Creative Collage: Telling Stories in Layers
A course by Ellen WeinsteinAuthor and Illustrator
A course by Ellen Weinstein, Author and Illustrator
Make visual narratives inspired by everyday scenarios, combining photography, painting, and digital tools
As a design tool, collage provides the freedom to move forms, mix different elements, and essentially play. Author and illustrator Ellen Weinstein uses it to tell stories inspired by the streets of her hometown, New York. As well as writing and illustrating books, she has created illustrations for clients including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Time Magazine.
In this course, Ellen guides you through telling stories of your own through the medium of collage. Learn to combine painting, photography, and digital tools to build layered images that captivate viewers.
What will you learn in this online course?
13 lessons & 12 downloads
Art Materials
8 minutes, 1 second
Animals as Stand-Ins
7 minutes, 10 seconds
Gathering Source Material
3 minutes, 38 seconds
Establishing Your Setting
11 minutes, 16 seconds
Incorporating Your Object
10 minutes, 15 seconds
Adding Text Elements
4 minutes, 34 seconds
What's included in this course?
Get to know Ellen. Hear about how the streets of New York have influenced her work, as well as her training as an author and illustrator, and the artists and mediums which influence the designs she creates.
Ellen introduces you to the materials she works with, from scissors to cutting boards.Then, explore how to use animals to convey emotions and tell stories. Discover how to gather materials to inspire your designs, look for moments of magic in everyday life, and use your mobile phone as a sketchbook to build your own image library.
Time to create your collage! Choose a photograph and use it to tell a story. Experiment with the scale and color of an object for emphasis. Learn how to combine different materials and play around with composition and layers before adding text elements to your collage. Illustrate an animal portrait and place it into your scene.
Decide on a final layout for your collage and document different options on your smartphone. Then, paint any finishing touches before gluing down each of your elements. To finish the course, Ellen shows you how the processes you’ve learned can also work in Photoshop layers.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a layered collage that tells a story, featuring an anthropomorphic animal that best captures your personality.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone with an interest in expanding their creative practices and following their curiosity.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is necessary.
You will need scissors, glue, paper, a color media of your choice, and other materials specified by the teacher in this course. A computer with Photoshop is optional.
Reviews
- 25 days ago
Very good course, learned new techniques and has made me consider narrative in my work.
- 3 months ago
Un cours très stimulant qui laisse foisonner notre imagination
- 9 months ago
Muy bueno el curso, las distintas ideas sobre cómo crear "el drama" del collage, y las combinaciones de lo analógico/digital/texto.
- 1 year ago
Great course! Great direction and examples. Thank you so much!
- natiesro17PLUS1 year ago
Hermoso curso
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. She also teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and hosts lectures and workshops at art schools internationally.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Theory and Pre-Production
- Art Materials
- Animals as Stand-Ins
- Gathering Source Material
- U3
Creating Your Collage
- Establishing Your Setting
- Incorporating Your Object
- Adding Text Elements
- Including Your Animal
- U4
Finalizing Your Work
- Arranging Your Elements
- Adding Embellishments 1
- Adding Embellishments 2
- Sample Collage Review
- FP
Final project
- Creative Collage: Telling Stories in Layers
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
You’ll learn how to create visual narratives using collage, mixed media, and digital tools, including anthropomorphic portraits, combining painting with photography, and composing layered illustrations with Photoshop.
Yes, this course is designed for intermediate artists who are familiar with basic art techniques and want to expand their skills in mixed media, visual storytelling, and digital collage composition.
Basic familiarity with Photoshop is helpful, as the course covers editing collage elements, scaling images, and combining painted shapes digitally. Beginners to Photoshop can follow along with guided steps.
You’ll need colored papers, photographs, gouache, watercolor paper, X-Acto knife, glue, bone folder, masking tape, craft paper, and access to Photoshop or similar photo-editing software.
The course teaches you to combine animal features with human traits using reference photos, expressive gestures, and mixed media, resulting in symbolic and narrative-rich portraits.
Yes, you’ll explore integrating painting, photography, and digital editing to create compelling, layered collage illustrations and surrealist posters.
Layered storytelling involves building depth and narrative by juxtaposing multiple images, textures, and media elements, allowing for complex and engaging visual stories.