The article considers and analyzes the general aspects of educational methods at the N.K. Krupskaya Extramural People University of Arts (ZNUI) in the 1960s-1980s, which proves the specifics of the basic principles of interaction between teacher and student. In the published manuals of that time, the emphasis is placed on a number of substantial guidelines for teaching amateur artists: educational and methodological issues, and questions of artistic education in the basics of visual theory and practice. The main teaching aids developed specifically for amateur artists are: for the first period “Creative work of an amateur artist” (1961), and a guide for amateur artists “Drawing and Painting” by Yu.G. Aksenov, R.M. Zakin, E.M. Sonnenstral, F.M. Krieger, G.E. Tarasevich (2 vols, 1961), for the second period “Training and Creative Work” by R.M. Zakin (1965) and “Design Artist. A Guide for Amateur Artists” by G.E. Tarasevich, V. Grokhotov, E. Pavlinova (1966), for the final third period the tutorials are produced, namely the textbook “Perspective” by E.A. Aksenova and Yu.G. Aksenov (1974) and a practical guide to drawing and painting “Color and Line” by M. Levidov and Yu.G. Aksenov (1976). All analyzed manuals were compiled by a team of teachers from the Faculty of Drawing and Painting of the University.