Guided Project: Bring Your Sketch to Life with Lighting and Color in Photoshop
A guided project by Joel Santana , Concept Artist and Character Designer
Joined September 2019
Design and illustrate expressive characters using poses, gestures, and color palettes to tell stories
Design and illustrate expressive characters using poses, gestures, and color palettes to tell stories
Add depth, lighting, and color to transform your sketch into a vibrant, lifelike character in Photoshop.
Joined September 2019
In this Guided Project, we’ll begin painting our character, but first, we’ll cover a few essential preparatory steps. We’ll start by learning how to import your sketch into the computer properly, ensuring a smooth transition to digital painting. Next, we’ll explore the importance of a mood board—what it is, how to create one, and how it can serve as a valuable reference throughout the painting process. With these foundational elements in place, we’ll then dive into the exciting stage of applying color and bringing our character design to life. By the end of this Guided Project, you’ll have a solid starting point for your digital painting, equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to develop a polished and expressive final piece.
What will you learn in this online course?
10 lessons & 7 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (1)
- 111 students
- 10 lessons (1h 29m)
- 7 additional resources (2 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software for this course
Adobe PhotoshopWhat is this course's project?
Students will transform a character sketch into a vibrant digital painting by mastering the process of mood board creation, importing sketches, masking, and applying color and lighting techniques. The project culminates in a detailed, expressive character artwork.
Who is this online course for?
Aspiring digital artists looking to enhance their character painting skills will find this course beneficial. It suits those eager to learn how to effectively use lighting and color in Photoshop to breathe life into their sketches while mastering texture and realistic effects.
Requirements and materials
No extensive prior knowledge is required. Basic necessities include a digital drawing tablet, Adobe Photoshop software, and a basic understanding of sketching. Enthusiasm and willingness to explore digital painting techniques will enhance your learning experience.
Reviews
Joel Santana
A guided project by Domestika
Joel Santana is a seasoned digital artist and educator with a keen focus on character design and digital painting. With years of experience in the field, Joel has honed his skills in bringing characters to life through meticulous attention to detail and a deep understanding of color and lighting. His passion for art and teaching has led him to guide aspiring artists in mastering the techniques of digital painting, enabling them to express their creativity with confidence and precision. Joel's work is characterized by its vibrant use of color and dynamic compositions, which capture the essence of each character he brings to life.
Having collaborated with various creative industries, Joel possesses a comprehensive understanding of the digital art landscape. His expertise extends beyond just the technical aspects of digital painting to include the cultivation of an artistic mindset. Joel emphasizes the importance of developing a personal style and encourages artists to explore their unique vision. He is dedicated to providing a supportive learning environment where students can thrive and develop their skills, ultimately empowering them to create compelling and visually striking character designs. Joel Santana's commitment to both his craft and his students makes him a respected figure in the digital art community.
Content
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U1
Character Digital Painting
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Creating a Moodboard and Importing Our Character Sketch
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Masking Our Character
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Flatting Our Character
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Defining Placement of Keylight
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Values and Color - White Fur
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Values and Color - The Gun
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Values and Color - Refining the Fur
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Refining Lights, Shadows and Textures - Gauntlets
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Finalizing the Image - Highlights and Shadows
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Podcast: Sketch Painting in Photoshop
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FP
Final project
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Transform Your Sketch into a Vibrant Digital Painting
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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 Photoshop
astro-
Ich habe mir den Kurs zwar angeschaut, aber dabei gemerkt, dass mir diese Art des Zeichnens und Malens nicht liegt. Es ist mir zu kompliziert und zu mühsam. Aber nichtsdestotrotz empfehle ich den Kurs natürlich allen weiter, die sich mit dieser Art der Figurengestaltung beschäftigen möchten. In dem Kurs wird jeder einzelne Schritt sehr ausführlich und konkret beschrieben.
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