Artistic Mixed-media Collages
A course by Petra ZehnerIllustrator and Collage Artist
A course by Petra Zehner, Illustrator and Collage Artist
Create unique collages that are both vintage and contemporary, and blur the line between traditional art and digital illustration
“Collage is much more than cutting and pasting — it’s a way to make sense of your world, thoughts, and emotions” says illustrator and collage artist, Petra Zehner. She experiments with different styles, media, time periods, and techniques to create unique pieces. She specializes in collage art for different projects and is the creative director and founder of Paris Collage Collective, which is a worldwide community that sets regular creative challenges to connect local and global artists.
In this course, she teaches you how to create digital mixed-media collages that seamlessly combine traditional materials and tools with digital illustration in Photoshop. Explore the differences and possibilities of crafting digitally with analog elements. Learn to collect, mix, match, and make things your own.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 14 downloads
Digital vs Analog Tools
4 minutes, 5 seconds
Creating Material Libraries
7 minutes, 8 seconds
Portrait Preparation
8 minutes, 23 seconds
Background Preparation
7 minutes, 53 seconds
Adding Visual Elements
7 minutes, 59 seconds
Breaking the Frame
8 minutes, 27 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet illustrator, collage artist, and your teacher for the course, Petra Zehner. Hear how she came to specialize in her field, and how her life and background have shaped her artistic development. She also shares the artists who inspire her and an insight into her philosophy on collage.
Get an introduction to digital mixed-media collage, then explore the various analog and digital tools used throughout the course, from Photoshop features to glue. Petra then guides you through using materials for your collages that have copyright restrictions, as well as where to find those that are copyright free. Next, see how to collect and organize your materials in a digital library, including both traditional and digital pieces.
Dive into the creation of your portrait. Choose the photograph for the central element for your piece, then Petra teaches you how to retouch it in Photoshop. Explore materials to create the background, such as the pages of old books, and see how to establish context. Then, see how to manipulate it digitally with editing tools and techniques. Next, play around with different color combinations as you experiment with composition, before building up your collage further with added visual elements.
Discover the concept of ‘breaking the frame’ by not being limited to a traditional canvas. Explore ways you can develop and expand on your portrait to tell a visual story by adding more analog elements. Learn about color schemes, as well as duplicating, scaling, and inverting components. Finalize your composition and collage as Petra shows some finishing touches.
End the course with advice on what to do once your collage is complete, as Petra shares different ways to print your artwork, hand-finishing your work with different techniques.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create different mixed-media collage portraits based on the same photograph.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who is curious about collages, as well as for those who want to explore combining digital and traditional illustration techniques, including illustrators, artists, and designers
Requirements and materials
No previous experience with drawing or digital illustration is required. However, a basic knowledge of Photoshop and familiarity with a graphics tablet is recommended.
In terms of equipment, you need a device with access to Photoshop, a graphics tablet, a scanner (or camera), scissors, a scalpel, and tape.
Reviews
- 3 months ago
hermoso curso
- 4 months ago
Excelente, de los mejores cursos que he hecho!
- 4 months ago
Güzel anlatım ve yararlı bilgiler,teşekkürler
- 4 months ago
Muy buen curso, enseña de manera clara y sencilla, me gusta mucho
- 5 months ago
Excellent course! Exactly what I was looking for. Learned many new digital, composition and design tools.
Petra discovered that she didn’t want to work exclusively with traditional collage methods and created her own combination of analog and digital elements. She is the creative director and founder of Paris Collage Collective, a community that sets regular creative challenges to connect local and global artists, and encourage creative expression that goes “further than likes and shares on social media platforms”. Petra has also worked on various art projects, including Elleree, her own series of 365 images based on the same photo of an unknown woman taken in the early 1900s. She says that having to try new things repetitively in such a way pushes her to look at things with different eyes
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Preparation
- Introduction to Digital Mixed Media Collage
- Digital vs Analog Tools
- Where to Find Materials
- Creating Material Libraries
- U3
Production
- Portrait Preparation
- Background Preparation
- Adding Colour
- Adding Visual Elements
- U4
Final Pieces
- Breaking the Frame
- Multiples
- Scaling
- Inversion
- Composition
- U5
Last Details
- Printing
- Hand-Finishing Your Digital Prints
- FP
Final project
- Artistic Mixed-Media Collages
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
Yes, this collage course is designed for beginners and requires no previous art or photo editing experience. All key concepts, techniques, and workflows are explained step by step.
You’ll need basic art supplies for analog collage (scissors, glue, paper), a computer, Photoshop or similar photo editing software, and optional tools like a scanner and graphics tablet for digital techniques.
You will learn analog, digital, and hybrid collage techniques, sourcing and organizing images, scanning and editing workflows, compositional strategies, and how to create and print unique collage artworks.
Yes, the course teaches both analog (handmade) and digital collage methods, including how to combine them for mixed-media projects and hybrid workflows.
Absolutely. The course includes tips and workflows for creating collages in small or home environments, using everyday materials and digital tools you likely already have.
The course teaches you how to source, check copyright status, and legally use images from public domain websites, museum collections, and platforms like Unsplash for both personal and commercial projects.
Yes, you’ll learn how to scan analog materials, clean and edit them in Photoshop, and integrate them into your digital collage compositions.