Introduction to Frame Making
A course by El Pez Enmarcado
, Designer and Framing Artist
Learn basic techniques to build frames that highlight your pieces and make them shine
- Best seller Spanish with subtitles in English
- 98% positive reviews (733)
- 17048 students
Learn basic techniques to build frames that highlight your pieces and make them shine
- 98% positive reviews (733)
- 17048 students
- 14 lessons (2h 53m)
- 14 additional resources (6 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
They say that the packaging is just as important as its contents. For Coy Aballay, the mind behind El Pez Enmarcado, the frame around a work of art should be functional, but also needs to showcase the piece and make it stand out from its surroundings. With over a decade and a half of experience, she's framed everything from paintings and prints to photographs and objects. Her education in graphic design and photojournalism helped her develop a keen eye for her craft, finding the perfect balance between the artwork and its frame.
In this course, learn how to build a box frame for an image or object of your choice. Coy guides you through the entire process, from selecting the piece for display to taking measurements and piece-by-piece assembly.

What will you learn in this online course?
Course table of contents
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U1U1. Presentation
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U2U2. Preparing the materials
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U3U3. Learning to frame
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U4U4. Final tips
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FPFP Final project
Begin by getting to know Coy, the mind behind El Pez Enmarcado. She tells you about how she built a career in framing and shares her biggest influences.
Continue with an introduction to the most commonly used frame styles and get an overview of the tools and materials you need to build one. Learn about the differences between types of strips and how to enhance them with color and style. Then, see what a mat board is used for and choose the photo, print, or object for your final project.
Measure your selected composition already in place on the mount and get to framing! Learn how to cut the strips and slats with a miter saw, as well as glass for the front and medium-density fiberboard (MDF) for the back.
Coy then teaches you how to nail these parts together using a wooden base to make the process easier. Move on to sanding and painting your frame, exploring different materials and techniques.
Finally, discover how to fit everything together, close your frame, and add a wire so you can hang it wherever you'd like. Coy rounds out the course with some tips on finding inspiration for future projects and tricks for making a series of frames.
What is this course's project?
Build a medium-sized box frame (depends on your chosen item) for a photograph, print, artwork, or object using wooden strips, slats, and a mount. Add a layer of paint or varnish and it's ready to hang!

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who loves working with their hands and wants to learn the art of framing. This course is also great for anyone who wants to understand the process and materials involved to design their own frames and commission them to be built.
Requirements and materials
This is a beginner's course, so no framing experience is required.
In terms of materials, you need a hand miter saw for cutting, wooden strips and slats, a ruler, a pencil, carpentry glue, small- and medium-sized nails, clamps, wire, screws, pliers, a hammer, a cutter, sand paper, packing tape, paper and card stock, and an image or object of your choice to frame.

Reviews

A course by El Pez Enmarcado
Coy Aballay is the founder of the framing workshop El Pez Enmarcado. Throughout her career, spanning more than a decade and a half, she's framed everything from paintings and prints to photographs and objects using 100% handmade, custom frames. Before getting into the framing business, Coy studied graphic design and photojournalism, which helped her develop a keen eye for her craft and find the perfect balance between the artwork and its frame.
Her clients include illustrators, photographers, artists, and people who simply enjoy small-format art and decoration. She collaborates with Galería Mar Dulce and has built frames for a variety of exhibitions there; she has also worked with the brand VER making both classic and light-up frames in a range of sizes for their locations.
Content
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U1
Presentation
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Introduction
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Influences
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What will we do in the course?
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U2
Preparing the materials
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Framed styles
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Materials and tools
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Composition and image selection
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U3
Learning to frame
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Learning to cut
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Nail and sand
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Paint and polish
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Cut glass and bottom
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Close Frame 1
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Close Frame 2
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U4
Final tips
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Tips for framing in series
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To hang pictures
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FP
Final project
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Framing Initiation
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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 or PRO member, or a student of a Mentored course, 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.
connie_sps
Me resultó muy interesante, completo y ameno, con explicaciones sencillas y bien organizado.
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barbaraufscar013
Estou amando!
É muito didática e a professora explica super bem.
Mesmo se você nunca trabalhou com molduras antes você consegue dar os primeiros passou.
Super recomendo!
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impressia_pub
Merci Domestika
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cerpacuevasgladys
Me fascino este curso, interesante, entretenido y no es tan difícil como para emprender un oficio y ver otras posibilidades de vivir, es solo atreverse y practicar, y ofrecer un producto útil en cualquier momento. AGRADECER ESTA OPORTUNIDAD A DOMESTICA Y A SU PROFESORA, GRACIAS
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mariellebeguinel
je me suis régalée avec ce cours et maintenant il me permet de mettre en valeur mes photos ou tableau textile.
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