Imaginative Character Illustration with Watercolor
A course by Emma Thrussell, Illustrator
Learn how to create fun illustrated characters from your imagination using watercolors and drawing techniques
“Illustrating a character idea from beginning to end using your imagination is a daunting task, but it is such a rewarding experience.”
Emma Thrussell is a professional illustrator and watercolor specialist who has brought her characters to life for clients including The National Trust, Museum of the Home and Orlean’s House Gallery.
In this online course, Emma guides you through the creative process of bringing your characters to life with watercolor. Join Emma on a fun, experimental journey of creative discovery before embarking on your final project—a quirky and contemporary watercolor illustration of a character of your creation!
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 21 downloads
What's included in this course?
Start out by meeting Emma and learning about her career and sources of inspiration. Discover her journey from drawing monsters as a child, studying animation at university, and becoming a freelance illustrator. Emma shares her biggest influences, including Studio Ghibli, Arthur Rackham, and Hieronymous Bosch, before outlining your final project.
Grab your materials and start drawing with a focus on idea generation. Emma shows you how to find inspiration in basic shapes, household objects and everyday items, then use them as a starting point for creating some character concepts in your sketchbook.
Delve into the world of watercolor techniques and color palettes as you prepare your final project. Pick up the basics of value scales and layering your watercolors, then learn how to add gradients and lighting to your artwork. Choose and experiment with a color palette you want to use for your final project.
Next, develop your character! Emma guides you through the creative process of developing your character, then sketch and paint your work. Refine your work before putting it onto watercolor paper before adding final details in pencil.
Take your completed painting and digitize, edit and format it using Photoshop. To wrap up, Emma shows you how to share your work on social media or via an online portfolio.
- 100% positive reviews (33)
- 1,903 students
- 17 lessons (3h 24m)
- 21 additional resources (5 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a watercolor illustration of a character you have created from scratch.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who wants to experiment with new drawing techniques, create character ideas, and learn the basics of watercolor painting.
Requirements and materials
You will need drawing tools including a sketchbook, colored pencils, watercolor paints, access to editing software like Photoshop and a scanner.
Reviews
Emma Thrussell
A course by Emma Thrussell
Emma Thrussell is a freelance illustrator based in South-East London. After spending her childhood drawing monsters, Emma realized her passion was for character creation and illustration. Emma attained a degree in Animation from Ravensbourne University before discovering her biggest passion of all—watercolors.
Emma’s watercolor artwork has been featured in magazines including Reader's Digest, Pianist, Your Dog and Your Cat. Emma sells greetings cards and prints her work through her online shop. She has also created a wide range of children’s activity trails with clients including Museum of the Home and Orleans House Gallery.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Drawing and Idea Generation
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Tools and Materials
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Drawing with Basic Shapes
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Basic Shapes in Everyday Life
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U3
Watercolour Techniques and Colour Palette
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Values and Layering
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Gradients and Lighting
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Colour Palettes
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U4
Creating the Character!
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Generating and Sketching a Character
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Refining and Transferring the Sketch
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Painting in Watercolours 1
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Painting in Watercolours 2
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Painting in Watercolours 3
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Adding the Last Details
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U5
Digitising the Illustration
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Editing in Photoshop 1
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Editing in Photoshop 2
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Sharing the Artwork Online
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FP
Final project
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Imaginative Character Illustration with Watercolor
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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
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers foundational techniques in watercolour, drawing, and character design, making it accessible to those with little or no prior experience.
You’ll need basic art supplies such as watercolour paints, brushes, hot pressed watercolour paper, a mechanical pencil, black line pens, colored pencils, a sketchbook, and optionally a lightbox and Wacom tablet for digital editing.
You’ll learn drawing exercises, character design, watercolour techniques, composition, colour contrast, storytelling with linework, adding detail with colored pencils, portfolio building, and digital editing in Photoshop.
Yes, the course covers scanning traditional artwork and editing it in Photoshop, including color correction, non-destructive workflows, and preparing images for online sharing or print.
The course provides strategies for observation, experimentation, and combining traditional and digital techniques to help you discover and refine a unique illustration style.
Yes, the course guides you through creating and curating artwork suitable for a professional traditional art portfolio, including advice on presentation and online promotion.
You’ll explore sketching from shapes, using gestures, layering watercolours, adding expressive linework, and incorporating household objects or prompts to inspire unique character designs.
It inspired me to leave expectations behind and trust my imaginatiion :)
I adored this course! The lessons were approachable and Emma is a great instructor.
Un curso maravilloso!!! Me gustó mucho su forma de explicar y las actividades son increíbles!!!
Amazing!
This course really helped me let go of being so serious and just play. Emma is very personable, knowledgeable and supportive. Loved this course!