Ceramic Illustration with Scratch Art
A course by Samuel Casal, Visual Artist
Discover the scratch art technique to create original illustrations on ceramic objects and express your imagination
Have you ever considered using engraving techniques to illustrate ceramics? Using his own unique method, award-winning visual artist Samuel Casal, who's collaborated with brands like Nike, Companhia das Letras, and Rede Globo, transforms ordinary everyday ceramics into works of art.
In this course, learn how to use scratch art techniques to illustrate ceramics. Samuel guides you through the creative process, from making the initial negative, to the scratch art with drypoint tools and scalpels. By the end, you'll have a piece ready to glaze and fire for impressive results.
What will you learn in this online course?
12 lessons & 10 downloads
What's included in this course?
Get to know Samuel Casal as he talks about how he created this unique method through experimentation and exploration of new techniques. He also shares his biggest influences, both contemporary and ancient.
Begin by selecting a ceramic piece to work with and study the main characteristics. Samuel shows you what tools you need for your final project and helps you choose a theme for your illustration. Discover how to draw your negative, starting with the light and moving onto the shadow. Also see how to create volume with hatching.
Then prepare your ceramic piece and paint the silhouette of your design before adding some rough outlines for reference. Now it's time to immerse yourself in the scratch art technique using drypoint tools. Draw by removing the underglaze to create contrast and add detail to your illustration through hatching using scalpels with more rounded edges.
To round out the course, Samuel teaches you to dust off your piece and clean any marks or prints left by handling. Your piece is now ready for the final glaze before going into the kiln.
- 100% positive reviews (41)
- 1,936 students
- 12 lessons (1h 0m)
- 10 additional resources (1 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Portuguese, English, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Turkish
- Portuguese · Spanish · English · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Illustrate a ceramic piece using the scratch art technique to bring your ideas to life.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone with basic illustration knowledge who wants to add this original and exciting technique to their repertoire.
Requirements and materials
For this course you need a ceramic plate or piece of crockery, fine-point metal tools or drypoint tools, scalpels, brushes, sandpaper, a sponge, pencils, and access to a pottery studio to glaze and fire your finished piece.
Reviews
Samuel Casal
A course by Samuel Casal
Samuel Casal has been working as a visual artist since 1990, and his art has appeared in illustrated books as well as national and international magazines. He has won numerous awards in Brazil including a Jabuti, the most renowned Brazilian literature prize, and received honorable mention at the Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial, as well as eight HQMIX awards at the Museu de Artes Gráficas Brasileiro.
He has taken part in both individual and group exhibitions in various countries like Spain, Norway, Italy, Russia, Mexico, and more. He currently devotes his time to research and ceramic painting using traditional engraving tools and techniques.
Content
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U1
Influences and Experiences
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Presentation
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Influences
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U2
Preparation to Create
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Materials
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Choice of Theme for the Piece
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Thinking the Drawing in Negative
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Scratching: Hatching for Volume Construction in the Drawing
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U3
Sketch, Paint and Scrape
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Choosing and Preparing the Ceramic Piece
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Defining the Outline of the Drawing
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Scratching: Line
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Scratching: Hatching
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U4
Project Completion
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Piece Cleaning
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Piece After Burning
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FP
Final project
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Ceramic Illustration with Scratch Art
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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
Yes, the course covers scratch art and engraving techniques like sgraffito applied to artistic ceramics, including detailing, texturing, and using specialized tools.
No prior experience is required, but this is an intermediate-level course and basic familiarity with drawing or ceramics is recommended for the best experience.
You’ll need bisque ceramic pieces, underglaze, fine brushes, scalpels, watercolor pencils, scraping tools, and basic cleaning and prep materials.
The course explores blending traditional techniques (like woodcut and lithography) with digital processes, showing how to mix styles to enrich your artistic voice.
You’ll learn to incorporate elements from Cordel, African, and Indigenous art by analyzing their visual language and applying these references to graphic and ceramic compositions.
Yes, the course teaches how to prepare and apply underglaze, select brushes, finish pieces, and methods for cleaning and fixing imperfections.
Yes, the course encourages multidisciplinary experimentation, analysis of artistic influences, and varied techniques to help you develop a personal, authentic style.
Curso muito bom!! Recomendo!
This course has given me a lot of inspiration. Than you so much :-)
Ce cours m’a beaucoup appris cependant le produit « bas émail » n’est pas clair. Je souhaiterais avoir plus de précisions. Merci beaucoup
Thorough, thoughtful, with an appealing demeanor and enjoyable vocal qualities. Cannot wait to complete my final project!
Inspirująco i w uporządkowany sposób. Polecam! :)