Painting with Gouache: Create Poetic Illustrations
A course by Cagla Zimmermann , Illustrator and Designer

Discover the creative process behind painting with gouache and illustrate playful scenes that express your inner world
With gouache painting, each brushstroke is an opportunity to open a new door and express your emotions. Illustrator and designer Cagla Zimmermann uses the medium to develop her playful style and spread happiness and hope through her work. Her art has been sold around the world and turned into prints and stationery.
In this course, Cagla shares her expertise in creating captivating artwork with gouache painting techniques. Learn to mix, blend and layer colors to express your inner world and bring your ideas to life on the page.
What will you learn in this online course?
19 lessons & 21 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (230)
- 5,353 students
- 19 lessons (4h 0m)
- 21 additional resources (8 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a folk-inspired gouache illustration using a variety of gouache painting techniques.

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone with an interest in learning to paint with gouache or expressing themselves through art.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is necessary.
You will need gouache or acrylic gouache colors, round brushes, watercolor paper, a pencil, and an eraser.

Reviews

Cagla Zimmermann
A course by Cagla Zimmermann
Cagla Zimmermann is a Turkish illustrator and designer who specializes in the use of gouache. Her artistic journey began in secondary school, where she was chosen to take part in an art atelier organized by her teacher. There, she learned to refine her skills and work with different materials. Cagla went on to study a Master’s degree in international relations but later turned her creative passion into a career after the same teacher encouraged her to post her artwork online years later.
As well as sharing her art with over 22k followers, Cagla runs her own online shop where she sells prints and illustrated stationery products. She has collaborated with a number of artists and musicians, and her work has been sold around the world.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Dipping into the World of Gouache
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Materials and Brush Care
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Mixing
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Layering 1
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Layering 2
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Blending
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Detail Brushes Are Not Scary
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U3
Get Creative and Sketch
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How to Get Inspired
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How to Compose an Illustration
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Sketching the Final Illustration
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U4
Painting with Joyful Colors
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The Tail with Flowers 1
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The Tail with Flowers 2
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The Houses: Mixed Media 1
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The Houses: Mixed Media 2
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The Last Details 1
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The Last Details 2
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U5
Adjusting to the Digital World
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Scanning and Editing the Original Art
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How to Use Social Media Effectively
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FP
Final project
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Illustration with gouache for beginners
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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
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.




Ik vond de basisuitleg van gouache zeer goed toegelicht. Ook de toelichting over hoe je zelf een stijl kunt ontwikkelen vond ik zeer interessant. Heel aangename en goed onderbouwde cursus om mee te starten.
I love the artist's style of art so it was enjoyable to look into it. Quite a few practical tips, however, some things did seem too repetitive for me.
I really enjoyed the course. It has a wonderful personal style and an incredible amount of practical advice.
Really simple to follow and very good quality course
Me encanta el curso de Cagla Zimmermann sobre Pintura con Gouache, muy clara y detallada su explicacion y muy generosa en compartir su experiencia, tecnica y tips.