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  • Meet Award-winning Illustrator Owen Davey
    Illustration

    Meet Award-winning Illustrator Owen Davey

    Discover the wonderful world of this multi-talented British artist as he tells us about his creative process, influences, and inspiration Owen Davey (@owendaveydraws) is passionate about illustration. His award-winning children’s books have been published in every continent except Antarctica. Working from the English coastal town of Worthing, Owen is known for his geometric vector illustrations, limited color palettes, and his love of drawing animals. Among his clients, he counts Google, Facebook, Sony, The New York Times, National Geographic, Microsoft, Lego, the Two Dot app, and many, many more.

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  • What Is Watercolor Painting, and What Materials Do You Need to Start?
    Illustration

    What Is Watercolor Painting, and What Materials Do You Need to Start?

    Peek into the fascinating world of watercolor and learn about pigments and techniques from scratch Watercolor painting is an ancient technique used to apply color onto paper or cardboard using pigments soluble in water. The technique is based on the overlapping of transparent layers while using the white of the paper to achieve touches of light and effects. Tones in watercolor are achieved by adding or removing water using brushes, sponges, and cloth. Starting in watercolor is simple; however, the results that can be achieved with this painting technique can be as complex and rich as the history of this art. Find out some of the things you need to know if you are interested in watercolor.

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  • 5 Key Tips to Make the Most of Online Education in 2021
    Illustration

    5 Key Tips to Make the Most of Online Education in 2021

    How do you decide how to educate yourself? How to get the best out of being a self-taught learner? Many of the most important structures in our lives have been profoundly changed in recent months. Our habits have forcibly changed. However, despite some limitations, new possibilities have also been created. Acquiring new knowledge, tools, and techniques through different online education formats has been one of them. Now, with so many possibilities, how to choose what to train for? And when we do, how do we take advantage of it? Patricio Oliver (@patriciooliver) has been teaching Illustration and Typography at the University of Buenos Aires for two decades. He is also one of Domestika's teachers. To discuss important aspects of online education, we talked with him about how to be a good self-taught student in 2021. These are his key tips:

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  • Watercolor Tutorial: How to Fix and Avoid Mistakes on Wet Paper
    Illustration

    Watercolor Tutorial: How to Fix and Avoid Mistakes on Wet Paper

    Learn how paint reacts to water on paper so you can avoid mistakes, blooms, and ineffective layering and fix any errors you do make, with Sarah Stokes Water can be a watercolor artist’s best friend and worst enemy: it allows us to blend and spread pigment to create our paintings but can just as easily spoil a picture if not used properly. Watercolorist and wildlife painter Sarah Stokes has had her work exhibited on luxury cruise liners and sold by major retailers such as Amazon and Next. In this tutorial, she explains a collection of different watercolor effects and how to achieve them.

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  • Free Download: Sketch of Audrey Hepburn
    Illustration

    Free Download: Sketch of Audrey Hepburn

    Use this beautiful sketch by Connie Lim to create your own fashion illustration of Audrey Hepburn during Connie’s Domestika Live Audrey Hepburn’s beautiful features have been the inspiration for countless drawings by professionals and amateurs the world over. To pay homage to the style icon on the anniversary of her death, multimedia fashion illustrator Connie Lim will be using her unique technique to illustrate a famous image of Audrey Hepburn on her Domestika Live. Connie has prepared this sketch from a photo for you to download and print out and follow along as she takes us through her process.

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  • Top 8 Illustrators Not to Miss in 2021
    Illustration

    Top 8 Illustrators Not to Miss in 2021

    Discover the upcoming talents who are inspiring our top illustrators When 2020 came to an end, we wanted to evaluate this most atypical year and compile a list of its most salient moments. We asked some of Domestika’s illustrators if they‘d made some discoveries in 2020 and to tell us who, in their view, were the illustration talents who had made a significant mark and that we should not lose sight of in the new year. Germán González, Paula Bossio, Carlos Rodríguez Casado, Ana Santos, Diego Catalán, Emma Hanquist, Adolfo Serra, and Ana Victoria Calderón tell us about their illustration favorites. 1. Germán González recommends Florian Schommer Digital illustrator Germán González (@germangonzalez) teaches the Domestika course 'Digital Techniques for Illustrated Portraits’ and admits it was not easy to choose only one person, as he discovered many talented illustrators last year. However, he was particularly impressed by German illustrator Florian Schommer's work.

