Inside a Creative Notebook: Explore Your Illustration Process
A course by Karishma ChuganiArtist, Illustrator, and Educator
A course by Karishma Chugani, Artist, Illustrator, and Educator
Unlock your creativity with illustration techniques to record and develop your creative process for artistic projects
A sketchbook is a fundamental tool in any creative process. It provides a free space for experimenting, playing, and most importantly, making mistakes.
In this course, artist Karishma Chugani walks you through her creative process for developing an entire visual project inside a sketchbook. By capturing inspiration and ideas in a single place, learn to overcome creative blocks by exploring experimental techniques in drawing, stamping, and paper cutting.
If you’d like to build on your creative idea by crafting your own storybook, be sure to check out Karishma’s first Domestika course: Paper Cutting Techniques for Storytelling.
What will you learn in this online course?
18 lessons & 63 downloads
What’s in Your Toolbox?
11 minutes, 35 seconds
Under the Covers
16 minutes, 35 seconds
Undercover: Collecting Research and Memorabilia
14 minutes, 8 seconds
Name It
11 minutes, 26 seconds
Playing with Colour
11 minutes, 49 seconds
Composing the Page 1: Research (Part 1)
19 minutes, 58 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start your course by meeting Karishma Chugani, an artist, educator, illustrator, and fashion designer. Discover her influences, where she finds inspiration, and her work as a professional creative.
Prepare your creative toolkit with supplies and take account of the resources that you have on hand. Karishma shows you some of her own sketchbooks and guides you through how to choose one based on your style. Dive into the process behind creative sketchbooking, begin research, and collect items for your final project.
Begin working inside your sketchbook with some simple warm-up exercises. Create a name for your project, choose a color palette, and learn how to compose elements on a page visually. As you progress, observe how your visual language evolves and learn to interpret your work to find patterns.
Discover methods for unblocking your creativity and learn to create intriguing images quickly using simple materials. Explore paper cutting, stamping, textile, and drawing as techniques. Finally, explore outlets for your work and listen to some ideas for the next steps on your creative journey.
What is this course's project?
Create 8 double-page spreads in an experimental sketchbook, using illustration techniques to define your own visual language.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone looking to expand their creativity, from students to creative professionals.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, you should have a desire to connect with your creativity. Previous drawing experience is recommended, but not necessary.
For your final project, you will need a sketchbook and the tools of your choice for drawing, writing, cutting, and coloring.
Reviews
- 2 days ago
This course is excellent. The teacher explains a wide range of creative techniques which can be applied to any creative project. It's a course that opens up infinite creative possibilities.
- 12 days ago
Me encanta el curso! La profesora es estupenda. Aporta mucha calidez y amor por su trabajo.
- 1 month ago
I’m so glad I took this course. There’s a real depth to the assignments and a brilliant common thread that ties the different elements together. Here, you really get the chance to think your project through and create unique stories drawn from your own life. The tutor is incredibly inspiring and thorough in their explanations.
- 4 months ago
Curso excelente, muito bem organizado e com materiais disponíveis.
- 4 months ago
Excellent course, providing the structure I needed, thank you
Karishma has worked as a fashion designer, published several books, and participated in collective and solo exhibitions internationally. She also teaches creative workshops to children, teachers, and illustrators at her mobile school L’École de Papier, as well as institutions like Institut Français Madrid & Casablanca, Casablanca American School, Colegio Santa Isabel Madrid, and Libreria Gil in Santander. Her clients include Jerraflore, Le Chocolat des Francais, Marketing Magazine France, Jamini Paris, and the toy shop Wonderland.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences: What Makes Me Tick?
- U2
Collecting Materials
- What’s in Your Toolbox?
- Under the Covers
- Undercover: Collecting Research and Memorabilia
- U3
Facing the Blank Page
- Name It
- Playing with Colour
- Composing the Page 1: Research (Part 1)
- Composing the Page 1: Research (Part 2)
- Composing the Page 2: Tampering the Research
- U4
State of Play
- Paper Cutting Techniques 1
- Paper Cutting Techniques 2
- Stamping Techniques
- Mixed Techniques with Textiles
- Drawing 1
- Drawing 2
- U5
Tips and Tricks to Unlocking Your Creativity
- Looking at Your Work
- What Now? Possibilities
- FP
Final project
- Inside a Creative Notebook: Explore Your Illustration Process
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
Yes, this course is designed for intermediate artists who want to deepen their sketchbook practice, experiment with mixed media, and develop a personal visual language through hands-on techniques and creative exercises.
You’ll need a sketchbook, drawing tools (pens, pencils, brush pens), watercolor and acrylic paints, paper for cutting, scissors, a scalpel, adhesives, fabric scraps, stamps or carving tools, and memorabilia like photos and references.
You’ll learn how to combine research and creation, use collage and stamping, experiment with paper cutting, manage creative ideas, build color palettes, and develop visual narratives in your sketchbook using diverse materials and techniques.
Yes, the course covers creating visual diaries and stream of consciousness journaling to help you document and reflect on your artistic process in a sketchbook format.
Absolutely. The course includes lessons on textile design, fabric collage, and integrating embroidery and textiles into sketchbook compositions for unique mixed-media outcomes.
Yes, you’ll discover strategies for collecting, curating, and organizing memorabilia, reference images, and visual research to enrich your sketchbook and support your creative projects.
While prior drawing experience is helpful, the course focuses on experimentation and creative play, making it accessible to those with some basic art skills who want to explore new techniques.