World Building & Compositional Techniques for Illustration
A course by Ben Newman , Illustrator
Learn to create visual worlds for your characters and ideas to live in by exploring simple, graphical techniques and digital tools.
Learn to create visual worlds for your characters and ideas to live in by exploring simple, graphical techniques and digital tools.
‘A vital part of learning is to be engaged and entertained’. That’s at the core of what Illustrator Ben Newman does. As a children’s book illustrator, he endeavors to make complex information fun for everyone with engaging worlds and characters, as well as bold shapes, colors, and composition. Ben has worked with the likes of The New Yorker and the BBC, but his true passion is educational books and games for children.
In this online course, Ben teaches you the foundational aspects of composition building by stripping illustrations back to basics and gradually introducing details to keep your creativity alive. Using Ben’s tactics, you will create a busy and inspiring set populated by unique characters.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 11 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (45)
- 1,140 students
- 15 lessons (2h 18m)
- 11 additional resources (0 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?
This course’s project is to create an exciting one-page illustration of a world for your characters to live in using simple graphical techniques and timed exercises.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who wants to take their understanding of composition to the next level.
Requirements and materials
Students need drawing materials and access to Photoshop.
Reviews
A course by Ben Newman
Ben Newman is a freelance illustrator based in the UK. He has worked with the likes of the New Yorker, Apple, BBC, and Google - but his true passion lies in illustrating children’s books and games. Inspired by children’s space books he flipped through while working in a bookshop, he co-created a book series with his friend, Dr. Dominic Walliman, called Professor Astro Cat. It has since been translated into 28 languages and has been turned into spin-off series for different age groups. He has also written two books inspired by his sons — the sounds Wilbur made to imitate crocodiles motivated him to write Snip Snap, while Rumble Tumble was inspired by Ernie’s frequent accidents while learning to walk.
Growing up, Ben loved watching Pink Panther and Tom & Jerry reruns on television and reading American Superhero comics. Those references have stuck with him throughout his career and he hopes his characters and worlds will be passed down to the next generation in the same way.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Foundation and Analysis
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Contextual Elements in a Story
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Decoding Images
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Defining Your Project
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U3
Conceptualizing and Creating
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Location
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Composition
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Characters
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Refining the Characters and Their Interaction
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World Building with Shapes 1
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World Building with Shapes 2
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Introducing Colour
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U4
Finishing Touches, Textures, and Shadows
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Texture and 2D Depth
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Patient Changes
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Finishing Touches
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FP
Final project
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World Building & Compositional Techniques for Illustration
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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
ikidesigns
Very interesting course, I loved every part of it. The teacher is excellent. I have now new tools to draw colorful and captivating worlds. Thank you!
lucienesoutto
Ótimo conteúdo!
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ksvw
Ben's course it really enjoyable and a huge amount of fun to do. His explanations are really informative and comprehensive, his little insights valuable. Would definitely recommend!
cher_belle
Learnt so many skills to apply to my own illustrations. Highly recommended.
anne.darling
PlusFun course.