Digital Illustration with Manga Influence
A course by Akimaro , Graphic Designer and Illustrator

Learn how to create atmospheric scenes and emotional characters with Photoshop
Every culture has a unique way of telling stories. In Japan, they use manga to create stories that are full of symbolism and emotion. Illustrator and graphic designer Adriana De la Torre, also known as Akimaro, has always been fascinated by how manga characters can express so much with their bodies or a look.
In this course, Akimaro introduces you to the world of manga and teaches you how to illustrate using this style. Discover the narrative and visual elements to draw complex concepts in a simple way. Finally, learn how to create atmospheric scenes and characters that are capable of communicating real emotions.
What will you learn in this online course?
14 lessons & 24 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (496)
- 15,415 students
- 14 lessons (1h 50m)
- 24 additional resources (7 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create an emotion-based illustration as part of a three-image narrative sequence, ready to use in your portfolio or posting on social media.

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone interested in the world of manga as a digital medium and who wants to conceptualize better narrative illustrations.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, some basic notions of Adobe Photoshop and a fondness for drawing are recommended.
As for the materials, you will need some illustration basics like paper and a pencil, as well as a tablet with Photoshop or a similar digital drawing software.

Reviews

Akimaro
A course by Akimaro
Adriana De la Torre, also known as Akimaro, is a designer by profession and an illustrator by trade. Combining these two arts, she has devoted herself to helping clients find their voice and telling stories through images. Since she was 16, Adriana has been publishing comics independently and is the co-author of the webcomic Parellet, published since 2012 and with two volumes in print.
Recently, she has worked with publishers like Penguin Random House to create illustrations for a teenage demographic. She loves to experiment and combines her experience in graphic design with her interest in modern Japanese culture.
Content
-
U1
Introduction
-
Presentation
-
Influences
-
What will we do in the course?
-
-
U2
Introduction to Japanese graphics, composition and planning
-
Japanese aesthetics, its clichés and how to break them
-
Find your own dialogue!
-
Visual narrative
-
The ABCs of visual composition
-
The power of color
-
-
U3
Let's do it
-
Exploring the terrain
-
Cleaning and outlining
-
Base colors
-
How to achieve the desired atmosphere?
-
-
U4
The final touch
-
Textures and handcrafted elements to finish details
-
Ready to go out into the world!
-
-
FP
Final project
-
Digital Illustration with Manga Influence
-
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
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.
Aun no llego al final del curso pero hasta el momento me ha encantado. La profesora explica muy bien, hay buenas recomendaciones. Me gusta mucho su estilo, es inspirador. Gracias por la dedicación!
Es un curso completo, muy bueno, entendible y dinámico.
Simplemente extraordinario. La profesora da muy buenas explicaciones. Eso sí, no enseña a dibujar pero si todo lo demás es muy bueno. Recomendadisimo
me gusto mucho el curso :3 y me ayudo a probar cosas que no sabia
la profe explica muy bien, es agradable su enseñanza, transmite muy bien