Experimental Drawing Techniques for Picturebooks
A course by Fátima OrdinolaGraphic Designer and Illustrator
A course by Fátima Ordinola, Graphic Designer and Illustrator
Learn illustration, design, and narrative techniques to tell a story based on your childhood memories
Drawing is not just a form of communication or artist expression, it’s also a pathway to personal exploration for discovering fears, passions, and memories. Join Fátima Ordinola, illustrator and author of several books for children and adults, and take an artistic journey back to your childhood.
In this course, learn narrative and design techniques to create illustrations that tell a story about your childhood. Discover new ways to narrate and experiment with pencils and oil pastels using photos, objects, and images from your past as inspiration.
What will you learn in this online course?
14 lessons & 17 downloads
What Will We Do in This Course?
1 minute, 20 seconds
Visual References
2 minutes, 38 seconds
Binnacle
7 minutes, 33 seconds
Narrative Sequence
6 minutes, 52 seconds
Materials
1 minute, 47 seconds
Stroke Exercises
9 minutes, 43 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start the course by getting to know Fátima. She talks about her experience as an illustrator and shares photos, objects, and images from her childhood that she uses as inspiration to tell stories. She also shows you some of her biggest artistic influences including writers, musicians, and film directors who use biographies as inspiration for their work.
Then, discover how your sketchbook can be used as a graphic documentation tool to help you create illustrations. Learn everything you need to know about narration and story sequence and explore the relationship between text and images in a picturebook. See how book format plays a major role in composition and story development and experiment with some drawing exercises.
Now it’s time to write a story inspired by your childhood memories. Start by examining different items that bring you back to your childhood and use them as a reference to build your character and the story’s setting. Sketch your narrative sequence as a storyboard and then create your final illustrations.
To end the course, Fátima teaches you how to review and refine certain aspects of your work. Learn how to digitalize and edit your work in Photoshop so you can submit your story to a publisher or share it with the world on social media.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a series of illustrations using photos, objects, and images that remind you of your childhood.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who wants to take on a personal exploration project and relive childhood memories to create new stories.
Requirements and materials
You need basic drawing knowledge to take this course.
The materials you need include photos, objects, and images that connect you with your past as well as a sketchbook or notebook, pencils, markers, oil pastels, 90 or 110 GSM paper, a metal ruler, and a knife or cutter.
Reviews
- 25 days ago
Cours très intéressant qui donne envie de ressortir ses vieux albums de famille qui donne un côté très touchant., mais aussi de tester les pastels à l'huile. Très chouette
- 3 months ago
Abriu meus olhos para o uso de memórias para criar histórias ilustradas. Também gostei especialmente do uso do pastel oleoso para criar cenas inteiras instantaneamente.
- 2 years ago
Fajne, ciekawe i bardzo inspirujące. Pięknie dziękuję:)
- 2 years ago
A very inspirational course which I recommend for any artist.
- 3 years ago
I loved this course because is very inspiring! Thank you so much, Fatima. A big hug, 🐳
Fátima tries to write her books in such a way that each page and illustration invite the reader into an intimate and authentic space. She draws on personal photos and objects from her family for inspiration and approaches to storytelling which she then uses to fill the blank page.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- What Will We Do in This Course?
- U2
Before Starting
- Visual References
- Binnacle
- Narrative Sequence
- Materials
- Stroke Exercises
- U3
Creating the Story
- Observation of the Past
- Creation of Narrative Sequence
- The Character and His Atmosphere
- Final Vignettes
- U4
The Story Comes to Life
- Final Sequence
- Vignette Digitization
- FP
Final project
- Experimental drawing techniques for picture books
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
Yes, this course is designed for people with basic to intermediate drawing and illustration skills who want to experiment with techniques and develop personal visual storytelling projects.
You’ll need a sketchbook, pencils, markers, oil pastels, sketch paper, personal photographs, and access to a computer or device to digitize your illustrations.
You’ll learn how to create visual stories, develop child characters, apply mixed media techniques, use creative sketchbooks, and digitize illustrations for editorial projects and social media.
Yes, the course includes methods to digitize, edit, and prepare your illustrations for sharing on social media or editorial projects.
The sketchbook is used as a tool to record, inspire, and organize ideas, sketches, visual references, and progress on personal illustration projects.
Yes, the course explores experimental techniques like collage, mixed media, and layering textures to enrich your illustrations.
Yes, you’ll learn how to transform memories, personal objects, and photographs into authentic visual narratives and illustrated projects.