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  • Drawing Tutorial: How to Generate Great ideas for Character Design
    Illustration

    Drawing Tutorial: How to Generate Great ideas for Character Design

    Learn where ideas come from when creating characters and worlds so you can draw your own, with Nathan Jurevicius It’s easy to think we are out of ideas but, with a little creativity, you will find that there are a lot more characters to be designed inside your head than you realize. Nathan Jurevicius is a creative director and designer who has created characters for video games, toys, virtual reality stories, and editorials. In this tutorial, he shares a simple way to tap into your creativity.

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  • 9 Free Tutorials: Creativity to Get You Through Blue Monday
    Illustration

    9 Free Tutorials: Creativity to Get You Through Blue Monday

    Change the color of what is considered the saddest day of the year with these free creative tutorials It's been over a decade since the term "Blue Monday" was first used to refer to the saddest day of the year, and a formula was even devised to calculate it. In the Northern Hemisphere, where winter is in full swing and the days are still excessively short, there seems to be a consensus that this is one of the most depressing days on the calendar, so we strive to find alternatives and ways to make this third Monday in January shine a little brighter. To collaborate in this arduous task we have selected five tutorials to awaken your creativity that will help you overcome Blue Monday by making you start up the right side of the brain:

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  • 5 Free Classes to Successfully Promote Your Illustrations on Instagram
    Illustration

    5 Free Classes to Successfully Promote Your Illustrations on Instagram

    Get more visibility so that your illustrations reach more audience, whatever your style Instagram has its secrets and it is not every day that we can access them. Although many artists and influencers swear that it was enough to upload some videos to their networks to become a success, the truth is that there are techniques and ways of working that allow us to obtain greater visibility. In these free classes you will be able to access the advice of experts who have managed to get the most out of the network and who are now using its popularity to make a profession of their passion. To watch each class, just click on its red title. Enjoy!

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  • Dos and Don'ts When Drawing From Photos and Videos
    Illustration

    Dos and Don'ts When Drawing From Photos and Videos

    Laura McKendry shares tips and techniques for taking references from photos and videos to create art inspired by nature Laura McKendry (@laura_mckendry) is an educator and illustrator who has developed an approach founded on curiosity and experimentation. Her creations have been licensed worldwide for book covers, gift-wrap, homeware, fabric, greetings cards, and more, working with clients such as Waterstones, John Lewis, Laura Ashley, Woodmansterne, and Profile Books. Inspired by the natural world, she looks to what she says makes life fascinating, beautiful, and delicious: fruit, herbs, wild animals, the sea, the changing seasons, and much more. She works mostly in watercolor, ink, charcoal, and colored pencils.

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  • 7 Live Art Sessions to Spark Your Creativity
    Illustration

    7 Live Art Sessions to Spark Your Creativity

    Watch illustrators create live different art pieces while you learn from their processes The Domestika Live Art series emerged as part of Domestika Live’s live stream series, where illustrators, designers and artists from different disciplines share with you their secrets and tips to create unique projects, and answer questions from the audience while creating a piece live. Here are 7 of the best broadcasts from this series. To watch each video, just click on its red title. Enjoy!

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  • Design Tutorial: 5 Ways to Be a Better Illustrator
    Illustration

    Design Tutorial: 5 Ways to Be a Better Illustrator

    Learn these simple and effective ways to become a better editorial illustrator, with Emma Hanquist Being a great editorial illustrator often has very little to do with illustrating itself. There are countless artists whose talent was never recognized because they didn’t pay attention to the little things that make the difference between a hobbyist and professional. Emma Hanquist (@emmahan) is a Swedish illustrator who specializes in editorial illustration and has also worked with brands such as Airbnb and Spotify. In this tutorial, she shares 5 basic considerations that every illustrator should keep in mind to keep quality, consistency, and cash coming in.

