Visual Storytelling for Compelling Illustrations
A course by R. Kikuo Johnson , Illustrator and Cartoonist
Learn how to tell a complete story in a single image by exploring narrative illustration and drawing exercises in the style and medium of choice
Learn how to tell a complete story in a single image by exploring narrative illustration and drawing exercises in the style and medium of choice
Using creative illustration techniques, you can transform people, places, and objects into compelling images that tell stories. R. Kikuo Johnson is an illustrator and cartoonist whose goal is to do just that. He has collaborated with clients including Airbnb and Coca-Cola, and had his work featured in publications like The New York Times, and The New Yorker.
In this online course, he teaches you how to tell a complete story in a single image, in whatever style or medium you choose. By combining narrative concepts with drawing techniques, you’ll create images that truly speak louder than words.
What will you learn in this online course?
13 lessons & 22 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (39)
- 1,597 students
- 13 lessons (2h 18m)
- 22 additional resources (7 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
Recommended software for this course
Adobe PhotoshopWhat is this course's project?
Create an illustration that tells a complete, easy-to-read story in a single image.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who wants to expand their illustration skills and explore the world of narrative imagery.
Requirements and materials
Basic drawing experience is recommended.
Kikuo uses Photoshop and a Wacom tablet, but you are free to use your favorite medium.
Reviews
A course by R. Kikuo Johnson
R Kikuo Johnson is a cartoonist and illustrator from Hawaii. He fell in love with drawing at a young age as a way to tell stories and went on to study illustration at art school where he started his first graphic novel, Night Fisher. After graduating, he published a second novel and landed his first major illustration job—a two-page illustration in The New Yorker.
Since then, Kikuo has collaborated with clients including Airbnb, The Atlantic, Coca-Cola, The Guggenheim Foundation, Marvel Comics, The New York Times, Newsweek, Nike, Puma, and Penguin Random House. His illustrations have earned two gold medals from the Society Of Illustrators, and his most recent graphic novella, No One Else, won the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Storytelling Techniques for Narrative Illustration
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9 Tricks to Telling a Story in One Image
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Understanding the Problem
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Researching
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U3
Starting to Draw
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Sketching 1
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Sketching 2
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Reference Photos with Yourself as a Model
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Coloring the Sketch
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Linework
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The Final Colored Illustration
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U4
Broader Applications to Your Storytelling Skills
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Single-Image Storytelling: Comics and Graphic Novels
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Professional Advice
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FP
Final project
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Visual Storytelling for Compelling Illustrations
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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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.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Adobe Photoshop
ioanna.konstantinova
Really impressed with this course! Such an amazing teacher :)
limoncitouwu.com
Storytelling is always a constant struggle for me. I always want a cool image, but also that wide, sweeping cinematic feel that hooks you in the moment within a picture. R. Kikuo Johnson's course helps, but only if you put the lessons down on paper. Thumbnails and sketches of ideas as frequent practice is a habit I've developed to practice the 9 storytelling tips.
pacella389
Very useful and inspiring course, I learned a lot, would reccomend it.
garfud
Storytelling is always a constant struggle for me. I always want a cool image, but also that wide, sweeping cinematic feel that hooks you in the moment within a picture. R. Kikuo Johnson's course helps, but only if you put the lessons down on paper. Thumbnails and sketches of ideas as frequent practice is a habit I've developed to practice the 9 storytelling tips.
seliktar2
great!