Digital Painting Master Class : Beginner to Advanced from Udemy

Digital painting and drawing has never been this fun. Illustrate characters, creatures, landscapes and more.

Experts and beginners can benefit from hours of detailed well explained training guiding you step by step through the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, through to advanced digital painting techniques used by professionals in major films and videos games.

You will start this course by becoming familiar with the interfaces, while you confidently master the most commonly used Illustrator and Photoshop tools.

Once you have mastered the fundamentals, you will quickly move on to fun mini projects designed to show you real world uses for Photoshop. You will build confidence throughout this series as you begin to understand professional techniques used for lighting, animation, and Illustration.

After you have mastered the basics of Photoshop you will dive right in to more advanced techniques as you learn fundamentals of digital painting using these power design tools.

By the end of this course you should feel confident to take on any project or creative career armed with the incredible skills you learn with us here at the School of Game Design

What's inside

Learning objectives

Gain a firm understanding of the diverse tools and powerful features available in photoshop and illustrator
Have a better understanding on how to use textures and shading for more realistic details
You will learn many techniques in photoshop that will make your editing faster and more realistic like the puppet warp tool
Learn best practices to better develop and digitally paint character ideas quickly
Mastery of the photoshop interface

Fundamentals of lighting, textures, and shapes
Frame by frame animation techniques
Character and creature deisgn
Full understanding of drawing with perspective
Advance environment illustration and so much more!!!

Gain a firm understanding of the diverse tools and powerful features available in photoshop and illustrator
Have a better understanding on how to use textures and shading for more realistic details
You will learn many techniques in photoshop that will make your editing faster and more realistic like the puppet warp tool
Learn best practices to better develop and digitally paint character ideas quickly
Mastery of the photoshop interface
Fundamentals of lighting, textures, and shapes
Frame by frame animation techniques
Character and creature deisgn
Full understanding of drawing with perspective
Advance environment illustration and so much more!!!

Syllabus

Getting started with Photoshop

A brief introduction to all the exciting topics you will cover in this course

How to download and install Photoshop

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Covers fundamentals of lighting, textures, and shapes, which are essential for creating visually appealing and realistic digital artwork

Explores character and creature design, which are highly sought-after skills in the entertainment and gaming industries

Includes frame-by-frame animation techniques, which can be applied to create animated shorts, GIFs, and other dynamic content

Teaches the use of the puppet warp tool, which is a powerful feature in Photoshop for manipulating and posing images

Requires both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, which may require a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud

Uses Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, which are industry-standard tools for digital painting and graphic design

Reviews summary

Digital painting: tools, techniques, and practice

According to learners, this course offers a comprehensive foundation in digital painting using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Many students found the initial sections covering Photoshop and Illustrator basics to be very helpful, particularly appreciating the clear explanations and practical demos for tools and fundamental techniques. While the course promises to go from beginner to advanced, some learners felt it excels more at building foundational skills and introducing techniques, rather than providing truly advanced methods suitable for experienced artists. The transition and pacing between topics sometimes received mixed feedback, with some finding it smooth and others feeling it jumped too quickly or slowly in parts. Overall, it's seen as a solid starting point and guide through core digital painting concepts and workflows.

Pacing is uneven, affecting flow for some.

"Sometimes the course felt like it jumped from basic tools straight into more complex painting concepts too quickly."

"The initial software sections felt a bit slow if you already knew Photoshop basics."

"The transition between topics wasn't always smooth, occasionally feeling disjointed."

"Overall structure was logical, but the speed varied significantly between modules."

Learn and practice key digital painting methods.

"The sections on color theory, values, and blending were particularly helpful for improving my painting."

"I enjoyed the practical demonstrations and mini-projects; they helped solidify the concepts."

"Learned useful techniques for painting materials like wood and metal."

"The examples make the process easy to follow and apply to my own work."

Course builds solid base in Photoshop/Illustrator.

"The course does a great job of covering the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator, which was perfect for me as a beginner."

"I finally feel confident navigating Photoshop and understanding layers and brushes after this course."

"Good explanation of core tools and functionalities before diving into painting."

"It provides a strong starting point if you're new to digital art software."

May not meet 'advanced' expectations for all.

"While it covers a lot, I wouldn't call the latter half truly 'master class' level for advanced artists."

"Good for beginners to intermediate, but experienced painters might find the 'advanced' sections lacking depth."

