Character Illustration with Acrylic
A course by Ariel Olivetti
, Illustrator and Comic Artist
Learn step by step how to give volume, color, and realism to a superhero using acrylic paint
- Spanish with subtitles in English
- 100% positive reviews (200)
- 3314 students

Learn step by step how to give volume, color, and realism to a superhero using acrylic paint
- 100% positive reviews (200)
- 3314 students
- 13 lessons (2h 0m)
- 17 additional resources (10 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish
- Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
A superhero’s strength and details make them truly unique. With Ariel Olivetti, you can learn how to give power, realism, volume, and color to your characters using dynamic acrylic painting techniques.
Ariel Olivetti has worked with the titans of the comic industry: Marvel and DC. Now, he teaches his process for creating dynamic superheroes with acrylic paints. If you want to delve deeper into the world of comic characters with Ariel, see his course: Illustration for Comics: Anatomy of a Superhero.

What will you learn in this online course?
Course table of contents
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U1U1. Introduction
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U2U2. Materials, light and shadow
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U3U3. Acrylic painting techniques
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U4U4. Conservation and presentation of the original
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FPFP Final project
Start by getting to know Ariel Olivetti. He tells you about his professional journey as an illustrator and shares some of his artistic and graphic influences that have guided him throughout the course of his career.
Continue by taking a look at the materials you need to create an acrylic illustration. Ariel explains how to use light and shadows to give your drawings added realism and detail.
Step into shadows and see how to color your characters. Apply colors using layers before moving onto lighting and volume.
To finish the course, discover how to preserve your original artwork and digitize it so it can be professionally presented. See how to adjust technical specifications like the format and the definitions you’ll need to understand in editorial publishing. By the end, your superhero will be ready to face any kind of adventure and save the world.
What is this course's project?
Create an illustration based on Captain America using acrylic paint. Learn the techniques for painting with acrylics step by step, from a linear drawing to a finished illustration that’s ready to digitize and print.

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
For anyone who loves illustration, painting, graphic composition, or superheroes. Fans and followers of Ariel Olivetti will also enjoy the course.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, you need intermediate-level drawing skills.
As for materials, you’ll need paper, paper for acrylic paint, an eraser, a black (non-water based) pencil, acrylic paints, acrylic dilutor (either matt or semi-matt), and a range of paint brushes.

Reviews

A course by Ariel Olivetti
Ariel Olivetti was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and studied graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires. His passion for drawing the human figure and creating characters led him to creating cover illustrations for the comic magazine FIERRO in the ‘90s. He is also a co-creator of the comic El Cazador. He has been working in the comic industry for over twenty five years as an artist and illustrator, collaborating on publications for Dark Horse, Valiant, Sideshow, MARVEL, DC Comics, and Upper Deck.
His first artwork for the US market was The Last Avengers story for Marvel Comics, and was followed by Daredevil and X-Men. He has collaborated on a limited edition series for DC called Space Ghost and a host of other titles, including Mystique and Sabretooth (1996), Alpha Flight (1997), and What if? (1997) for Marvel, as well as JLA: Paradise Lost (1998), Haven: The Broken City (2002), Green Lantern (2003), and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Influences
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What will we do in the course?
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U2
Materials, light and shadow
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Materials
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Light and shadow 1
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Light and shadow 2
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U3
Acrylic painting techniques
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Drawing and shading
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Color
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Watering technique and transparent glazes
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Lighting and volume
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Final details
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U4
Conservation and presentation of the original
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Conservation digitization and format
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Editorial review
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FP
Final project
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Character Illustration with Acrylic
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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.
grostieta
Me agradó mucho la forma tan clara de explicar del maestro Olivertti. Es un hecho que ya quiero aplicar la técnica en una próxima ilustración.
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subroto.bhaumik
Its a great course, very informative for someone who hasnt used this medium and loves building up volumes in this way. Its old school but gold.
vegastar7
I enjoyed the course a lot, as a beginner painter. The teacher’s technique involves glazing (with acrylic paints and mediums) which I had never done before. Everything is explained clearly, and I recommend this course even if you’re not a fan of superhero art.
gene.mattozzi
Sono molto contento di aver acquistato e visto le lezioni di Ariel Olivetti ( ero già un suo fan prima di questo) Quanto prima caricherò mio esercizio- Grazie
I am very happy to have purchased and seen Ariel Olivetti's lessons (I was already a fan of his before this) I will upload my exercise as soon as possible- Thanks
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ov_lina16
Excelente curso!
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