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  • 5 Female Watercolor Artists Who Will Inspire Your Next Creation
    Illustration

    5 Female Watercolor Artists Who Will Inspire Your Next Creation

    Be inspired by the work of these female watercolor artists who have just launched courses on Domestika Watercolor painting is an ancient art form that can be traced back to the prehistoric days of cave painting. Mastering this skill requires great patience and embracing its unpredictable nature–some of the best results are the most unexpected! The following five female artists have developed their own unique skills and techniques for incorporating this highly versatile medium into their work. Their different approaches and styles are testament to the wide range of possibilities that watercolor offers and why these women are ones to watch in 2021.

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  • Domestika Diary: Pepita Sandwich
    Illustration

    Domestika Diary: Pepita Sandwich

    Take a tour with Pepita Sandwich of her life in her new home, New York Pepita Sandwich is an illustrator known for her vibrant style full of color, movement, and personality. She has collaborated with international brands such as Adidas, Spotify, and Cartoon Network and even published two books. In this Domestika Diary, she takes us around her new home, New York, showing us where she finds inspiration and art supplies.

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  • 15 Reasons to Use a Sketchbook by Sergio Bleda, Miguel Gallardo and Puño
    Illustration

    15 Reasons to Use a Sketchbook by Sergio Bleda, Miguel Gallardo and Puño

    We ask three illustrators why they use a sketchbook and why you should too Sergio Bleda (@sergibleda) is a professional cartoonist and illustrator from Valencia (Spain). In his Domestika course Inking Techniques for Comics and Illustration, he explores the technical and creative possibilities of inking. He is also passionate about sketchbooks and always carries one around. He sees his job as quickly translating ideas into images so that they go from being an abstract concept to something readable. Sketchbooks, therefore, are handy tools. Here are his five reasons why you should use one as well: #1 Every drawing that starts in a sketchbook can be defined as a clumsy "graphic babbling": a small step that makes you lose your fear of the unknown. The first word of a new language. #2 It allows you to work without pressure. Sometimes you draw without knowing precisely what you are looking for, and a sketchbook is perfect for that.

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  • How to Use Textures in Photoshop
    Pro Illustration

    How to Use Textures in Photoshop

    Illustrator and designer Willian Santiago teaches you how to create different textures in Photoshop Programs like Photoshop open the door to infinite digital illustration processes, such as adding effects and textures created using traditional techniques. Textures, in particular, can add a rich layer of detail that make your drawings have more of an impact. In this tutorial, illustrator and designer Willian Santiago (@williansantiagodg) will show you how to use different textures in Photoshop to bring your creations to life. Watch the video below:

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  • Find Inspiration for Your Next Tattoo
    Illustration

    Find Inspiration for Your Next Tattoo

    Discover the trajectory and references of Chilean tattoo artist Polilla Tattoo Edward Lorenz's Chaos Theory states that small decisions can have profound consequences in our lives. Florencia Landaeta, better known as Polilla Tattoo (@polillatattoo), is living proof of this. After her husband — back then her boyfriend — gave her her first tattoo, the graphic designer became interested in this discipline and found a calling she continues to follow to this day. Moth fell in love with the trade, which allowed her to keep her interest in drawing. Three months after that first session, she held her first tattoo machine.

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  • 20 Illustrators You Should Get to Know in 2021
    Illustration

    20 Illustrators You Should Get to Know in 2021

    Domestika's Instagram followers share the artists that have surprised them in 2020 Social networks are bursting with creative talent waiting to be discovered. This rings especially true for illustration, an art form that, increasingly, helps us connect with our own tastes and deal with difficult circumstances with humor. You simply can never follow too many illustrators on social media, and that's why we have created a list of artists you need to discover before the end of the year. Willian Santiago (@williansantiagodg) A vibrant and explosive color palette is the hallmark of this Brazilian illustrator who combines digital and analog techniques in his works.

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  • 5 Courses For Learning How to Draw in Pencil From Scratch
    Illustration

    5 Courses For Learning How to Draw in Pencil From Scratch

    Unleash your creativity and imagination with the help of these five drawing experts Drawing is probably the one creative activity we all have in common: ever since we were children, we have used it to express ourselves. However, as the years go by, we tend to neglect this skill. If you want to rediscover your love for drawing in pencil, these five courses will teach you everything you need to know: Artistic Illustration: Draw from Your Imagination, a course by Fito Espinosa Painter, visual artist, and illustrator Fito Espinosa will show you the process he uses to connect with his deepest feelings and thoughts through images full of symbolism and emotion. He shares exercises that will help you explore yourself and learn to develop your ideas into images that express your personal point of view.