"Felt the course was more focused on fundamental techniques rather than complex workflow or professional-level insights."

"Needed to seek additional resources for truly advanced topics like complex anatomy or complex lighting scenarios."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Digital Painting Master Class : Beginner to Advanced with these activities:

Brush Tool Mastery

Show steps

Refamiliarize yourself with the brush tool and its settings to improve control and efficiency in digital painting.

Show steps

Explore different brush types and their effects.
Experiment with brush settings like size, hardness, and opacity.
Practice creating various strokes and textures.

Figure Drawing: For All It's Worth

Show steps

Study figure drawing techniques to improve your ability to create realistic and dynamic characters.

View Melania on Amazon

Show steps

Review chapters on anatomy and proportions.
Practice drawing figures from reference images.
Apply the concepts learned to your own character designs.

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

Show steps

Study color theory and lighting principles to enhance the realism and visual impact of your digital paintings.

View Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions) on Amazon

Show steps

Read chapters on color temperature and light direction.
Analyze paintings by master artists, paying attention to their use of color and light.
Apply the concepts learned to your own digital painting projects.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Perspective Drawing Exercises

Show steps

Improve your understanding of perspective by practicing drawing various objects and scenes in one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective.

Show steps

Draw simple geometric shapes in different perspective types.
Create more complex scenes, such as cityscapes or interiors.
Use a ruler and vanishing points to ensure accuracy.

Digital Painting Speed Challenge

Show steps

Challenge yourself to create a digital painting within a limited time frame to improve your speed and efficiency.

Show steps

Choose a subject and set a timer for 30-60 minutes.
Focus on capturing the essential elements of the scene.
Don't worry about perfection; prioritize speed and efficiency.

Character Design Project

Show steps

Develop a detailed character design, including concept sketches, color palettes, and final illustration, to showcase your digital painting skills.

Show steps

Brainstorm character ideas and create initial sketches.
Develop a color palette and refine the character's design.
Create a final illustration of the character in a dynamic pose.

Digital Painting Portfolio

Show steps

Curate a portfolio of your best digital paintings to showcase your skills and attract potential clients or employers.

Show steps

Select your strongest digital paintings for inclusion.
Organize your portfolio in a visually appealing and professional manner.
Write descriptions for each painting, highlighting your skills and techniques.

Career center

Learners who complete Digital Painting Master Class : Beginner to Advanced will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Digital Painter

Digital Painters create original artwork using digital tools. The course provides the fundamentals of digital painting using power design tools. This course covers lines, values, color theory, drawing construction, blending with the brush tool, perspective and composition. Additionally, the course offers intermediate digital painting tips.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Painter

Concept Artist

A Concept Artist visualizes ideas for characters, creatures, and environments, often for video games, films, or animation. This course guides experts and beginners step by step through the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You will gain a firm understanding of the diverse tools and powerful features available in Photoshop and Illustrator, which helps you to develop and digitally paint character ideas quickly. Mastering the fundamentals of lighting, textures, and shapes also lets you bring depth and realism to your concept art, making a course like this an asset in your artistic toolkit.

See salaries and explore the career path for Concept Artist

Character Designer

A Character Designer specializes in creating the visual appearance of characters for animation, games, or comics. This course directly addresses character and creature design. Mastering the use of Photoshop and Illustrator helps you bring your character concepts to life with detail and style. You will learn best practices to better develop and digitally paint character ideas quickly. Additionally, knowledge of perspective, as covered in the syllabus, enhances your ability to present characters in dynamic and believable poses, making this course highly relevant.

See salaries and explore the career path for Character Designer

Illustrator

As an Illustrator, you create images for a variety of media, including books, magazines, and websites. This role demands proficiency in digital art tools, and this course offers a comprehensive introduction to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Through mini projects, you'll gain real world experience with professional techniques for lighting, animation, and illustration, while building confidence in your abilities. An Illustrator will find the frame by frame animation techniques presented in the syllabus to be particularly beneficial.

See salaries and explore the career path for Illustrator

Background Artist

Background Artists are responsible for creating the environments and settings in animated films, television shows, and video games. A solid understanding of digital painting techniques is crucial, and this course helps develop a full understanding of drawing with perspective and advanced environment illustration. As a Background Artist, the material on landscapes and materials, such as wood and metal, may be useful to you. With the skills learned here, creating immersive and believable backgrounds becomes much more achievable.

