Realistic Portrait Embroidery
A course by Yamila YjilioffFashion Designer and Embroiderer
A course by Yamila Yjilioff, Fashion Designer and Embroiderer
Learn how to illustrate, transfer, and embroider images to create portraits full of texture and expression
By experimenting with different disciplines, materials, and mediums, beautiful pieces like those by Yamila Yjilioff are created. Strongly influenced by fashion, the designer and embroiderer from Argentina creates illustrations that are embroidered on fabric. In her embroidered portraits, she places special importance on expressive looks and small details.
In this course, Yamila teaches you how to create a realistic embroidered portrait based on a photograph of a model. Learn to draw an illustration inspired by an artistic movement on a garment and transfer your creation to fabric before adding texture, color, and embroidery. Finally, discover the different uses for this technique so that it can be applied to future projects.
What will you learn in this online course?
18 lessons & 17 downloads
What will we do in this course?
1 minute, 23 seconds
Materials
3 minutes, 2 seconds
Choice of model
3 minutes, 48 seconds
Let's put together our mood board
7 minutes, 19 seconds
From Image to Line: Starting the Portrait
11 minutes, 40 seconds
From line to volume
10 minutes, 2 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start by getting to know Yamila, her background, her sources of inspiration, and how her journey into different techniques applies to her projects.
Explore the materials and mediums to carry out your final project. Yamila gives you some tips for selecting reference images to start drawing and putting together an inspirational mood board.
Trace the main features of your model (with pencil on paper or on an iPad). Learn to identify lights and shadows and see how to detail your portrait to achieve realism and expression.
Then, draw a pattern or “embroidery map” on a garment and define its colors before embroidering it. Discover what transfer printing is and how to combine it with illustration and embroidery.
Yamila shows you how to transfer your illustration to fabric using transfer printing and demonstrates a series of embroidery techniques that can be used to add life to your portrait.
Finally, see some new uses for the technique, as well as the different details and finishes that will make your pieces truly unique.
What is this course's project?
Create an unconventional portrait using illustration techniques, transfer printing, and embroidery. Choose a model as a reference and get inspired by an artistic movement to draw an “embroidery map” on the garment. Then, transfer it to fabric using transfer paper and an iron before adding embroidery to obtain a colorful and textured result.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for fashion designers, illustrators, artists, embroiderers, or anyone looking to expand their creativity by combining different techniques to create a unique image.
Requirements and materials
Prior knowledge of embroidery or illustration is not necessary, but is nice to have. Yamila teaches you all the steps to achieve an expressive portrait, either digitally or on paper. To edit the light and contrast of your work, some basic Photoshop knowledge is also a plus.
Regarding materials, you will need an iPad with Procreate or sheets of A4 paper. If done manually, you need baking paper, a pencil, an eraser, transfer paper, an iron (dry), a printer (optional), embroidery needles of different thicknesses and sizes, thread, fabric, a hoop, scissors, beads, and felt or cloth.
Reviews
- 2 months ago
Me gustaron mucho los puntos de bordado del curso!
- 7 months ago
Muito bom .
- 7 months ago
Super mooi om twee technieken te combineren! Het zou nog fijner zijn, wanneer de audio ook in het engels kan, maar dat doet niets af aan de fijne uitleg!
- 1 year ago
Todo se explica claro, con diferentes alternativas, me gusta mucho.
- 1 year ago
Hermoso curso, super recomendable. La profe un 10 explicando e incentivando a la búsqueda de la creatividad constante.
In 2017, she began uploading her work to Instagram, leading her to participate in local fairs and exhibitions where she could sell her work. She currently divides her time between designing for a textile company, and combining illustration and embroidery for different projects and commissions.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- What will we do in this course?
- U2
First steps
- Materials
- Choice of model
- Let's put together our mood board
- U3
From image to drawing
- From Image to Line: Starting the Portrait
- From line to volume
- Details that make the difference
- Embroidery map
- From drawing to fabric
- U4
Embroidery
- Fill stitches 1: French knot and chain stitch
- Fill stitches 2: back stitch with satin stitch
- Fill stitches 3: seed stitch variation
- Line stitches 1: Overcast hem stitch and stem stitch
- Line stitches 2: split stitch and seed stitch
- Volume stitch
- Details and terminations
- FP
Final project
- Realistic Portrait Embroidery
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
Pattern making and drafting are techniques used to create templates that form the foundation for designing and sewing garments. In this course, you’ll learn how to interpret and adapt patterns for creative and artistic textile projects.
This is an intermediate-level course, recommended for those who already have basic skills in drawing, embroidery, or digital illustration and want to combine mixed techniques in textile projects.
You’ll need fabric, embroidery threads, a needle, an embroidery hoop, transfer paper, drawing tools (pencils, graphite), access to Procreate or similar software, a printer, and optional materials like beads and felt.
You’ll learn how to create textile portraits by blending drawing, digital editing, printing, and embroidery. You’ll also explore pattern interpretation, material choices, and creative experimentation with mixed techniques.
The course teaches you how to digitally edit portraits in Procreate and then transfer them onto fabric to apply various embroidery techniques and create unique textile artworks.
Prior knowledge of embroidery or digital illustration is recommended, as the content and exercises are designed for an intermediate skill level.
You’ll create textile portraits, embroidered patterns on garments, inspirational mood boards, fabric prints, and experimental exercises combining drawing, embroidery, and printing techniques.