Character Creation for Illustrated Books with Watercolor

A course by Lorenzo Sangió , Illustrator

Illustrator. Crema, Italy.
Joined July 2019

Learn to bring the protagonists of your stories to life in watercolor, from the first sketch to the final retouch in Photoshop

99% positive reviews (95)
2,144 students
Audio: Italian
Italian · Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Polish · Dutch

Learn to bring the protagonists of your stories to life in watercolor, from the first sketch to the final retouch in Photoshop

The driving force behind the story of any children's book are its characters: through their movements and their expressions we can tell captivating stories that resonate with young readers. In this course, illustrator Lorenzo Sangió teaches you how to create fun and expressive protagonists for your stories who will put a smile on any reader's face.

With Lorenzo as your guide, learn how to use watercolors to create vibrant characters for picturebooks, from studying expressions and movements to digitally applying the finishing touches. Discover how to transform words into images and use color and illustration to bring the characters in your story to life.

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What will you learn in this online course?

14 lessons & 15 downloads

Material
5 minutes, 14 seconds
Find a way of working
4 minutes, 18 seconds
The study of the character
7 minutes, 51 seconds
Sketch on paper
15 minutes, 52 seconds
  • 99% positive reviews (95)
  • 2,144 students
  • 14 lessons (2h 11m)
  • 15 additional resources (4 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Italian
  • Italian · Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Design a character for a children's book based on one of several briefs and bring them to life with watercolors.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone interested in illustration, regardless of skill level. All you need is a curious mind and the desire to draw fun and expressive characters.

Requirements and materials

The materials for this course include pencils, an eraser, sketch paper, watercolors, and watercolor paper. If you'd like to digitize and retouch your work, you also need a scanner and a computer or a tablet with Photoshop.


Reviews

2,144 Students
95 Reviews
99% Positive ratings

Lorenzo Sangió

A course by Lorenzo Sangió

Teacher Plus
Illustrator

Lorenzo Sangió is a children's book illustrator who comes from a creative family. He became fascinated with drawing at a young age and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brescia. In 2014, he joined forces with several classmates and founded The House Art Project, an exhibit space for young artists in the heart of the city.

After finishing his studies, Lorenzo began to participate in illustration competitions and won several of them, earning himself the title of Best Illustrator in the Città del Sole competition and the Battello a Vapore Award. In 2017, he studied a master's degree in editorial illustration at the Ars in Fabula school in Macerata and finished the course by publishing his final year project with the company Carthusia. Since then, he has been creating illustrations for different publishing houses such as Orecchio Acerbo and Edizioni Corsare.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Presentation
    • Inspirations
  • U2

    From brief to character

    • Material
    • Find a way of working
    • The study of the character
  • U3

    The character comes to life

    • Sketch on paper
    • Study of expressions and movements
    • Definition of the pencil drawing
  • U4

    After the pencil, the color

    • Transfer onto watercolor paper
    • Try color
    • Color with watercolor 1
    • Color with watercolor 2
  • U5

    History and digitization

    • The characters meet
    • Post-production digitization
  • FP

    Final project

    • Character Creation for Illustrated Books with Watercolor

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.
Character Creation for Illustrated Books with Watercolor. Illustration course by Lorenzo Sangió

Character Creation for Illustrated Books with Watercolor

A course by Lorenzo Sangió
Illustrator. Crema, Italy.
Joined July 2019
  • 99% positive reviews (95)
  • 2,144 students