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  • 10 Illustrators to Discover in 2021
    Illustration

    10 Illustrators to Discover in 2021

    Spanish Illustrator and Domestika teacher Puño introduces us to some inspiring illustrators with unique styles from around the world Earlier in the year, I wrote a post in the Domestika blog called ‘Puño recommends,’ in which I shared some of the illustrators whose work is a source of inspiration. Some of them are featured in this article to inspire you with their work, whichever your drawing or illustration style. Click on their name highlighted in red if you want to learn more about them. JooHee Yoon South Korea JooHee Yoon’s work is an exemplary demonstration that traditional and digital techniques can live together in harmony. They create a perfect symbiosis in which the digital evens out the rough side of the traditional processes, and at the same time, enhances their essence.

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  • 5 Watercolor Time-lapses That Will Inspire You to Paint
    Illustration

    5 Watercolor Time-lapses That Will Inspire You to Paint

    Paint and water embrace in these inspiring works by five watercolor artists Watercolors are a world of possibilities–you can explore infinite subjects using this medium. These five time-lapses are proof that water, when mixed with paint, is mesmerizing. The following five artists show us how they each create a piece at great speed. Watercolor portrait, with Carlos R. Casado (@carlosrodriguezcasado) Carlos R. Casado mainly uses watercolors for caricatures. Carlos uses watercolor's unpredictability to his advantage when he draws and paints well-known characters. Here, he shows us a different way of working with watercolors to what we are used to seeing.

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  • Learn How to Create Cartoon-Style Characters for Free With Ed Vill
    Illustration

    Learn How to Create Cartoon-Style Characters for Free With Ed Vill

    Access Ed Vill's Domestika course for 72 hours for free and learn the steps to create amazing cartoons, from the first sketches to final digital illustrations using Procreate Cartoon characters are an inexhaustible pool of fun stories and great comedy. They're incredibly versatile, the perfect fit for pretty much anything, from short stories all the way to profound social critique. They can give identity and personality to any brand, and they are a great resource when working on advertising projects. The illustrator and character designer Ed Vill knows how to draw them perfectly and, in addition to teaching you the essential tools, he will share every secret trick to make it easier to bring your characters to life using Procreate and the Apple Pencil. Starting December 22nd, and for 72 hours only, you can access the Domestika course Cartoon-Style Character Design with Procreate for free. You will begin by learning how to design a cartoon-style character that reflects a brand's personality using the popular illustration app. You will then work on translating it into different media, both digital and physical, to use it for advertising purposes.

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  • Make Your Digital Fantasy Portraits Sparkle in Photoshop
    Illustration

    Make Your Digital Fantasy Portraits Sparkle in Photoshop

    Learn how to make your digital portraits sparkle in Photoshop, with Bearbrickjia The final touches that we add to an illustration can completely transform the end result. Take your digital portraits to the next level and make them sparkle. Karmen Loh (@Bearbrickjia) is a digital illustrator whose surrealist style fuses fantastical worlds with everyday reality. In this video, she reveals how to make your portraits shine in Photoshop. Watch the video below:

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  • The Letters of the Alphabet as Kamasutra Positions
    Illustration

    The Letters of the Alphabet as Kamasutra Positions

    Artist Malika Favre transformed the 26 letters of the alphabet into a book of erotic writing and illustrations French artist Malika Favre has just published Kama Sutra A-Z, an audacious and original book. The 26 letters of the alphabet have been turned into artistic illustrations alluding to sexual freedom and expression. Individually laid out page by page, Malika’s illustrations are accompanied by handwritten erotic texts, focusing on poetry. Celebrated poets such as Sandra Cisneros, Yusef Komunyakaa, Stephanie Burt, Vanessa Kisuule, and Kyle Dargan have been included in the book–all of whom have inspired Malika over the years. Designed by Counter-Print, the book is the culmination of a project exhibited at London’s Somerset House in 2013, the year in which Favre was selected to take part in Pick Me Up. We interviewed the author to learn about her creative process and where she conceived the idea to combine the Kamasutra positions with the letters of the alphabet. She explains what the relationship between erotic writing and illustration is.

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