Mixed-Media Illustration: Activate Your Imagination
A course by Leonor Pérez B. , Illustrator and Instructor
Learn to mix different materials and discover new visual narratives that feed your creativity
Want to explore new creative possibilities using mixed media and techniques? Embark on a journey of experimentation and discovery with illustrator and teacher Leonor Pérez, whose editorial work has been widely recognized and won several awards. She is a three-time winner of IBBY Chile's Hummingbird Medal.
In this course, Leonor teaches you a versatile and expressive range of mixed techniques for visual narrative genres. See how any life experience or everyday element can serve as inspiration to activate your imagination. Work on a few illustrations from different sources and references to catalyze ideas and form creative pathways.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 22 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (209)
- 3,725 students
- 15 lessons (3h 12m)
- 22 additional resources (4 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, German, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Build a creative inventory: a collection of mixed-media illustrations from a range of exercises and visual experiments to activate the imagination.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone wanting to explore the technical and creative possibilities of illustration.
Requirements and materials
No specific illustration knowledge is necessary for this course, just come ready to explore your creativity and experiment with a variety of resources.
In terms of materials, you need paper, 90+ GSM paper or card, a variety of pens and pencils (graphite, colored, ink, etc.), a glue stick, scissors, newspapers, old books, and magazines (ideally also old and with an opaque finish). You also need some black acrylics along with another color of your choice, and a small paint roller.
Reviews
Leonor Pérez B.
A course by Leonor Pérez B.
Illustrator Leonor Pérez was born in Santiago, Chile where she also received her BA in visual arts. She taught children and teens for some years until finally deciding to dedicate herself solely to illustration. She then moved to Mexico to study the discipline at the UNAM's Casa Universitario del Libro, a trip that had a great impact on her career. She went on to study imagination and creativity and is currently taking a master's in education. She has worked for the vast majority of the publishing houses across Chile as well as collaborated with publishers in Mexico, the US, Korea, and Brazil.
She is a three-time winner of the IBBY Chile's Hummingbird Medal and her book Balada da estrela e outros poemas has won awards from the FNLIJ IBBY Brasil and the Catedra Unesco de Leitura PUC-Rio. Additionally, Leonor is a professor for the illustration diploma and continuing education program at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Influences
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U2
Observe to connect
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Materials
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Experience as a reference
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Observe and draw
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From observation to imagination
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U3
The language of materials
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Photomontage
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Pareidolias 1
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Pareidolias 2
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Images over images
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Stamp with debris
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What if you mix all of the above?
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U4
Pictures and words
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Unexpected connections
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The alphabet, a pretext to create
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Creational Inventory Container
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FP
Final project
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Mixed media illustration to activate imagination
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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
You’ll learn to apply mixed media techniques, collage, photomontage, and material exploration to create original, expressive illustrations that blend personal references with experimental methods in innovative creative processes.
The course is designed for intermediate learners—perfect for those with basic illustration skills who want to expand their abilities with mixed and experimental techniques.
You’ll need brushes, graphite pencils, acrylic paints, various papers, stationery supplies, magazines for cutting, a craft knife, a sponge roller, and recycled materials to experiment with.
You’ll be able to use collage, photomontage, and stamping techniques to build illustrated portfolios, proposals for children’s books, and editorial projects with a personal, experimental style.
A creative inventory is an organized collection of techniques, materials, and experimental processes that you can reference, reuse, and enrich your creative workflow in future projects.
The course includes exercises like observational drawing, 3D collage, illustrated pareidolia, stamping with found objects, precise cutting techniques, and visual compositions inspired by dreams and memories.
Yes, you’ll learn to apply mixed and experimental techniques to illustrate children’s books, exploring original graphic and narrative resources for this genre.
I loved this course, very inspiring with lots of ideas to play with and excellent tutor.
This course is helpful in expanding my knowledge of what's possible in the world of illustration and how to express myself better and more creatively through a more dynamic use of images and words. Instructor is very inspiring!
Me encanta la forma que tiene de explicarlo, nos permite entrar en este mundo de forma amigable, entendible e inspiradora!
I love this course, great experience, amazing teacher and artist which shows through the course contents and detailed process instructions. Very inspiring.
This course delivers in-depth content, accessible exercises, and a real creative spark. I feel like I’ve gone on a collage adventure and come out the other side a stronger artist.
Leonor’s instruction is thoughtful and grounded, and the combination of demos, exercises, and resources strengthened my collage skills and expanded my visual thinking.
The course is suitable for artists at any level. The only gap was the lack of interaction (though perhaps I’ll see some comments later).