Illustration and Design of Children's Books
A course by Carlos Higuera , Designer, Illustrator, and Art Director

Learn professional techniques to create and edit your own ABC books
As an illustrator and designer, Carlos Higuera specializes in children's illustration with a style that conveys a great deal of tenderness. He has worked both in advertising and in children's book publication with international publishers like Edelvives, Santillana, and Macmillan. In his previous Domestika course, Design of Kawaii-Style Characters, taught together with Azul Piñeiro—illustrator, designer, and co-founder of Estudio Kudasai—, you learned how to create adorable characters inspired by Japanese culture. This time around, Carlos teaches you how to create an ABC book from start to finish.
These books are aimed at children up to three years old and are usually printed on cardboard. Carlos reveals the process behind making them: everything from the sketch and the storyboard to the illustration and final design.
What will you learn in this online course?
14 lessons & 15 downloads
- 98% positive reviews (354)
- 6,177 students
- 14 lessons (1h 36m)
- 15 additional resources (5 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · Italian · French · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create an ABC book aimed at children from 0 to 3 years old using your own illustrations.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Illustrators, designers, and anyone interested in conveying stories through illustrated children's books.
Requirements and materials
You need some basic drawing and illustration skills to take this course.
As far as materials are concerned, you'll need paper and a pencil, a computer with Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop installed, and a drawing tablet.

Reviews

Carlos Higuera
A course by Carlos Higuera
Carlos Higuera is a graphic designer and illustrator. He studied children's illustration and creative processes at the Sótano Blanco art school in Buenos Aires, Argentina and worked as an art director for Leo Burnett and Sancho BBDO. Together with Azul Piñeiro, he currently directs the Kudasai Design Studio. He also coordinates talks and online illustration workshops and is committed to creating illustrated books and mobile applications for children. His work has been published and exhibited in countries such as Japan, Germany, Spain, France, the United States, Argentina, and Colombia.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Influences
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U2
Draw and win
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The personal style
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Sketchbooks
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U3
The first steps
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How an ABC book is made
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The children's publishing market
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The stories
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Characters
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The color
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U4
Let's do it
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The storyboard
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Illustration
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U5
A new book has been born
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The montage
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The publication
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Contract
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FP
Final project
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Illustration and design of 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
What are Domestika's online courses?
Domestika courses are online classes that allow you to learn new skills and create incredible projects. All our courses include the opportunity to share your work with other students and/or teachers, creating an active learning community. We offer different formats:
Original Courses: Complete classes that combine videos, texts, and educational materials to complete a specific project from start to finish.
Basics Courses: Specialized training where you master specific software tools step by step.
Specialization Courses: Learning paths with various expert teachers on the same topic, perfect for becoming a specialist by learning from different approaches.
Guided Courses: Practical experiences ideal for directly acquiring specific skills.
Intensive Courses (Deep Dives): New creative processes based on artificial intelligence tools in an accessible format for in-depth and dynamic understanding.
When do the courses start and when do they finish?
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.
What do Domestika's courses include?
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.
Have you been given a course?
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
Really helpful!
Ele não é apenas um ilustrador muito bom, ele é um excelente professor e tem uma personalidade agradável. Obrigadaa
El mejor curso que he tomado aqui, era exactamente la informacion que necesitaba. No solo el es muy buen ilustrador, es excelente ensenante y tiene una personalidad agradable. Gracias y le deseo lo mejor
Me encantó el curso
Disfruté mucho de las lecciones.