Illustration and Character Design for Children’s Stories
A course by Teresa Martínez, Illustrator
Learn new digital drawing techniques and create evocative characters
In illustrated literature, especially children's literature, a memorable character is so much more than a beautiful drawing. Within a narrative, creating solid and convincing characters is essential, and it is these protagonists who will truly have an impact on the story. In order to achieve this, you need two things: enough curiosity to immerse yourself in the lives of these characters and the skill to translate that curiosity into imagery.
In this course, Teresa Martínez, who also teaches Digital Illustration for Children's Stories, walks you through the creative process step by step, so that you can create relatable children's characters. She also helps you develop your creativity and illustration skills to put together a guide to children's literary characters.
What will you learn in this online course?
14 lessons & 11 downloads
What's included in this course?
Start by getting to know a little bit about Teresa and some of her work. She tells you about the artists that have most influenced her personal style and those she admires for their character-creation methods.
Get straight into your first sketches with a few exercises to improve your drawing skills, with a focus on observation as the primary illustration tool. Teresa also goes through extensive theory on character design.
Now get to work on your own character! Teresa shows you her step-by-step process for sketching her characters, with special emphasis on proportions, facial expressions, and body language.
Next, build your character sheet with front-view drawings in various poses and with a variety of facial expressions. Then add color to one of your drawings to help define a color palette.
Finish up the course with a few tips from Teresa on teamwork and how to improve communication while working on a piece for publication.
- 99% positive reviews (717)
- 17,423 students
- 14 lessons (2h 26m)
- 11 additional resources (5 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a character designed for a young audience including a character sheet complete with a color portrait.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Beginner- and intermediate-level artists looking to get into the world of children's illustration.
Requirements and materials
Basic drawing experience is necessary for this course as well as the digital illustration software of your choice. Teresa uses Adobe Photoshop.
In terms of materials, you need a notebook, a pencil, photo or video reference materials, and a computer or tablet installed with your choice of software.
Reviews
Teresa Martínez
A course by Teresa Martínez
Teresa started out in illustration at a young age, publishing comics independently as well as in a local daily newspaper. She later studied to be a graphic designer but never stopped incorporating illustrations into her projects. In 2002 she started working in the editorial industry and published pieces with Richmond, Editorial SM, Castillo, Edebé, Alfaguara, and CONACULTA.
With more than 25 years' experience in the field of illustration, she has had numerous opportunities in the audiovisual world, seeing her illustrations appear in the short Imaginantes as well as internationally. Some of her pieces, including Swan Lake, Fábulas Mexicanas, Arthur and the Sword in the Stone, and Fantastic Body, have been published in England, France, Spain, Brazil, and the United States.
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
The bases
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The ability to observe
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From the eye to the stroke
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Concepts to consider
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Children and animals
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U3
Design
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Initial sketch
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Face and expressions
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Body expression
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U4
Integrating
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Model sheet
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To give color
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Additional effects
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Tips
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FP
Final project
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Illustration and character design for children's stories
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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
The course is aimed at people with intermediate illustration or drawing skills but is accessible to those with basic knowledge of proportions and techniques.
You’ll need paper, pencils, sketching materials, and a graphics tablet with Photoshop or a similar program for digital exercises.
You’ll learn how to sketch, create original children’s characters, work on proportions, expressions, silhouettes, use references, and develop a professional character sheet.
The process includes observation exercises, creating silhouettes, exploring proportions and features, and iterative sketching to capture the character’s essence.
Consistency is achieved by creating a model sheet that documents proportions, colors, expressions, and details, ensuring visual coherence across all project illustrations.
We work on action lines, photo references, shape simplification, and observation exercises to give characters movement and expressiveness.
Yes, the course includes exercises to caricature animals, adjust proportions, and create animal characters inspired by artists like Chris Sanders.
Great Course!
Lo que he apreciado muchÍsimo de este curso es la lista de las basis, explicada bien y de manera muy sencilla. Teresa trasmite muy entusiasmo y por eso se la recomiendo!
best course for bignners children book cartoon story making
Me ha gustado mucho este curso. He aprendido mucho gracias a Teresa!
Nice pace, with all the insides of her process as illustrator. I did learned a couple of new tricks.