Fantastical Character Illustration for Children’s Books
A course by Natalia Colombo , Illustrator and Graphic Designer
Joined June 2021
Free your imagination and learn to create unique characters that bring illustrated stories to life using experimental techniques
Free your imagination and learn to create unique characters that bring illustrated stories to life using experimental techniques
Joined June 2021
Discover new sources of inspiration to create worlds full of wonder and fantasy. In this online course, illustrator and graphic designer Natalia Colombo shows you how to spark children's imagination with picturebooks.
With more than 60 books published in countries across the world including France, China, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, she teaches you experimental illustration techniques for creating fantastical characters.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 34 downloads
- 98% positive reviews (56)
- 1,600 students
- 15 lessons (2h 40m)
- 34 additional resources (15 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 unique characters to be the stars of a double-page spread in your own picturebook.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Illustrators, designers, and anyone who wants to explore and experiment with different ways to create new characters with their own personality.
Requirements and materials
Basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is needed to follow this course.
As for materials, you need paper, colored pencils, markers, an eraser, graphite and black pencils, paintbrushes and ink, a palette, water, a scanner or smartphone to digitize your work and a computer with Adobe Photoshop.
Reviews
A course by Natalia Colombo
Natalia Colombo is an illustrator and a graphic designer with a degree from the University of Buenos Aires. She's worked in advertising agencies and her own graphic design studio. After gaining experience illustrating textbooks, she published her first picturebook. She now has more than 60 books published, and with each new book, a new challenge.
Throughout her career, she's had the opportunity to collaborate with publishers in France, China, Italy, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, and more. She has also received multiple awards for her work, including the International Compostela Prize for Picture Books and the Iberoamérica Ilustra award. In addition to illustrating books, she's collaborated on animation projects for two Argentine TV channels: Encuentro and Pakapaka.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Unlock
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Materials
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Experiment to unlock
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Ink stains
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Geometric forms
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Draw erasing
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U3
Casting of characters, script and scenery
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Character casting
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Where do the characters live? 1
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Where do the characters live? 2
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Miniscript
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U4
Mounting
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Retouch
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Composition
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Backgrounds and textures
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How and where to present your works?
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FP
Final project
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Fantastical Character Illustration for Children’s Books
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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.
misssorrywinnetou
PlusA fantastic course and a great method! I watched it with joy and now I am just as happy to start working on my own illustrations. I learned that I don't have to be a master of illustration to do cool things. I highly recommend it!! ❤️
egla.rivera
PlusEl curso es precioso!!!...me encanto. Todo muy detallado, consejos interesantes que he aplicado a mi trabajo.
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gadybics
PlusEs un curso bastante experimental, me ha ayudado a encontrar nuevas formas de encontrar ideas, lo recomiendo.
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pancha3031
Muy bien curso
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decorarte
Non ho ancora terminato il corso ma ho apprezzato molto le proposte creative dell’insegnante e le tecniche in uso. Molto professionale e ispiratore!
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