Narrative Landscape Illustration with Stencils and Acrylics
A course by Tom HaugomatIllustrator and Animated Film Director
A course by Tom Haugomat, Illustrator and Animated Film Director
Create three images inspired by the beauty of nature using simple composition and color techniques
Do natural landscapes fascinate you just as much as painting? Do you dream of discovering new simple and accessible illustration techniques? Then this online course by Tom Haugomat is for you! Alongside this French illustrator, work on your sense of composition and storytelling to create a series of three small paintings with amazing narrative power.
Explore a range of simple techniques, using stencils, ink pads, and acrylic paint, to get around the technical difficulties of drawing. Tom believes that with clean, concise methods and a simplified color palette, it's possible to work wonders without a lot of illustration knowledge—so get ready to discover the secrets of the man who has worked for the likes of The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Washington Post!
What do you get from this course?
Learn simple and original illustration techniques with a stencil and ink pads
Create a triptych that tells a story
Scan your final work and use Adobe Lightroom to edit it
Find your artistic identity by playing with acrylic paint
What will you learn in this online course?
16 lessons & 21 downloads
The Materials and Technique of Stencils
12 minutes, 51 seconds
Practice: Experimenting with Acrylic
18 minutes, 9 seconds
The Composition of the Image
5 minutes, 17 seconds
Searching for Inspiration and Mood Board
2 minutes, 25 seconds
Sequencing
12 minutes, 20 seconds
Color Tests 1
12 minutes, 23 seconds
What's included in this course?
"When I was studying animation in Paris, I had a little trouble keeping up. I managed to get around my drawing shortcomings by developing a minimalist and uncluttered graphic style."
In this course, discover Tom Haugomat's impressive journey through illustration and animation. See how wide-ranging his influences are and get to know the films he has made alongside Bruno Mangyoku. He shares with you the secrets of two techniques he is particularly fond of as a way to superimpose colors: stencils and ink pads Then play with acrylics by painting simple natural elements with a brush or markers.
Begin the groundwork for your illustration. To find your subject, create a mood board and a series of small colorful sketches. Then see how to compose a sequence of three images and test your color palette.
Now all you have to do is get to work! Start by creating the backgrounds of your images using stencils, then lay down the foregrounds with acrylic paint before painting your characters. To top it off, Tom gives you tips on how to edit your images in Adobe Lightroom and create more complex stencils in Procreate or Photoshop. By the end of this course, you'll have discovered a new approach to illustration that is as simple as it is exciting!
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a series of three small narrative illustrations.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is open to everyone! All you need is a little curiosity and the desire to play around with acrylic paint.
Requirements and materials
Repositionable tape
Tracing paper
A cutter
Brushes
Acrylic paint
A stamp pad
Reviews
- 24 days ago
adorei o divo
- 8 months ago
феноменален артист
- 11 months ago
Meilleur cours !! Excellent ! Super intéressant, merci pour tous ces conseils.
- 1 year ago
Es muy bueno para empezar a proyectar ideas propias. Lo recomiendo
- 1 year ago
J ai pu voir des illustrations de cet artiste sur la nature , les forêts , c est vraiment très beau , souvent un effet un peu Vintage . Ça me plaît beaucoup .
Now based in Paris, Tom paints, writes, and directs animated films, and has worked for advertising campaigns (Evian, Target, and SNCF), as well as the press (The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and Le Monde), and in publishing (Thierry Magnier and Tishina).
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Storytelling in Illustration
- The Triptych as a Form of Narration
- The Materials and Technique of Stencils
- Practice: Experimenting with Acrylic
- The Composition of the Image
- The Balance between Colors
- U3
The First Stages of Creation
- Searching for Inspiration and Mood Board
- Sequencing
- Color Tests 1
- Color Tests 2
- U4
Making the Illustration
- Overlay Drawing and Background
- Acrylic: The Details in the Foreground
- The Characters and the Final Details
- U5
A Few More Tips
- Digital Archiving of the Creation
- Creating More Complex Stencils
- FP
Final project
- Narrative Landscape Illustration with Stencils and Acrylics
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.
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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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FAQs
This course is designed for intermediate learners: it’s recommended to have some basic drawing or illustration skills, but stencil and acrylic techniques are explained step-by-step.
You’ll need paper, brushes, acrylic paint, a craft knife, stencils, repositionable tape, tracing paper, and optionally Procreate or Lightroom for the digital parts.
You’ll learn how to compose a narrative sequence, create stencils, layer colors, manage negative space, structure a triptych, and use digital tools to retouch your illustrations.
The course covers traditional and digital stenciling, acrylic painting, palette management, sequential storytelling, minimalist composition, depth, narrative rhythm, and digital retouching.
No, using Procreate and Lightroom is optional. The basics are covered so you can incorporate digital retouching, but you can complete the entire course using traditional methods.
The course includes creative constraint exercises, limited palette choices, and experimentation to guide you toward discovering and defining your own graphic style.
Yes, you’ll learn how to design, compose, and pace a triptych to structure your visual storytelling and strengthen the coherence of your images.