Digital Portraits: Draw Female Characters in Natural Light

A course by user8443207 surname8443207 , Illustrator

Illustrator. Leipzig, Germany.
Joined August 2021

Learn to illustrate striking digital portraits with a focus on lighting effects, textures, and natural details

100% positive reviews (67)
1,801 students
Audio: German
German · Spanish · English · Portuguese · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn to illustrate striking digital portraits with a focus on lighting effects, textures, and natural details

Raide is an illustrator known for her portraits featuring strong female characters, where she celebrates the beauty of both women and nature by combining the two. When she's not sharing her work on her Instagram account, RaidesArt, which has earned her more than 360K followers, she devotes her time to drawing characters and storyboards for publishers and studios like HarperCollins and the German cartoon series Simsala Grimm.

In this course, learn how to illustrate an expressive portrait with a strong emphasis on the use of light. Raide teaches you the basic concepts of drawing faces digitally and adding lighting effects, shares her personal workflow, and guides you through the process of creating your own characters using these tools. By the end, you'll understand the relationship between light and shadow and know how to incorporate realistic lighting into your stylized artwork.

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What will you learn in this online course?

15 lessons & 19 downloads

Creation of a Mood Board
3 minutes, 51 seconds
Introduction to ArtRage
12 minutes, 47 seconds
Anatomy of the Face
9 minutes, 28 seconds
Shadows and Highlights
9 minutes, 50 seconds
  • 100% positive reviews (67)
  • 1,801 students
  • 15 lessons (1h 56m)
  • 19 additional resources (6 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: German
  • German · Spanish · English · Portuguese · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Draw a portrait based on a reference photo with a strong emphasis on the interplay between light and shadow, while focusing on important details such as your character's eyes and the texture of their face, as well as the overall mood and a natural background.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone who wants to draw stylized portraits with realistic lighting effects using digital tools.

Requirements and materials

Basic knowledge of anatomy, especially facial anatomy, and a drawing program would be useful, but not essential.

For materials, you need a computer with access to Photoshop or ArtRage; you could also use a graphics tablet to complete the course.


Reviews

1,801 Students
67 Reviews
100% Positive ratings

user8443207 surname8443207

Raide is an illustrator of German and Portuguese descent who has been drawing since she could hold a pencil; her biggest source of inspiration has always been her twin sister, who shares the same passion. She began posting her art online under the profile RaidesArt and gradually discovered a wealth of inspiration in the other artists she came across in the online community. Her Instagram account currently has more than 360K followers.

Raide specializes in portraits and highly expressive characters. Since graduating with a degree in comprehensive design, she has collaborated on projects for both individuals and companies, including the publishing house HarperCollins and the animated television series Simsala Grimm.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Inspirations
  • U2

    Mood Board and Basic Knowledge

    • Creation of a Mood Board
    • Introduction to ArtRage
    • Anatomy of the Face
    • Basic Colors: Adding Colors to the Face
    • Shadows and Highlights
  • U3

    Making the Portrait

    • Sketching: Composition and Light Source
    • Making the Sketch
    • Base Colors, Shadows, and Highlights
    • Elaborate and Render Individual Elements of the Face
    • Light and Textures
  • U4

    Color Editing and Export

    • Color Editing with Photoshop
    • Final Effects and Details
    • Export for Social Media
  • FP

    Final project

    • Digital Portraits: Draw Female Characters in Natural Light

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
    Plus

    If 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

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.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Digital Portraits: Draw Female Characters in Natural Light. Illustration course by user8443207 surname8443207

Digital Portraits: Draw Female Characters in Natural Light

A course by user8443207 surname8443207
Illustrator. Leipzig, Germany.
Joined August 2021
  • 100% positive reviews (67)
  • 1,801 students