Imaginative Character Illustration with Watercolor
A course by Emma Thrussell
, Illustrator
Learn how to create fun illustrated characters from your imagination using watercolors and drawing techniques
- 100% positive reviews (4)
- 271 students
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
Learn how to create fun illustrated characters from your imagination using watercolors and drawing techniques
- 100% positive reviews (4)
- 271 students
- 17 lessons (3h 24m)
- 21 additional resources (5 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
“Illustrating a character idea from beginning to end using your imagination is a daunting task, but it is such a rewarding experience.”
Emma Thrussell is a professional illustrator and watercolor specialist who has brought her characters to life for clients including The National Trust, Museum of the Home and Orlean’s House Gallery.
In this online course, Emma guides you through the creative process of bringing your characters to life with watercolor. Join Emma on a fun, experimental journey of creative discovery before embarking on your final project—a quirky and contemporary watercolor illustration of a character of your creation!
What will you learn in this online course?
Course table of contents
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U1U1. Introduction
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U2U2. Drawing and Idea Generation
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U3U3. Watercolour Techniques and Colour Palette
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U4U4. Creating the Character!
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U5U5. Digitising the Illustration
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FPFP Final project
Start out by meeting Emma and learning about her career and sources of inspiration. Discover her journey from drawing monsters as a child, studying animation at university, and becoming a freelance illustrator. Emma shares her biggest influences, including Studio Ghibli, Arthur Rackham, and Hieronymous Bosch, before outlining your final project.
Grab your materials and start drawing with a focus on idea generation. Emma shows you how to find inspiration in basic shapes, household objects and everyday items, then use them as a starting point for creating some character concepts in your sketchbook.
Delve into the world of watercolor techniques and color palettes as you prepare your final project. Pick up the basics of value scales and layering your watercolors, then learn how to add gradients and lighting to your artwork. Choose and experiment with a color palette you want to use for your final project.
Next, develop your character! Emma guides you through the creative process of developing your character, then sketch and paint your work. Refine your work before putting it onto watercolor paper before adding final details in pencil.
Take your completed painting and digitize, edit and format it using Photoshop. To wrap up, Emma shows you how to share your work on social media or via an online portfolio.
What is this course's project?
Create a watercolor illustration of a character you have created from scratch.
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who wants to experiment with new drawing techniques, create character ideas, and learn the basics of watercolor painting.
Requirements and materials
You will need drawing tools including a sketchbook, colored pencils, watercolor paints, access to editing software like Photoshop and a scanner.
Reviews
A course by Emma Thrussell
Emma Thrussell is a freelance illustrator based in South-East London. After spending her childhood drawing monsters, Emma realized her passion was for character creation and illustration. Emma attained a degree in Animation from Ravensbourne University before discovering her biggest passion of all—watercolors.
Emma’s watercolor artwork has been featured in magazines including Reader's Digest, Pianist, Your Dog and Your Cat. Emma sells greetings cards and prints her work through her online shop. She has also created a wide range of children’s activity trails with clients including Museum of the Home and Orleans House Gallery.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Drawing and Idea Generation
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Tools and Materials
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Drawing with Basic Shapes
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Basic Shapes in Everyday Life
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U3
Watercolour Techniques and Colour Palette
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Values and Layering
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Gradients and Lighting
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Colour Palettes
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U4
Creating the Character!
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Generating and Sketching a Character
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Refining and Transferring the Sketch
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Painting in Watercolours 1
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Painting in Watercolours 2
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Painting in Watercolours 3
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Adding the Last Details
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U5
Digitising the Illustration
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Editing in Photoshop 1
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Editing in Photoshop 2
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Sharing the Artwork Online
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FP
Final project
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Imaginative Character Illustration with Watercolor
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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
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
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.
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.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
rileytoorn
This was a good class that I can proudly recommend. I especially liked that the instructor presented a few new-to-me ways for creating inspiration for developing characters.
gretelschwenn
Ein gelungener Kurs. Emma erklärt in den einzelnen Lektionen den Ablauf ihrer Arbeit gut und verständlich. Die Übungen sind gut nachvollziehbar. Es hat mir sehr viel Freude bereite, diesen Kurs zu machen. Ich konnte einiges lernen. Einfach mal von einer anderen Sichtweise heranzugehen. Ich kann diesen Kurs nur empfehlen!
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keron858
Very inspiring! Plenty of tips and ideas! Makes you think out of the box when searching for inspiration and character development.
cheryl
Excellent course. I would highly recommend.