Creative Journaling for Illustration
A course by Matías Prado, Ilustrator
Learn to create original, vibrant illustrations from the experiences, notes, and sketches in your journal
A blank notebook can be daunting, but with some inspiration and the right tools it can become a guide to exploring your creativity and finding your personal style, as well as a place to record all your ideas. Embark on this journey with illustrator Matías Prado, who's a master at capturing his imagination on paper through creative illustration. He has worked with major brands like Adidas, Vans, GMO, Faber-Castell, and Peugeot.
In this course, learn to overcome your fear of the blank page to transform your ideas into vibrant illustrations with your unique, personal style. Complete a series of exercises across several sketchbooks to discover your creative potential and experiment with a variety of techniques and mediums such as pencils, markers, collage, and watercolor illustrations.
What will you learn in this online course?
18 lessons & 17 downloads
What's included in this course?
Begin the course by getting to know your teacher, Matías Prado, who tells you a bit about himself, his influences, and how he finds inspiration. See all the materials he typically works with, how each differs in their ability to communicate ideas, and why that's important.
Next, Matías teaches you how to find inspiration and organize your references so you can start experimenting pressure free with your "master sketchbook". Learn to overcome your fear of the blank page by not worrying about the result, the point is to simply create!
Divide your sketchbooks by theme–colored pencils, watercolors, markers, and collage–to spark your creativity and take the guesswork out of where to begin. Then explore new techniques, materials, and your creative potential by completing a series of exercises.
Put your artistic eye to work to choose your favorite drawings from the ones you made and curate your own creations. Finally, transform the selected pieces into framed works of art to display wherever you want. You now have an approach that teaches you to observe and guides you along the path to finding your own artistic identity.
- 97% positive reviews (31)
- 859 students
- 18 lessons (4h 16m)
- 17 additional resources (3 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a series of illustrations across several sketchbooks and transform them into different works of art, exploring a variety of themes and creative techniques.
Who is this online course for?
Creatives, illustrators, and anyone who's new to drawing and wants to overcome their fear of the black page. Learn to capture your imagination on paper and create content based on your illustrated ideas.
Requirements and materials
No drawing skills are required to take this course, it's all about enjoying the creative process.
All you need are drawing materials to express yourself like notebooks, colored pencils, pens, markers, paper, and watercolors.
Reviews
Matías Prado
A course by Matías Prado
Matías Prado is a freelance illustrator who creates from his workshop in Santiago de Chile, collaborating with a variety of brands on diverse projects. He loves putting all his ideas down on paper, more specifically in sketchbooks, because they give him the creative freedom to unabashedly explore his imagination.
He's built a successful career in illustrated advertising by working with big-name brands such as Adidas, Vans, GMO, Faber-Castell, Peugeot, and more. He has participated in exhibitions and displayed his illustrations in cities around the world, including Santiago de Chile, Madrid, Barcelona, Bologna, and Buenos Aires. In 2018, he published his first children's book De Cuento en Cuento with the company Amanuta.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
The seed
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Formats and papers
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Materials
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Lose the fear of the blank page: how I get inspired 1
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Losing the fear of the blank page: how I get inspired 2
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Review and organize
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U3
Rediscover your imagination
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Stick pencils: design objects 1
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Stick Pencils: Design Objects 2
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Stick Pencils: Design Objects 3
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Illustrative watercolor: photos of a trip 1
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Illustrative watercolor: photos of a trip 2
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Markers: fashion catwalk 1
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Markers: fashion catwalk 2
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Collage: a work of art 1
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Collage: a work of art 2
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U4
Themed notebooks
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You are your own art curator
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What to do with themed notebooks
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FP
Final project
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Creative Journaling for Illustration
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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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.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
In this course, you'll explore watercolor, colored pencils, gouache, collage, and India ink, diving into mixed media techniques, character synthesis, portfolio creation, and developing your own visual style.
This is an intermediate-level course, perfect for those with basic drawing skills who want to deepen their knowledge of mixed media and artistic experimentation.
You'll need watercolors, colored pencils, markers, gouache, suitable paper (an art sketchbook or medium to heavy-weight notebook), brushes, a craft knife, glue, collage cutouts, and India ink.
Yes, the course includes techniques and exercises for illustrating creative content aimed at social media, magazine covers, and visual identity development.
You'll learn wet-on-wet techniques, glazing, color transitions, monochrome, color blending, and drying control on paper to achieve a variety of visual effects.
The course encourages experimentation, creative play, and self-exploration, helping you discover and solidify your own visual language through practical exercises and analysis of role models.
It's recommended to use travel or art sketchbooks with medium to heavy-weight paper (over 200g/m²) to handle both wet and dry techniques, and to experiment with different formats depending on your goals.
Matias Prado es uno de los mejores dibujantes del mundo latino. Increíble.
Es un curso divertido, el profesor enseña diferentes maneras de ilustrar y está muy bien.
Me encanto! Muy util las tecnicas
Me gustó los ejercicios que ofrece el curso. Son básicos y te ayudan a poder empezar a poder expresarte a través de la libreta.
Un cours pour les adultes mais aussi accessible aux enfants. j'ai adoré faire ce cours qui prouve que la beauté n'est pas forcement dans la perfection, parfait pour créer et appendre sans stresser. L'univers de Matias Prado et vraiment touchante et poétique.