Wildlife Illustration for Children's Books

A course by Dieter Braun , Illustrator and Author

Illustrator and Author. Hamburg, Germany.
Joined October 2020

Create playful illustrations of animals and wildlife by exploring vectors, textures, and gradients in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

99% positive reviews (219)
4,708 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Create playful illustrations of animals and wildlife by exploring vectors, textures, and gradients in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

In the words of illustrator and author Dieter Braun, “What digital drawing has in common with Mother Nature is geometry." In this course, Dieter takes you on an exploration of the natural world through digital illustration. Discover the best of both worlds and bring it all together on the pages of a children’s book.

Dive into the world of illustration and learn how to turn your sketches into digital drawings full of texture and color. Get inspired by wildlife and create a storybook that reminds children of the beautiful world we live in.

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What will you learn in this online course?

21 lessons & 8 downloads

Programs
2 minutes, 46 seconds
Finding References
7 minutes, 2 seconds
Size Does Matter
9 minutes, 20 seconds
Finding Color Palettes
11 minutes, 35 seconds
Finding Textures
3 minutes, 26 seconds
Eye of the Tiger
9 minutes, 56 seconds
  • 99% positive reviews (219)
  • 4,708 students
  • 21 lessons (3h 42m)
  • 8 additional resources (2 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

What is this course's project?

Create a double-page spread that includes an illustration of a wild animal in the foreground and a natural landscape background

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone interested in illustration or creating a children’s book

Requirements and materials

No previous experience is necessary.

For this course, you have the option to go analog or digital. You can draw your sketches using Procreate or Illustrator, or you can draw them by hand. You will need a graphics editing software like Illustrator for your vectors, and software like Photoshop for the gradients and textures.


Reviews

4,708 Students
219 Reviews
99% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Dieter Braun

A course by Dieter Braun

Teacher Plus
Illustrator and Author

From an early age, Dieter Braun has always had a passion for illustration. He studied Communication Design at the Folkwangschule in Essen. Following his university years, he explored a range of artistic mediums ranging from painting to photography.

Dieter’s main inspiration is wildlife. He has written and illustrated several children’s books on the subject, including Wild Animals of the South, Wild Animals of the North, and Oceans of the World. He has also worked with clients like H&M and WWF. His work has been featured in publications like Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Newsweek, Elle, and Glamour.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    The First Paw Tracks

    • Programs
    • Finding References
    • Size Does Matter
    • Finding Color Palettes
    • Finding Textures
    • Eye of the Tiger
    • Sketching
  • U3

    Let's Bring It to Life

    • The Serval: Drawing the Basic Vectors 1
    • The Serval: Drawing the Basic Vectors 2
    • The Serval: Drawing the Basic Vectors 3
    • The Hunting Scene: Drawing the Basic Vectors
    • Nice and Fluffy: Adding Gradients 1 (Part 1)
    • Nice and Fluffy: Adding Gradients 1 (Part 2)
    • Nice and Fluffy: Adding Gradients 2
    • The Magic Sprinkles: Adding Textures 1
    • The Magic Sprinkles: Adding Textures 2
    • The Full Spread: Bringing It All Together
  • U4

    What’s Next, Pussycat?

    • Now It Becomes a Book, and It’s Out!
    • How It Really Works and Tips
  • FP

    Final project

    • Wildlife Illustration for Children's Books

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.
Wildlife Illustration for Children's Books. Illustration course by Dieter Braun

Wildlife Illustration for Children's Books

A course by Dieter Braun
Illustrator and Author. Hamburg, Germany.
Joined October 2020
  • 99% positive reviews (219)
  • 4,708 students