Illustration Techniques for Children’s Books

A course by Estelí Meza , Illustrator

Illustrator. Mexico City, Mexico.
Joined November 2019

Learn the process of telling a story through a sequence of illustrations

100% positive reviews (178)
2,604 students
Audio: Spanish
Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch

Learn the process of telling a story through a sequence of illustrations

The process of developing a character is essential to creating a good story. In this course, Estelí Meza—author of illustrated books like Lino Felino, Angustia, and El Príncipe Valiente Tiene Miedo—shows you how to create a character and then develop a story around them. The Mexican illustrator has established a successful career illustrating children’s books, working with magazines and creating book covers for editorials in Mexico, Spain, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

Estelí teaches a series of analog and digital techniques (with Adobe Photoshop), as well as how to work directly on your printed creations, to create a series of 3 narrative illustrations.

Read more ↓

What will you learn in this online course?

16 lessons & 20 downloads

Draw and play
6 minutes, 34 seconds
Playing with the character
4 minutes, 25 seconds
Traits of my character
6 minutes, 59 seconds
Building a puppet
7 minutes, 0 seconds
First steps to tell a story
7 minutes, 18 seconds
Organizing the graphic narration
13 minutes, 35 seconds
  • 100% positive reviews (178)
  • 2,604 students
  • 16 lessons (1h 57m)
  • 20 additional resources (9 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Spanish
  • Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create a narrative project composed of three final illustrations.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Those interested in telling a story through images, as well as students of design, the arts, or illustration, who want to work on a visual narrative project and are interested in delving into the world of character creation.

Requirements and materials

To take this course, you will need basic drawing and composition skills.

You also need a sketchbook, white paper, a pencil, eraser, 200g drawing paper or a medium-sized illustration sketchpad, acrylic markers, colored pencils, water-soluble oil pastels, colored paper and cardboard, paintbrushes, a sharpener, scissors, a craft knife, white glue, a jar, a cloth, tracing paper, acetate paper, a cutting mat, scanner, and computer with Adobe Photoshop with access to a digital printer.


Reviews

2,604 Students
178 Reviews
100% Positive ratings

Estelí Meza

A course by Estelí Meza

Teacher Plus
Illustrator

Estelí Meza is a Mexican illustrator specialized in children’s books, who also works with magazines and creates book covers for imprints in Mexico, Spain, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

Since 2007 she has dedicated 100% of her professional life to illustration. She is the author of three illustrated books: Lino Felino, Angustia, and El Príncipe Valiente tiene miedo. Her main clients include editorials such as Scholastic, Anaya, Fondo de Cultura Económica, Kalimat, Penguin Random House, among others, and she has worked with other clients such as Google.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Presentation
    • Influences
    • What will we do in the course?
  • U2

    Illustrating is playing

    • Drawing materials and sketchbooks
    • Draw and play
    • Playing with the character
    • Traits of my character
    • Building a puppet
  • U3

    Your character in action

    • Who?
    • First steps to tell a story
    • Organizing the graphic narration
    • Sketches
  • U4

    To work!

    • Favorite techniques
    • Color in your story
    • Let's go digital
    • Final Image
  • FP

    Final project

    • Narrative Illustration with Mixed Media

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
    Plus

    If 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

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Illustration Techniques for Children’s Books. Illustration course by Estelí Meza

Illustration Techniques for Children’s Books

A course by Estelí Meza
Illustrator. Mexico City, Mexico.
Joined November 2019
  • 100% positive reviews (178)
  • 2,604 students