Editorial Illustration: Sharpen Your Conceptual Skills
A course by Nicholas Blechman , Art Director, Illustrator, and Designer
Joined January 2020
Turn ideas into images and deliver professional illustrations for articles from scratch
Turn ideas into images and deliver professional illustrations for articles from scratch
Joined January 2020
At the heart of every drawing, there should be a powerful idea. Award-winning Illustrator Nicholas Blechman specializes in coming up with concepts that inspire thought-provoking illustrations. He has illustrated for The New York Times and The Atlantic, and is the current creative director of The New Yorker.
In this course, Nicholas teaches you how to sharpen your conceptual skills while illustrating an editorial article. Create a package of illustrations on a current topic and discover how to translate words into drawings. Are you ready to create artwork that communicates as clearly as words?
What will you learn in this online course?
11 lessons & 16 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (190)
- 4,044 students
- 11 lessons (1h 35m)
- 16 additional resources (4 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software for this course
Adobe IllustratorWhat is this course's project?
Create a package of conceptual illustrations for an editorial piece: a cover, an interior spread, a spot illustration, and a selection of icons.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for illustrators of all levels looking to improve their conceptual skills and work in the editorial industry.
Requirements and materials
Previous experience with illustration is recommended.
You will need a computer with Adobe Illustrator or a similar design program installed.
Reviews
A course by Nicholas Blechman
Nicholas Blechman is an award-winning illustrator, art director and the current creative director of The New Yorker. He was first introduced to illustration and design at a young age by his father, a cartoonist, author, and filmmaker; and later went on to study studio art and art history at Oberlin College.
During his 20-year career, he has illustrated for the biggest publications in the U.S., including GQ Travel + Leisure, Wired, and The Atlantic. His passion for telling stories through images has seen him co-author books, run his own design studio, and work as the art director for The New York Times. In 2012, Nicholas was also awarded the Rome Prize in Design at The American Academy in Rome.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Getting Started
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Working with Art Directors
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The Beginning of It All: The Text
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Conceptual Tools
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Warm-up Exercises
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U3
The Assignment
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First Sketches
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Discarding Ideas
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Finalizing
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U4
Genius Tips
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Pro Tips
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Promotion or How to Lure Jobs
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FP
Final project
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Editorial Illustration: Sharpen Your Conceptual Skills
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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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.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Adobe Illustrator
marieflu
Wonderful course! Very insightful. Nicholas Blechman not only explains what to do, but he also demonstrates it through the presentation of the course. Illustrations are used heavily and brilliantly (the lamp that ligths up to present the artists that inspired him for instance).
aqim87
It’s rare to find a teacher who is not just an experienced illustrator but also an art director.The insights and advice feel so genuine and practical.
ta.bordak
An excellent course that develops conceptual skills
portfolio_valen
This is a great course, no matter if you are a beginner or you have experience, because I think the knowledge that the teacher shares is so valuable in the editorial illustration industry. I am loving this course, and I wish I´d enter this industry with a real editorial illustration job, so exciting!
marian.snovell
Elegantly presented. Very helpful tips about the process.