Expressive Gesture Drawing and Portraiture
A course by Graceina Samosir, Artist
Learn how to illustrate an artistic collage filled with detail and movement by exploring a variety of drawing techniques including charcoal, chalk, and ink
“I want people to be captivated by the infinite possibilities of drawing and to explore their life, relationships, and community,”
Graceina Samosir is a professional artist whose work has appeared in magazines such as Art House Press, El Malpensante, and InCorrecto. Her illustrations and paintings have also been showcased in multiple exhibitions, including a solo exhibition in 2018.
In this online course, Graceina shows you how to create a collage filled with rich lines, tones, and character. Study themes like self-portraiture and the human form, and learn to use brush pens, charcoal pencils, and chalk pastels to develop captivating drawings, before transposing them into a unique digital collage in Photoshop
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 25 downloads
What's included in this course?
Meet Graceina. Learn about her life, from her early years in Indonesia to studying fine art in Canada and Colombia, and her biggest influences including Colombian painter Nicolás Uribe.
Collect your materials and study Graceina’s reference images for style tips. Delve into some practical exercises and collate an image library in preparation for your final project.
Tackle different subject matters using prompts. Start with the human form and self-portraiture, scenes with multiple characters, and how to portray movement. Use materials including charcoal pencils and chalk pastels to draw a variety of images, and integrate color and monochrome to add detail to your art.
Gather your drawing and scan and digitize them into a collage. Make minor edits in Photoshop, then assemble and rearrange your drawings. To wrap up, Graceina shows you how to prep your completed image for sharing online.
- 95% positive reviews (56)
- 2,545 students
- 20 lessons (4h 20m)
- 25 additional resources (11 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Develop a series of drawings using different techniques and materials, and transpose them into a digital collage in Photoshop.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who is enthusiastic about drawing.
Requirements and materials
You only need basic drawing skills to take this course.
In terms of materials, you will need drawing tools specified by Graceina in the course, and access to Adobe Photoshop.
Reviews
Graceina Samosir
A course by Graceina Samosir
Graceina Samosir is a professional artist and illustrator based in Ottawa, Canada. She majored in fine/visual arts in Colombia and Canada, during which time she regularly shared her projects online, which led to her selling her first piece of art.
Since then, Graceina’s work has been showcased in fourteen exhibitions, including her first solo exhibition in 2018. Her illustrations have been featured in magazines including Art House Press, El Malpensante, and InCorrecto, and she sells private commissions through her website. She also shares her work with over 26K followers on Instagram.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Preparation
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Materials and Preparation
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Introducing My Drawings and Collage Work
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Building an Image Bank or Repertoire
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U3
Prompts
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The Human Form 1
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The Human Form 2
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A Self-Portrait 1
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A Self-Portrait 2
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Drawing a Scene 1
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Drawing a Scene 2
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Drawing Someone in Action 1
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Drawing Someone in Action 2
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U4
The Collage
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Gathering Your Drawings
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The Digital Composition 1
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The Digital Composition 2
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The Digital Composition 3
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The digital composition 4
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The Digital Composition 5
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Sharing Your Work
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FP
Final project
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Expressive Gesture Drawing and Portraiture
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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 intermediate artists who want to expand their drawing, mark making, and mixed media techniques with both traditional and digital workflows.
You'll need a brush pen, graphite pencils, chalk pastels, erasers, high-quality drawing paper, a scanner or camera for digitizing, and access to Photoshop or similar digital editing software.
You’ll learn observational drawing, expressive mark making, layering materials, building a photo reference library, digitizing artwork, and creating narrative-driven collages using both traditional and digital techniques.
Basic familiarity with Photoshop or similar digital editing tools is helpful but not required. The course provides step-by-step guidance for digitizing and editing drawings.
The course includes structured exercises and practical tips for building and maintaining a daily drawing habit to foster consistent artistic growth.
Yes, the course covers preparing, formatting, and optimizing digital collages and drawings for effective sharing on social media, including carousel posts and engaging presentation strategies.
You’ll explore gesture and contour drawing, crosshatching, value scales, layering ink and chalk, exaggerating proportions, and expressive mark making with various media.
amazing!
Her art was beautiful, I tried to do the same with brushes she recommended and I failed to get fine lines like hers. I did get some water brush pens as shown in the materials PDF file and video and the lines were too thick. Why did she neglect to mention the size of the nibs or brushes?
I love her playful value scale.
Enjoyed learning about the instructor's drawing process!
Es excelente el trabajo de Graceina y el proceso que aquí comparte!