Illustrated Vignettes: Stories That Go Beyond the Screen
A course by Mariana Ruiz JohnsonAuthor and illustrator
A course by Mariana Ruiz Johnson, Author and illustrator
Turn your experiences into illustrated narrative sequences and share them with the world
When brought together, images and text have the power to elevate a story. Discover your full potential as a narrator, by playing with this potent duo alongside author and illustrator Mariana Ruiz Johnson. Combine manual and digital techniques to give life to stories that will withstand the test of time.
In this course, learn how to write and illustrate vignettes to tell stories ready to share on Instagram. Mariana teaches her method for building scripts from your own biography and gives her expert tips to share your illustrated narrative online.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 18 downloads
What Will We Do on the Course?
1 minute, 22 seconds
Presentation of materials and techniques
11 minutes, 45 seconds
Graphic narrative sequences
17 minutes, 41 seconds
Synergy between image and word
11 minutes, 27 seconds
From memory to script 1
11 minutes, 45 seconds
From memory to script 2
12 minutes, 55 seconds
What's included in this course?
Get to know Mariana, learn about her career, how she became an illustrator and author for children’s books, as well as how she widened her creative scope in storytelling. She tells you about her influences and what you are about to learn in the course.
First, see the materials she uses and their characteristics. Study the relation between images and writing in an illustrated sequence. Find ideas to write and illustrate your own script using biographical anecdotes.
Once you have written and planned your sequence, work on how to visually represent it. Start by choosing a protagonist, then draw your storyboard, and see how to use ink in your vignettes to complete the unit.
In the next unit, digitize your work to apply the final adjustments, explore the power of color in your narrative, and create your front cover. Finally, Mariana shows you how to publish your vignette on Instagram and gives you some vital tips on how to adapt your projects to other formats.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a narrative sequence of four images and a front cover based on a personal anecdote, ready to share on Instagram.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
For anyone interested in delving into the creation of comics or picturebooks. Writing and drawing enthusiasts as well as those who want to explore their creative capabilities will also enjoy this course.
Requirements and materials
To take this course you need basic Photoshop skills and a strong desire to explore your imagination.
You’ll need to be motivated to draw, and for this, you’ll need paper, a pencil, and ink materials. To digitize and edit your creations, you’ll need a scanner or a camera and a computer with Adobe Photoshop.
Reviews
- 7 months ago
Excelente curso. Muy buenas explicaciones oaso a paso para obtener muy buenos resultados.
- 7 months ago
Recomendo fortemente!! Mariana mostra todo seu processo e considerações sobre como tirar proveito do formato de narrativas no Instagram.
- 1 year ago
Lo recomiendo!! Mariana es excelente compartiendo todos sus conocimientos
- 1 year ago
Excelente curso, muy recomendable
- 2 years ago
Mariana es excelente y muy generosa al momento de compartir sus conocimientos. Muy contenta con el curso.
Currently, she works for publishing houses all over the world and works on her own creative projects, in both her own name and with other authors. She has also won two international competitions, the Premio de Álbum Ilustrado Compostela with her book “Mamá”, and the Silent Book Contest with “Mientras Duermes”.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- What Will We Do on the Course?
- U2
Ideas plant
- Presentation of materials and techniques
- Graphic narrative sequences
- Synergy between image and word
- From memory to script 1
- From memory to script 2
- U3
Time to illustrate!
- The protagonist of my sequence
- Selection of my character
- Storyboard and sketch
- Inking the vignettes
- U4
Retouching and publishing
- Digitization: texts and retouching
- Color and its narrative power 1
- Color and its narrative power 2
- Layout adjustment and cover creation
- Publication and closure
- FP
Final project
- x To illustrate is to narrate
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
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.
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
You’ll learn to create visual stories by combining illustration, scripting, and graphic storytelling techniques, for picture books, silent comics, and digital formats including Instagram. You’ll master tools to enhance your personal style and adapt projects across different platforms.
Yes, the course is designed for people with intermediate skills who want to deepen their knowledge of visual storytelling, mixed techniques, and publishing graphic stories in books and on social media.
Basic drawing and illustration skills are recommended, as this is an intermediate-level course covering advanced narrative concepts and illustration techniques.
You’ll need traditional materials like pencils, brushes, ink, paper (amate or Fabriano), plus digital tools like a computer with Photoshop. Access to a scanner and social media devices is also recommended.
You’ll learn how to adapt illustrated sequences and comic strips for digital formats, optimizing images and text for effective publishing on Instagram and other platforms.
The course covers picture book techniques, pop-ups, inking, shading, digital coloring, panel composition, wordless visual storytelling, storyboarding, and adapting to digital formats.
Yes, the course guides you to develop your personal style through experimentation exercises, reference analysis, sketching practice, and refining characters and sequences.