See salaries and explore the career path for Background Artist

Texture Artist

Texture Artists specialize in creating the surface details and textures for 3D models in video games and films. In this role, you can have a better understanding of how to use textures and shading for more realistic details. This course covers materials such as wood, organic, texture and cloth. Additionally, you will learn many techniques in Photoshop that will make your editing faster and more realistic.

See salaries and explore the career path for Texture Artist

Animator

Animators bring characters and objects to life through movement and visual effects. An Animator can use this course to learn frame by frame animation techniques. You will build confidence throughout this series as you begin to understand professional techniques used for lighting, animation, and Illustration. This course also provides a brief introduction to the exciting topics covered.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animator

Storyboard Artist

Storyboard Artists create visual representations of scenes in films, television shows, and commercials. The drawing construction and drawing thumbnails units of the syllabus is relevant to the work of a Storyboard Artist. By gaining a firm understanding of the diverse tools and powerful features available in Photoshop and Illustrator, you can communicate the storyline and visual flow effectively to directors and other team members. Learning frame by frame animation techniques also enhances your ability to depict motion and action in your storyboards.

See salaries and explore the career path for Storyboard Artist

Digital Matte Painter

Digital Matte Painters create photorealistic or stylized environments for films, television, and video games. This course helps those who wish to pursue the role because it provides the fundamentals of lighting, textures, and shapes. You will have a better understanding on how to use textures and shading for more realistic details. Additionally, you will dive right in to more advanced techniques as you learn fundamentals of digital painting using these power design tools.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Matte Painter

Comic Book Artist

Comic Book Artists create the illustrations and sequential art for comic books and graphic novels. The course guides you step by step through the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. As a Comic Book Artist, you can have a better understanding of how to use textures and shading for more realistic details. The course also provides tips on how to draw clean lines.

See salaries and explore the career path for Comic Book Artist

Visual Development Artist

A Visual Development Artist works in animation to define the style and look of a project. The course guides you step by step through the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, through to advanced digital painting techniques used by professionals in major films and videos games. You will learn best practices to better develop and digitally paint character ideas quickly. The skills provided in this course may help you achieve a refined visual language.

See salaries and explore the career path for Visual Development Artist

Game Artist

Game Artists create the visual elements of video games, including characters, environments, and user interfaces. In this role, you will start this course by becoming familiar with the interfaces, while you confidently master the most commonly used Illustrator and Photoshop tools. The course provides character and creature design. Frame by frame animation techniques may also be relevant to your work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Artist

Graphic Designer

Graphic Designers create visual concepts for a variety of media, including logos, websites, and marketing materials. This course may be useful because it teaches students how to create different documents, navigate around documents, and how to work with different brushes. Moreover, the Adobe Illustrator Basics unit helps provide a foundation for design. A mastery of digital illustration tools may help you more efficiently produce your work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Graphic Designer

Production Artist

Production Artists are responsible for preparing digital files for print or online publication. The course provides a firm understanding of the diverse tools and powerful features available in Photoshop and Illustrator. Production Artists can use the course to learn how to navigate around a document, add text to a document, and work with shapes. The course may also be useful because it provides Photoshop ProTips and Tricks.

See salaries and explore the career path for Production Artist

Freelance Artist

Freelance Artists take on various art and design projects for multiple clients. This course emphasizes digital painting and drawing. The course provides a firm understanding of the diverse tools and powerful features available in Photoshop and Illustrator. This may be useful because Freelance Artists often need to tackle different projects, and thus need a variety of skills. The skills offered in this course can help a Freelance Artist broaden their skillset.

See salaries and explore the career path for Freelance Artist

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Digital Painting Master Class : Beginner to Advanced.

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara

Save

While not specifically about digital painting, this book is essential for understanding color theory and lighting principles, which are crucial for creating realistic and believable digital art. It provides a strong foundation in these fundamental concepts, enhancing the student's ability to apply them effectively in Photoshop and Illustrator. Gurney's clear explanations and illustrative examples make it accessible to artists of all levels. It is helpful in providing background knowledge.

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions)

Hardcover

Digital Painting Master Class

Beginner to Advanced

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Traffic lights

Save this course

Reviews summary

Digital painting: tools, techniques, and practice

Activities

Career center

Reading list

Share

Similar courses