Illustrated Character Design and World Creation

A course by Nathan Jurevicius , Character Designer

Character Designer. Toronto, Canada.
Joined December 2019

Learn how to create original characters and envision the environment they inhabit

98% positive reviews (176)
3,409 students
Audio: English
English · Portuguese · German · Spanish · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn how to create original characters and envision the environment they inhabit

There's creativity within you and within everybody. But even though a creative mind may have all the tools it needs to conceive something great, creative blocks are real, and escaping them requires work. In this course, illustrator and character designer Nathan Jurevicius will shake up your creative juices by sharing his personal approach to creating unique and meaningful illustrated characters and how to envision the worlds they inhabit.

Discover the basics on getting inspired and learn a special way of developing characters that have a rich backstory. Through the exercises he proposes, not only will you become a better draftsman and illustrator, but also a more resourceful creative.

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What will you learn in this online course?

25 lessons & 16 downloads

What This Course Is About
2 minutes, 10 seconds
Materials and Tools
7 minutes, 31 seconds
Ideas
10 minutes, 34 seconds
Connecting the Dots
18 minutes, 28 seconds
About Your Character
20 minutes, 4 seconds
World Building
15 minutes, 26 seconds
  • 98% positive reviews (176)
  • 3,409 students
  • 25 lessons (5h 18m)
  • 16 additional resources (1 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Portuguese · German · Spanish · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

You will create a unique character and its world through ideation and practical exercises that can be applied to various media.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

The course is aimed at students and professionals of all levels looking for proven ways to unblock their creativity and expand their skills in original character development and world design.

This course is suited for Illustrators, toy designers, writers, filmmakers, fine artists, animators, and anyone needing an invigorating jumpstart with their personal projects and wanting to know how to create meaningful, engaging characters that stand out from the crowd.

Requirements and materials

You will need basic drawing skills for some lessons.

As for materials, you will need a sketch pad, notebook, plasticine, scissors, and paper. You will also need a drawing medium of your choice: pencils, pens, markers, or a digital surface such as an iPad.

During the development stages of the course, Nathan will be playing with various traditional mediums but will focus on using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for the final project. It’s not a requirement to have these programs but they will come in useful if you want to copy his exact workflow.


Reviews

3,409 Students
176 Reviews
98% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Nathan Jurevicius

A course by Nathan Jurevicius

Teacher Plus
Character Designer

Nathan Jurevicius is an illustrator, director, toy designer, author, and concept artist. His work has appeared in numerous publications, advertising campaigns, and galleries around the world. Born in Australia and currently living in Toronto, Nathan was gently coerced into a life of painting, drawing, and crafts from an early age.

Nathan specializes in creating immersive worlds inhabited by unique characters. His most acclaimed concept to date is Scarygirl, an ever-evolving world of characters manifested through graphic novels, limited edition figures, video games, and a feature film currently in production.

Nathan’s recent projects include his animated short film and book JUNCTION, the Australian Academy Award-winning PELEDA series based on Lithuanian mythology, and a glass sculpture collaboration with IKEA.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
    • What This Course Is About
  • U2

    Setting the Foundation

    • Materials and Tools
    • Ideas
    • Connecting the Dots
    • About Your Character
    • World Building
  • U3

    Building a World

    • Refining the Concepts
    • Refining the Concepts - Annex
    • Time for Illustrator: Preparation
    • Time for Illustrator: Shapes and More Shapes
    • Time for Illustrator: Shapes and More Shapes - Annex
    • Time for Illustrator: Deconstruct
    • Time for Illustrator: Deconstruct - Annex
    • Time for Photoshop: Reconstruct
    • Time for Photoshop: Reconstruct - Annex
    • Time for Photoshop: Light and Shadow
    • Time for Photoshop: Light and Shadow - Annex
    • Time for Photoshop: Colour and Finesse
    • Time for Photoshop: Colour and Finesse - Annex
    • Time for Photoshop: Character and Worlds Unite
  • U4

    It's Alive!

    • Post-Mortem Analysis
    • Applications
    • Final Tips
  • FP

    Final project

    • Illustrated Character Design and World Creation

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.
Illustrated Character Design and World Creation. Illustration course by Nathan Jurevicius

Illustrated Character Design and World Creation

A course by Nathan Jurevicius
Character Designer. Toronto, Canada.
Joined December 2019
  • 98% positive reviews (176)
  • 3,409 students