Digital Painting of Characters in Photoshop

Learn digital painting techniques to create detailed character portraits by exploring brushes, colors, values, and designs
Digital painting in Photoshop opens endless opportunities when it comes to character design and illustration. For digital illustrator Fernanda Suarez, it’s allowed her to create striking protagonists for board games like Dead of Winter or Ashes, as well as other clients like Bloomsbury Publishing and Simon & Schuster Inc.

In this online course, she teaches you how to illustrate captivating characters in Photoshop. Discover Fernanda’s creative process when imagining fascinating characters and bringing them to life on the screen. Learn to communicate your ideas and emotions through digital art.

What will you learn in this online course?
Meet Fernanda Suarez, a digital illustrator, character designer, and your teacher for this course. Hear about the creative journey that led her to the world of illustration. She also shares the influences that have shaped her work.

Start by imagining your protagonist: what’s their story and personality? Then decide what mood you want for your piece. Explore the basics of light and shadow before setting the atmosphere. Fernanda teaches you how to build a coherent color palette, and use your digital brushes.

Time to start painting! First, sketch your human figure and give shape to their composition. Then set a good foundation for your image by applying the base colors.

Next, move on to painting the face, hair, clothing, and accessories before working on the background. Fernanda shows you how to add texture to your image as well as other painting tips. Finalize your illustration by adding the last touches. To wrap up the course, Fernanda shares her advice on how to promote and develop your art.

What is this course’s project?
Illustrate a detailed character in Photoshop from scratch.

Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone interested in learning digital painting for character portraits.

Requirements and materials
Basic knowledge of Photoshop and the ability to draw the human figure is required.

To take this course, you need access to Photoshop, or similar software.