Illustrated Characters Factory
A course by Patricio BetteoIllustrator
A course by Patricio Betteo, Illustrator
Strengthen your creative ability and design and illustrate characters
Unlike with comics, it's not common practice to stop and think about who created all the fantastic characters we come across in children's books. Illustrator Patricio Betteo hadn't asked the question either until he started to professionally illustrate in this field. Throughout a long career in illustration, his characters have appeared in books, magazines, comic strips, graphic novels, and even video games.
In this course, Patricio Betteo teaches you to create characters, from the first sketches in pencil to the final edits in Adobe Photoshop. Although most of the techniques taught during the course are manual, you can also follow the course using digital tools if you prefer.
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 20 downloads
The three rings
9 minutes, 58 seconds
The expressions
8 minutes, 33 seconds
Height, waist and figure
12 minutes, 32 seconds
A million possibilities
7 minutes, 41 seconds
Understanding the exaggerations
12 minutes, 51 seconds
Five great tips that you already knew and didn't know
17 minutes, 58 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start the course by getting to know Patricio who talks about his work in the editorial world. He also shares his main sources of inspiration and greatest influences.
Begin creating your characters from the top down, starting with the head. To do this you need to be familiar with both the basic and irregular shapes. Do some exercises to help you visualize them in 3D.
Then work on expression through the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth to transform them into a face. Patricio advises you on how to add each feature one by one onto a range of different heads, like with a Mr. Potato Head.
Now move on to bodies. You can divide it into 3, 7, or even more sections. Using paper cutouts, gradually build up figures of different statures and proportions. Learn to exaggerate ratios for original and interesting results.
Next, Patricio gives you five key tips for your character creation process. He also shares an invaluable list of random inspirational ideas to unlock your creativity and let your imagination soar.
Start as you mean to go on by gathering reference materials as a precursor to the character creation process. Once all your ideas are on the table along with everything you've learned, do a sketch and refine it detail by detail until you're happy with it.
Copy or trace your sketch to define the final version before scanning it ready for the digital part of the process.
From here, separate and delineate the first gray areas. With the help of brushes, mark the areas of light and shadow in your illustration. Finally, once the tonal values are set, add color to your piece playing around with glazes, temperature changes, and other details to help you achieve the color you're going for. Then get ready to introduce the world to your finished artwork!
What is this course's project?
Create a lineup of fantasy characters ready to help you tell a story or illustrate a book.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Illustrators and sketch artists who want to broaden their repertoire and build on their character creation skills.
Requirements and materials
Basic notions of illustration and editing software are necessary for the course. Your teacher uses Adobe Photoshop to color his illustrations, but the skills learned can be applied to any pixel editor including Procreate.
For materials, you need scrap paper, notebooks, and basic drawing tools. You can also use a tablet and a scanner if you prefer.
Reviews
- 29 days ago
Super erklärt. Einfach nachvollziehbar. Sehr kreativ.
- 1 month ago
Es un curso fabuloso para aprender a dar vida a personajes con mucha personalidad, aprender a tener consistencia en la creación del mismo personaje en diferentes escenas e, incluso, para explorar ideas que te llevan fuera de la zona de confort. Patricio, además, explica todo muy bien y es imposible no aprender con todo el conocimiento que comparte.
- 2 months ago
Me gustó mucho el curso. Estudio Animación en la universidad y trabajo creando personajes, y este curso me permitió ampliar mi repertorio. Tanto la estilización de cuerpos como el estudio de siluetas y el uso del color me aportaron nuevos conocimientos. ¡Estoy muy contento con todo lo que aprendí!
- 2 months ago
Es un curso valiosísimo tanto para quienes apenas empiezan como para quienes tiene bastante experiencia, muy bueno para quebrar bloqueos artísticos y desarrollar un "protocolo" de trabajo. Fantástico para no quedar atrapado en infinitos estudios anatómicos, de movimiento y búsqueda se formas, da herramientas muy útiles y relativamente sencillas para aplicar en tu proceso de aprendizaje y creo que para profesionales también.
- 4 months ago
Patricio es muy claro y didáctico. Sus enseñanzas me han permitido salirme de los límites de lo tradicional y jugar con diversas formas para construir personajes. Me llevo el concepto de lo caligráfico aplicado al dibujo. Si mundo visual es muy enriquecedor, recomiendo
He illustrated the graphic novel by Tony Sandoval titled Gris: A través de los otoños, which was published in Switzerland and Mexico. Some of his most notable projects include Never Ever After, Mirador, and the graphic novel Mundo Invisible (winner of the 2011 National Graphic Novel Competition by Editorial JUS). He has also illustrated nearly thirty children’s books for publishing companies like Fondo de Cultura Ecónómica, SM, Sexto Piso, Alfaguara, and Almadía.
His devotion to drawing has opened the doors to work in concept art for video games (Grimm, Dance Central) as well as audiovisual animation, where he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for his background art in the show Love, Death + Robots on Netflix.
Content
- U1
Hello
- Who am I now what do I do?
- Influences and inspirations
- What will we do and what will we do it with?
- U2
Head
- Forms factory
- The three rings
- The expressions
- A pretty face
- U3
The body
- Height, waist and figure
- A million possibilities
- Understanding the exaggerations
- The crowd
- U4
Characters!
- Five great tips that you already knew and didn't know
- The magnificent list
- The references
- The winning sketch
- U5
Line and color
- But how original!
- Preparation
- Digital Grays 1
- Digital Grays 2
- Digital colors
- FP
Final project
- Creation of characters for editorial media
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 course is designed for those with basic illustration skills who want to deepen their knowledge of character design and professional techniques, both traditional and digital.
You'll need traditional drawing supplies (paper, pencils, markers, watercolors) plus access to software like Photoshop or Procreate for the digital parts of the course.
You'll learn how to create original characters, apply sketching techniques, composition, facial expressions, digital coloring, and build a professional portfolio for fields like children's books and video games.
Yes, the course covers illustrating children's books, creating concept art for video games, and developing covers and characters for various creative industries.
Basic drawing skills and some familiarity with Photoshop or similar programs are recommended, but the course walks you through essential digital illustration techniques step by step.
The course guides you on selecting, organizing, and showcasing your best work, plus strategies for promoting your portfolio on social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram.
You'll explore methods like geometric simplification, silhouette construction, proportions, facial expressions, color use, stylization, and anatomical details to craft unique, expressive characters.