Realistic Embroidered Portraiture: Tell Stories with Color

A course by Nneka Jones , Mixed-Media Artist

Mixed-Media Artist. Tampa, United States.
Joined May 2021

Learn how to apply a painterly approach to color and stitching to develop monochromatic portraits with a meaningful message behind them

98% positive reviews (54)
1,308 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn how to apply a painterly approach to color and stitching to develop monochromatic portraits with a meaningful message behind them

Through a combination of carefully chosen textures and colors, you can create realistic portraits with textile art. This creative potential is what drew mixed-media artist Nneka Jones to the craft. She is known for her experimental embroidery, which is inspired by her Caribbean heritage and tells important stories of social injustice. Her work has been featured on the cover of TIME magazine and in the Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

In this course, Nneka teaches you how to apply a painterly approach to color and stitching to develop realistic portraits with meaningful messages behind them. Explore experimental techniques to embroider monochromatic works of art that inspire positive change. Discover a new way to express yourself and craft contemporary portraits with thread.

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What will you learn in this online course?

13 lessons & 19 downloads

Materials
5 minutes, 18 seconds
Color Theory
9 minutes, 46 seconds
Editing Your Image
14 minutes, 9 seconds
Color Mapping
10 minutes, 23 seconds
  • 98% positive reviews (54)
  • 1,308 students
  • 13 lessons (2h 3m)
  • 19 additional resources (9 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create an embroidered portrait with a monochromatic color scheme using a variety of techniques from color mapping to blocking and blending.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

This course is for anyone with an interest in learning to create embroidered portraits and making art that tells a story.

Requirements and materials

Previous experience with photo editing software would be beneficial.

In terms of materials, you will need needles, thread, and other materials specified by the teacher in the course, as well as access to a printer.


Reviews

1,308 Students
54 Reviews
98% Positive ratings

Nneka Jones

A course by Nneka Jones

Teacher Plus
Mixed-Media Artist

Nneka Jones is a contemporary mixed-media artist from Trinidad and Tobago who is currently based in Florida. She was fascinated with drawing, painting, and sculpting portraits of notable Caribbean figures as a child and went on to study for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the US.

Since then, she has become a multidisciplinary artist, working with a variety of materials from embroidery to paint. Nneka considers herself an activist artist and uses her artwork to evoke positive change in society and highlight topics that can be uncomfortable to vocalize. Her work has been featured on the cover of TIME magazine and part of the permanent collection at the Tampa Museum of Art. She was also invited to be a keynote speaker for Adobe Max and has worked with clients including The Washington Post.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    Preparation: Knowledge and Materials

    • Materials
    • Color Theory
    • Storytelling through Color and Portraiture
  • U3

    Photo Editing and Portrait Production

    • Getting Your Foundation Portrait
    • Editing Your Image
    • Color Mapping
    • Transferring Image
  • U4

    Stitching, Blending, and Refining

    • Color Blocking
    • Redefining and Blending Stitches
    • Adding Details with Highlights
    • Background and Texture Elements
  • FP

    Final project

    • Realistic Embroidered Portraiture: Tell Stories with Color

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.
Realistic Embroidered Portraiture: Tell Stories with Color. Illustration, and Craft course by Nneka Jones

Realistic Embroidered Portraiture: Tell Stories with Color

A course by Nneka Jones
Mixed-Media Artist. Tampa, United States.
Joined May 2021
  • 98% positive reviews (54)
  • 1,308 students