Hidden Characters: Illustration and Character Design from Real Life
A course by Profe , Designer and Illustrator
Design characters from everyday objects using drawing, color, and illustration in Illustrator.
This course with illustrator and designer Alfredo Rios Aldana shows you how to turn the ordinary things around you into characters with their own quirks and attitude.
Alfredo starts with a simple idea: slow down, look closely, and let the shapes you see spark new characters. You’ll sketch what’s in front of you, break objects down into basic forms, and use those shapes to build characters that actually feel alive.
Along the way, you’ll look at composition, character basics, shape language, and color. Alfredo walks you through his workflow, from loose sketches and tiny thumbnails to a finished vector illustration in Illustrator. You’ll try out different color combinations and learn tricks for pulling palettes from photos or references you like.
By the end, you’ll have a finished character illustration, a method you can return to whenever you’re stuck for ideas, and maybe a more playful way of looking at the world around you.
What will you learn in this online course?
6 lessons & 5 downloads
- 14 students
- 6 lessons (58m)
- 5 additional resources (1 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, German, English, Italian, Portuguese
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software & tools for this course
Adobe IllustratorWho is this online course for?
This course is for beginners and mid‑level illustrators, designers, and visual‑arts students. It's also for anyone creative who feels stuck or easily distracted, likes keeping a sketchbook, enjoys noticing everyday objects, and wants to turn simple shapes into lively, colorful characters.
Requirements and materials
You don’t need much experience. Knowing the basics of drawing and having a light touch with Illustrator helps, and a bit of curiosity goes a long way. Bring a small sketchbook, a few pens or pencils you like using, and a computer with Illustrator for the digital part.
Profe
A course by Profe
Alfredo Rios, better known as El Profe, is a designer and illustrator with more than ten years' experience. He has participated in a variety of illustration projects in varying degrees of complexity, from geometric illustrations with basic figures, to more complex composition and graphic illustrations.
He is currently an illustrator at Pictoline, where he has learned how to produce complete, high-quality illustrations in very little time. This process has taught him how to optimize basic tools while always pursuing the best results.
In 2020, he teamed up with Maga Rey and cofounded "Wild Fontana," a brand where they experiment with illustration and its application on textiles to create decorative pieces for the home.
Content
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Hidden Characters: Illustration and Character Design from Real Life
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Introduction: Observation and Inspiration
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The essence of objects
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Finding the Hidden Character
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Colors
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Illustrating the Character
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Finishing the character and saying goodbye
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Final project
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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 courses are online classes that allow you to learn new skills and create incredible projects. All our courses include the opportunity to share your work with other students and/or teachers, creating an active learning community. We offer different formats:
Original Courses: Complete classes that combine videos, texts, and educational materials to complete a specific project from start to finish.
Basics Courses: Specialized training where you master specific software tools step by step.
Specialization Courses: Learning paths with various expert teachers on the same topic, perfect for becoming a specialist by learning from different approaches.
Guided Courses: Practical experiences ideal for directly acquiring specific skills.
Intensive Courses (Deep Dives): New creative processes based on artificial intelligence tools in an accessible format for in-depth and dynamic understanding.
All deep dive courses are 100% online, so once they're published, deep dive 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 deep dive courses are divided into different modules. 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 other students, as well as share your work and your final project, creating a community around the deep dive courses.
You can redeem the deep dive courses you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
Adobe Illustrator