Travel Sketchbook Illustration with Gouache
A course by Jessica SmithIlustradora y artista
A course by Jessica Smith, Ilustradora y artista
Explore the versatility of gouache to capture vivid landscapes and scenes from your travels in a sketchbook
Taking photos is a great way to remember a trip, but with a travel sketchbook, you can recreate those magical moments through your personal lens. Jessica Smith is a professional artist and illustrator who loves to keep a visual record of the places she visits, and gouache is her medium of choice. The bright and playful style she developed through sketchbooking has led her to collaborate with clients like Kate Spade, Adobe, Tombow, and Simon and Schuster.
In this online course, learn how to capture your favorite destinations using gouache. Explore color, composition, and painting techniques to recreate vibrant scenes from your travels. Swap your camera for a brush and create memories on paper.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 12 downloads
The Travel Sketchbook
18 minutes, 22 seconds
The Materials
6 minutes, 37 seconds
An Introduction to Gouache
15 minutes, 4 seconds
Sketching and Composition
7 minutes, 35 seconds
Choosing the Colour Palette
4 minutes, 29 seconds
Painting the Base Layer 1
11 minutes, 9 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet Jessica Smith, artist, illustrator, and your teacher for the course. Discover how she turned her childhood love of drawing into a career and explore the influences that have shaped her style.
Next, Jessica shows you a few of her personal sketchbooks along with the materials you need to create your own. She also discusses the importance of reference images before teaching you about color theory and how to use her favorite medium: gouache.
After practicing these concepts with a couple of still lifes, move on to the main composition. Start by planning out the back-, mid-, and foreground of your image and draw the underlying shapes. Then choose a color palette, paint the base layers, and gradually fill in all the details. Finish up by adding shadows to give it depth.
Finally, learn how to scan your illustration and touch it up in Photoshop. Jessica also shows you some creative ways to photograph your sketchbook for sharing online.
What is this course's project?
Paint several still-lifes and a double-page spread of a landscape in your sketchbook.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who wants to learn more about gouache and ways to paint landscape illustrations of their favorite places.
Requirements and materials
Basic notions of drawing and painting are required.
As for materials, you need a sketchbook, colored pencils, a sharpener, traditional and acrylic gouache paints, brushes, and a mixing palette. You also need access to a scanner and a computer with Photoshop if you decide to digitize your illustration.
Reviews
- anatsn13PLUS4 months ago
The course is taught in a pleasant, intelligent way that opens the mind and heart and provides appropriate knowledge to create with these colors. I enjoyed and learned. Thank you
- 8 months ago
The course brings you the fundamental ideas of sketching outside and choosing the color palette á you are on the go.
- 11 months ago
Helpful class for gouache beginners.
- 1 year ago
The color theory was far too basic to take up as much time as it did in the course. I find these color theory segments in art courses to be fillers. I don’t feel like I’m learning much and am losing the thread of what this course is about.
- 1 year ago
Excelente. Bien explicado. Inspirador.
Jessica’s illustration style is playful and bold, characterized by bright colors and a positive feel. She primarily uses gouache and digital tools for her compositions, but enjoys experimenting with all types of media.
Her clients include Oxfam, Paperchase, Kate Spade, Adobe, Tombow, Stabilo, Canva, Simon and Schuster, Hardie Grant, and Good Housekeeping.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Painting Preparation
- The Travel Sketchbook
- The Materials
- Reference Imagery
- An Introduction to Gouache
- Colour Theory and Colour Palettes 1
- Colour Theory and Colour Palettes 2
- U3
The Course Project
- Sketching and Composition
- Choosing the Colour Palette
- Painting the Base Layer 1
- Painting the Base Layer 2
- Adding Details 1
- Adding Details 2
- Adding Shadow
- U4
After You've Finished
- Scanning and Adjustments
- Sharing Online
- FP
Final project
- Travel Sketchbook Illustration with Gouache
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.
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FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers foundational techniques in gouache painting, sketchbooking, and illustration for artists new to the medium or sketching on location.
You’ll need gouache or acrylic gouache paints, a sketchbook with smooth paper, synthetic brushes, colored pencils, a ceramic palette, and basic travel art supplies like a water brush and reference images.
You’ll learn how to sketch landscapes, build color palettes, layer gouache and colored pencils, create expressive marks, add figures to scenes, use reference images, and digitize your artwork for online portfolios.
No prior experience is needed. The course starts with basic concepts and gradually introduces more advanced techniques, making it accessible to complete beginners.
The course covers gouache techniques, landscape sketching, color mixing, reference image selection, spot illustration, adding people to scenes, composition, mixed media, and portfolio presentation.
Yes, you’ll learn how to digitize, retouch, and present your artwork online, as well as strategies for sharing your portfolio to attract clients and opportunities.
Acrylic gouache dries waterproof and can be layered without reactivating, while traditional gouache remains water-soluble and can be reworked. The course explains how to choose and use both.