Introduction to Digital Comic
A course by Albert Monteys HomarIllustrator and Comic Book Writer
A course by Albert Monteys Homar, Illustrator and Comic Book Writer
Learn to create, publish, and promote a graphic novel for digital formats
For cartoonist Albert Monteys, comics are his natural means of expression. After more than 25 years writing and drawing comics with ink, paper, screens, and a touch of humor, he's an expert in how to approach a comic from scratch and tell a story to be enhanced with digital media.
Known mainly for his comics in the Spanish humor weekly El Jueves, a publication in which he collaborated for 18 years and directed for four, he continued his career following his passion for narrative and the search for new digital formats, making comics for the humor magazine Pride and Satisfaction and the science fiction comic UNIVERSE!. This led him to receive a nomination for the 2016 Eisner award—the "Oscar for illustrators"—and to win the 2019 award for Best National Comic at the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona, Spain.
In this online course, cartoonist Albert Monteys teaches you how to create comics with a focus on digital formats, from the computer screen to the mobile screen. He also gives you the tools to promote your work, based on his experience, so you can share it with the world.
What will you learn in this online course?
26 lessons & 16 downloads
What will we do during the course
2 minutes, 6 seconds
What is the digital comic?
6 minutes, 52 seconds
A world of formats
16 minutes, 22 seconds
Color on screen
5 minutes, 15 seconds
Infinite possibilities
6 minutes, 11 seconds
Analog materials
3 minutes, 43 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet Albert Monteys, who talks about his career from self-publishing comics to his time at El Jueves magazine and how he ventured into digital comics. He also shares the main authors and works that have influenced him to try out digital formats for his comics.
What is a digital comic? How does it differ from traditional paper comics? Albert gives you the answers to these questions through examples, and then explains what you need to know about color and the narrative possibilities of digital media.
Making a digital comic doesn't mean putting ink and paper aside. Albert shows you the analog materials you need to draw, including paper, pencils, markers, brushes, inks, and watercolors. He also explains all about the materials for working in digital, along with Adobe Photoshop tools for comic artists.
Now choose the format in which you are going to publish your comic. Instagram, downloadable PDF, multiple platforms? You decide. Albert will advise you to make the right decision based on your story.
Next, see different ways to approach writing, before designing the characters of the comic and presenting the comic narrative in depth so that you can enhance it.
Explore how to design the performance and expressiveness of your characters, why an expression is worth more than a speech bubble, and come to understand drawing as another type of writing. Then, your teacher explains how to digitize your comic to work on in Photoshop.
To wrap things up, get your comic ready for the screen and take an in-depth look into how you can promote it on social media and get the most out of your comic, according to Albert's personal experience.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Based on your story, create, publish, and promote a short comic online—between one strip and four pages—and get your work out into the world.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Illustrators, comic enthusiasts, with or without experience, and anyone who wants to explore graphic narrative and discover all the possibilities offered by different digital media.
Requirements and materials
It is essential to have a story to tell, and it's recommended that you have basic knowledge of drawing and use of Adobe Photoshop.
Regarding materials, you need a computer with the software installed, a pencil, markers, India ink, a paintbrush, a ruler, notebooks, drawing paper, and a scanner.
Reviews
- 2 months ago
Me encantó el curso porque el autor cuenta muy bien su historia y experiencia de cómo ha sido publicar sus cómics, en ningún momento se pierde hablando de cómo estructurar un cómic, hacer un guión, story telling, teoría, técnicas de dibujo y material didáctico es excelente porque así prioriza lo que realmente importa, estoy muy satisfecho. Es bellisimo este curso porque me pusieron a ver como un artista famoso dibuja en timelapse en varios vídeos enteros así pude admirar su excelente trabajo
- khristgonzPLUS3 months ago
Muy bien explicado abunda en los medios digitales en los que el comic digital se distribuye y trabaja.
- 7 months ago
Perfect for getting into digital comics
- 7 months ago
This course was extremely informative and fun.
- 10 months ago
The course was helpful but the auto generated subtitles in English were very frustrating.
His passion for narratives led him to venture into the digital world, collaborating on the humor magazine Pride and Satisfaction and the science fiction comic UNIVERSO!
He has been nominated for the Eisner award at the 2016 Comic-Con, USA and won the award for Best National Comic at the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona, Spain in 2019.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- What will we do during the course
- U2
Thinking about the digital medium, the idea for our comic
- What is the digital comic?
- A world of formats
- Color on screen
- Infinite possibilities
- U3
Analog and digital tools
- Analog materials
- Digital materials
- Photoshop for comic cartoonists 1
- Photoshop for comic cartoonists 2
- U4
What story to tell and how to do it
- The medium and the message, what format do I choose?
- Writing the story, what do we tell
- Character design
- Planning the story, how do we tell it?
- U5
Draw the comic
- Acting for comics
- Drawing at the service of reading 1
- Drawing at the service of reading 2
- Drawing at the service of reading 3
- Digitizing the comic
- Retouching and color 1
- Retouching and color 2
- Lettering, they are not just letters
- U6
Presenting your comic to the world
- Leave your comic ready for the screen
- Promotion
- Living off the story
- FP
Final project
- Introduction to the comic in digital support, from creation to publication
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
You’ll learn how to create, adapt, and publish digital comics—from visual storytelling and character design to self-publishing, inking, and sharing your work on online platforms and social media.
Yes, this course is designed for people with basic to intermediate drawing or comic skills who want to deepen their knowledge of digital techniques and online publishing strategies.
You’ll need paper, pencils (including blue pencils), inking tools, a scanner, a computer with Photoshop or similar software, and optionally a graphics tablet for the digital parts.
The course covers key differences like distribution, financial risks, page layout, color use (RGB vs CMYK), and how to tailor storytelling for different devices.
You’ll get step-by-step guidance on formatting, exporting PDFs, adjusting resolution, and strategies for publishing and promoting on Panel Syndicate and various social networks.
Yes, it covers inking methods using different tools, cleaning up originals, scanning, and both manual and digital lettering techniques to ensure clear readability.
You’ll learn how to organize text layers, manage multilingual versions, and adjust font size and formatting for optimal reading on digital devices.