaper option you can buy egg stands, or small bowls with smooth semicircular bottoms from a dollar store.

    As a palette you can use any white plate, but do not use it for food after you have mixed paints on it. All our pigments are non-toxic, but I always prefer to separate things.

    Additional instruments:

  • Container for egg emulsion
  • Eye dropper for egg emulsion
  • Small plastic spoons to take pigments from a bottle
  • Rug or paper towel to wipe a brush
  • Container for water

    • Other pigments producers:

    GERMANY:

  • Kremer
  • Kreidezeit

    • ITALY:

  • Zecchi
  • Dolci

    • ARMENIA:

  • Agulis

    • AUSTRALIA:

  • Langridge Colors
  • The Alchemical Arts
    • .

     

    Online Icon Painting Course 5

    What You Will Learn

  • To work with a brush properly
  • To apply paint evenly
  • To make a soft color transition
  • To create soft shadows and highlights
  • To use different consistency of paint
  • To use different properties of powdered pigments

    • Learning Process

    Each of the weekly assignments includes:

  • a tutorial video
  • a PDF file with homework, lesson summary

    • Start each assignment by watching a video to have the main idea about the tasks. When you start practicing, it will be useful to pause the video from time to time to repeat a certain step. If something is going not so well as shown in the video, please, try decressing the youtube video speed and watching it again, - it will help you to notice more details and move on.

    Homework
    All the assignments of this course are dedicated exclusively to the technique. We did our best to make the tutorials as extensive as we could, showing every possible issue. We hope that students may perform all the suggested tasks on their own especially because as evaluating the homework images through the screen is an intricate thing. We will give a personal feedback, and yet, instead of evaluating the homework, we will be more than happy to answer any technical questions that you still find challenging even after watching the videos and trying. We will be sharing the feedback in Google Classroom so that everyone in the class will have a chance to learn even if they will be too shy to ask. We are always ready to lend a hand and guide you as you go along. It will be great if all the students share their results at the Google Classroom with fellow classmates and see each other's process.

    Online Icon Painting Course Egg Tempera Basics

    It’s best to practice in short 30-minute intervals several times a week rather than to make only one hour-long session once a week. Why? This course contains a lot of new information and it’s easier to focus on a new subject for 30 minutes instead of two hours. In fact, the studying process doesn’t stop when you stop painting, as the brain continues to process the new skills and concepts. Small sessions help it to digest more information. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t replicate everything you see in the video right away. All that you will see in the videos is a result of practice. Split your sessions into small intervals and keep practicing!

    We kindly ask you to take a photo of your paintings without distortion. When taking a photo, hold your cell phone or tablet parallel to the drawing. It will help a lot with your homework presentation and correction.

    We hope that at least for these short painting sessions you will switch off or put your cell phone on “silent mode”. We also recommend to ask people around not to disturb you, providing some peace for your concentrated work. We insist on this because the learning process is way more intense and effective if performed with a complete immersion in the process, thoughtfully and carefully.

    If you experience any technical difficulties with Google Classroom, please let us know via email, we will answer you as quickly as we can.

    Assignments

    Subjects

    Assignment 1. Applying Paint
  • What is Egg Tempera
  • How to Mix Egg Emulsion
  • How to Mix Paint
  • Consistency of Paint
  • How to Work with Brush
  • Right Amount of Paint on a Brush
  • Applying Method
  • Application Speed
  • Palette
  • Choosing the Right Size of the Brush
  • At the End of the Work
    • Assignment 2. Modeling and Glazing
  • How to Make Color Darker
  • How to Create a Soft Color Transition
  • Different Ways of Creating Volume
  • What is a Glaze
  • Why Holes Appear on My Painting
    • Assignment 3. Highlighting and Glazing
  • Different Types of White
  • Titanium White
  • How to Make Color Lighter
  • How to Create a Soft Transition of White
  • Consistency of Paint
  • Different Ways of Creating Highlights
  • Different Ways of Using the Glaze
    • Assignment 4. Composing the Palette
  • Natural Pigments VS Historical Pigments
  • Simple Palette
  • Opaque and Transparent Pigments
  • Coarse and Finely Ground Pigments
  • Crystalline and Amorphous Pigments
  • Black
  • Umber
  • Yellow
  • Herculanum Red
  • Hematite
  • Greasy or Opaque Paint Surfaces
  • Different Ways of Mixing Colors in Egg Tempera

    • Schedule

    January 8 - February 12, 2026

  • Assignment 1: January 8
  • Assignment 2: January 15
  • Assignment 3: January 22
  • Assignment 4: January 29

    • Homework due: February 11, 2026


    Access to the Google Classroom and the videos is strictly limited to the online course participants only and must not be shared with anyone else in any form

    Ready to Enroll?

    Online Iconography Course Egg Tempera Basic consists of 4 assignments and costs $200 or €172 , it starts on January 8 and ends on February 12, 2026. This course is recommended for everyone who is interested in learning egg tempera technique. It will give you the right skills, teach how to work with layers and understand the variety of results you can achieve with this technique. It’s also good for iconographers who still have some difficulties in using egg tempera.

    Making your registration payment, please provide a valid email address, - it will also be used to send you a personal invitation to Google Classroom and all the further communications.


    For payments in Dollars:


    For Payments in Euros:


    If within 80 days from the purchase date you experience health issues forbidding you to participate in the chosen course, we will fully refund the cost of your order.

    Making your reigistration payment, please provide a valid email address. It will be used to send you a personal invitation to Google Classroom and for all the further communications. The Assignments are emailed on Thursdays at 00:00 AM Tbilisi time (GMT+4). Please, let us know if you have any further questions. If you wish to be informed about our future courses and other events, get in touch with us (top-right of this page) or subscribe to our regular Newsletter at the bottom of this page.