Naturalist Illustrations with Watercolors: Drawing and Composition
A course by Cristina CillonizBotanical Illustrator
A course by Cristina Cilloniz, Botanical Illustrator
Learn illustration techniques to give life to animals, insects, and botanical elements
Watercolor painting is a versatile method that requires strict attention to detail while also providing peace of mind to those who practice it. This is reflected in the work of Cristina Cilloniz, a naturalist illustrator specializing in watercolor who uses the nature around her as a form of personal growth.
In this course, learn how to draw and compose a naturalistic watercolor illustration by combining an animal or insect with botanical elements. And if you’re interested in adding depth to your paintings, Cristina teaches the proper techniques in her first Domestika course: Negative Watercolor Painting for Botanical Illustration.
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 18 downloads
Colour
10 minutes, 19 seconds
Layers and transparencies 1
16 minutes, 21 seconds
Textures and details 1
14 minutes, 47 seconds
Lights
9 minutes, 29 seconds
Shadows and volume
16 minutes, 56 seconds
Notebook design
20 minutes, 23 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start this course by getting to know your teacher, Cristina Cilloniz. See how watercolor helped transform her life and discover her main artistic influences. Then, get some more details regarding your final project.
Next, Cristina shows you the materials you need to work with watercolor. Learn how to prepare your color palette and create shadow and volume effects using color theory concepts. Discover new painting techniques to create original layers, transparencies, textures, and details, using them to highlight specific points in your illustration.
From theory to practice: learn to create a mood board that will serve as a guide. Then, inspired by botanical figures and the shapes of insects and animals, start sketching to loosen up your hand and lose the fear of drawing.
Start composing the structure of your final illustration in pencil. Then, apply the watercolor techniques you learned in the previous unit to bring your work to life.
Once finished, scan your work and make some final adjustments in Photoshop. See how to apply your illustration to the design of a notebook using a template and create a mockup to understand what it would look like.
What is this course's project?
Create a naturalistic illustration with watercolor, combining an insect or animal with botanical elements. Learn to digitize your work and use your illustration to design a notebook.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
To anyone passionate about nature who is looking to disconnect from their day to day, learn new creative techniques, or deepen their knowledge of watercolor painting.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, some basic knowledge of watercolor and Adobe Photoshop is recommended.
As for the materials, you will need pencils, sketch paper, tracing paper, watercolor paper, brushes, some color palettes, and watercolors. Also, to digitize your work, you will need a scanner and a computer with Photoshop installed.
Reviews
- 2 months ago
Impecable...muy clara y generosa en sus explicaciones.. Muy recomendable!!
- 3 months ago
Me encanta la profesora y sus propuestas!!! Pero en el video aparece mucho tiempo hablando y poco mostrando como pinta y en un curso de pintura es fundamental que la cámara enfoque la obra en evolución….mas allá de que los dibujos en lápiz no se logran visualizar, la cámara se aleja de la obra en fin me resultó difícil seguir la propuesta
- am6db2zj2mPLUS3 months ago
hola la profesional la conozco y es excelente pero estoy teniendo problemas en el audio que alguno es en ingles y otro que los dibujos están mal pasados y lo que se paga no da para ver esas plantillas mal pasadas
nose revisen por favor no es la calidad que se espera en este curso.-
- 6 months ago
Me encanto este curso, tenia miedo de hacerlo mal, pero Cristina enseña de una manera que es muy facil entender, muy recomendado.
- 6 months ago
Great course, especially if you're new to botanical illustration. Beautiful painting style.
He has collaborated with renowned brands such as L'Occitane, Patagonia and Faber-Castell in different formats: stationery products, wallpapers, fabrics and wood.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- What will we Do in This Course?
- U2
Materials and different techniques in watercolor
- Materials
- Colour
- Layers and transparencies 1
- Layers and transparencies 2
- Textures and details 1
- Textures and details 2
- Lights
- U3
Create and paint
- Inspirational mood board
- Drawing exercises 1
- Drawing exercises 2
- Composition and sketch
- First layers of color
- Shadows and volume
- Details and lights
- U4
Watercolors turned into a notebook
- Image digitization
- Notebook design
- Mock-up
- FP
Final project
- Naturalistic drawing and composition in watercolor
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 master advanced watercolor techniques for illustrating plants and animals, learn how to create natural color palettes, digitize your artwork in Photoshop, and apply your illustrations to products like notebooks, textiles, and invitations.
This is an intermediate-level course, ideal for those with basic drawing or watercolor skills who want to refine their techniques and explore digital applications.
You’ll need watercolors, brushes in various sizes, special watercolor paper, a palette for mixing colors, an HB pencil, masking fluid, and access to Photoshop for digitizing your work.
Yes! The course covers creating and digitizing illustrations to use on products like textiles, stationery, invitations, and more—opening up commercial opportunities.
You’ll learn techniques like layering transparencies, blending natural colors, dry brushing, reserving whites, and adding textures to create realistic, expressive illustrations.
You’ll be taught how to scan your work in high resolution, clean and retouch images in Photoshop, remove backgrounds, adjust colors, and prepare files for print or digital use.
It’s not absolutely required, but having basic Photoshop skills is recommended to get the most out of the digitizing and editing parts of the course.