Principles of Digital Painting for Portraits

A course by Rodrigo Rivas (Ruiveran) , Illustrator and Concept Artist

Illustrator and Concept Artist. Lima, Peru.
Joined July 2020

Learn to master lighting, shadowing, and coloring techniques to bring your illustrations to life

97% positive reviews (149)
4,041 students
Audio: Spanish
Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn to master lighting, shadowing, and coloring techniques to bring your illustrations to life

Adding realism to digital painting by combining shape and depth can be a true challenge for an artist. Using different drawing techniques, Peruvian illustrator and concept artist Rodrigo Rivas creates lifelike compositions that are transformed into unique portraits.

In this course, Rodrigo guides you through all the concepts and tools you need to create a realistic digital illustration. Start by learning about the artistic concepts behind light and shadows and see how to use them to add volume and depth to your compositions. Explore your imagination and turn your ideas into reality.

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What will you learn in this online course?

15 lessons & 26 downloads

Tonal values and colors
15 minutes, 21 seconds
Using brushes and shortcuts
14 minutes, 52 seconds
Painting the still life
11 minutes, 33 seconds
The mood board
13 minutes, 10 seconds
  • 97% positive reviews (149)
  • 4,041 students
  • 15 lessons (2h 35m)
  • 26 additional resources (12 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Spanish
  • Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create a digital portrait based on references by combining different lighting, shadowing, and coloring techniques

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

New and experienced artists who would like to improve their digital painting and portrait painting techniques.

Requirements and materials

To take this course, a basic knowledge of Photoshop is needed. You also need to be curious and have the desire to learn and develop as an artist.

As for the materials, you will need a computer with Adobe Photoshop installed, as well as a graphics tablet.


Reviews

4,041 Students
149 Reviews
97% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Rodrigo Rivas (Ruiveran)

Teacher Plus
Illustrator and Concept Artist

Rodrigo Rivas is a digital illustrator and conceptual artist from Peru who is dedicated to creating characters and stories through painting. He has worked as an illustrator for advertising, editorials, storyboard animation, video games, and more.

In 2019, he was part of the campaign team for the Pan American Games in Lima and was a finalist for the 2019 National Comic Contest. Currently, he is a freelance illustrator who focuses on perfecting his techniques and sharing his personal projects on social media.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Presentation
    • Influences
    • What Will We Do on the Course?
  • U2

    Basics of digital portraiture

    • Basics: secrets to a good portrait
    • Tonal values and colors
    • Using brushes and shortcuts
    • Painting the still life
  • U3

    To paint!

    • The mood board
    • The sketch
    • Raising the light with grays
    • Applying the color
    • Polishing the image
  • U4

    Final adjustments

    • Brightness and color dodge
    • Adjustment Layers
    • We export the image
  • FP

    Final project

    • Principles of digital painting for portraits

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.
Principles of Digital Painting for Portraits. Illustration course by Rodrigo Rivas (Ruiveran)

Principles of Digital Painting for Portraits

A course by Rodrigo Rivas (Ruiveran)
Illustrator and Concept Artist. Lima, Peru.
Joined July 2020
  • 97% positive reviews (149)
  • 4,041 students