The 9 Best Digital Art Online Courses

Digital drawing may be defined as the type of art created using graphics software. Instead of using graphite, charcoal, and paper, digital artists draw using a computer and another digital device such as a stylus or mouse. There are also digital drawing programs that provide useful features such as brush sets, layers, color palettes, pressure-sensitive strokes, among other features.

Compared to its traditional art counterpart, digital art is not affected by the numerous limitations associated with the material world. As an artist, the digital world provides you with all the essential tools you need to develop an exceptional piece of art. You can get all the colors the human eye can see, erase without a trace, alter the vividness and brightness, all through a stylus and a graphics tablet at your disposal.

Ultimate Guide to Digital Sketching Beginner to Advanced
Ultimate Guide to Digital Sketching Beginner to Advanced

Ultimate Guide to Digital Sketching: Beginner to Advanced Click to Visit Udemy

What are the Advantages of Digital Art Courses?

Even though some people view technology as a considerable threat to originality because it seeks to replace traditional art-making, there are compelling reasons to believe digital art might be advantageous in its own right. In fact, studies have proven that digital tools in art education enhance artistic development as creativity. Below are some of the advantages associated with digital drawing:

The 9 Best Digital Art Online Courses
The 9 Best Digital Art Online Courses

Related Posts You May Enjoy:

.

* Digital art saves lots of space: Paintings and drawings will always take a lot of physical space. The pieces of paper you accumulate, as you draw coupled with drawing materials, can take up lots of your space. On the other hand, digital art only takes up hard drive space on your computer. And with the accessible cloud storage technology, there is nearly limitless space out there for you to create and store your art pieces.

Digital drawing is perfect for beginners: If you are an aspiring artist out there, digital drawing offers you a great platform to kickstart your career in art. After all, you won't have to endure hours of rubbing or have to screw up pieces of paper on your walls. In the digital world, there are countless applications and software that will allow you to achieve many features and drawing tricks. Of course, this is not to say that digital art is superior to its traditional drawing counterpart. We are only saying that these fantastic digital functionalities can be a great way to start learning and mastering various artistic styles and build up a little confidence as you find your feet in the art world.

* Digital art can be time-consuming: Drawing using graphite pencils and oil painting are some of my favorite art mediums. From the different textures that you can possibly create to the pencils to the paint's smell, you'll need lots of your time to set up all these and come up with your final piece. To be more precise, you'll spend lots of time mixing colors and cleaning paint pallets and paintbrushes afterward. However, with digital art painting, you can quickly start a digital oil painting in a few seconds, and when you are done, you can equally clean up everything at the click of a button.

* More exploration: With digital art, there are nearly endless experimental possibilities. While digital art may seem like a breeze in the ocean, it certainly isn't! This is especially true if you want to venture into professional digital drawing. No matter why you are interested in digital art, we have got you covered. Thanks to the advent of technology, especially the internet, several digital online courses, and classes can help you develop all the necessary skills to become a professional digital artist.

What Are the Benefits of Digital Art Online Courses?

First and foremost, it is imperative to note that digital art is the result of ever-evolving technology. Today, digital art represents more advanced possibilities ranging from 3D model animation to unique paintings compared to traditional art. This article is the property of improvedrawing.com. Aspiring creatives have better access to learn, improve their artistic skills, and create fantastic art. 

In classrooms and online, you can learn to draw caricatures, cartoons, digital shading techniques, frame-by-frame editing, among other things. This increased accessibility opens the door for many aspiring artists to come through even more. With access to numerous online materials and courses, creative art prospects can start to showcase their ideas and works out to the world better than ever before.

It is not surprising that numerous artists are embracing the movement. A significant number of them now think that it might soon surpass the popularity of conventional art. We can only postulate that digital drawing could become the primary source of art in the near future. This conclusion shouldn't shock because many online platforms are now offering courses, lessons, and tutorials in digital art. Below are some of the reasons why you should master your digital art trade through online courses:

* It provides a chance to interact with top industry mentors: The internet makes it very possible for you to connect with proven digital artists who know and understand what it takes to become a professional digital creative. Regardless of your location or time zone, online learning allows you to access and interact with mentors working in top game and film studios worldwide. You will have the rare opportunity to learn from accomplished digital art experts who have won international awards and accolades and are currently working in the industry. This could be a game-changer in your digital art learning journey.

* Highly flexible scheduling: Whether studying in the evenings or full time, having the flexibility to plan your lessons and study time can make a significant difference. Most of us have work or family commitments, and attending online digital art classes will ultimately allow you to study wherever, whenever.

* Fewer distractions, increased engagement: Studying in an online environment makes for a more dedicated and uninterrupted learning experience. After all, you are not competing for the tutor's attention, and you are also more comfortable asking questions in such an intimate group setting. This type of environment is really what you need to become a pro digital artist!

What are Some of the Best Digital Art Online Courses?

As earlier explained, there are lots of digital art online courses. This means that the prospect of finding the best online course that suits your needs and preferences can pose a bit of a challenge. Our team of digital drawing experts came up with this exclusive list of the best digital art online courses after conducting thorough research. Our list features both paid and free courses to learn and master the tricks of digital arts. What's more, these courses are suited for beginners, intermediates, and experts.

Udemy: Drawing and Painting on the iPad with Procreate

Drawing and Painting on iPad with Procreate
Drawing and Painting on iPad with Procreate

Udemy is arguably today's best online course platform, where you can learn about anything. There are more than a hundred thousand courses on Udemy, and some focus solely on professional skills, whereas others focus on learning hobbies, even things such as learning how to become a pro of video gaming! One of the best things about this particular course is that you'll benefit from good video quality and audio quality. It is effortless to hear and understand what the instructor says, and the clips are crisp enough to clearly see everything on your screen. Click Here to Check Price on Udemy: Drawing and Painting on the iPad with Procreate

Before you enroll for this particular course, you'll need an iPad, preferably a newer version, such as iPad Air, iPad Pro, or any recent iPad Mini. What's more, you will need to download and install the Procreate app from the app store. You'll also need some basic familiarity with the iPad.

After going through this particular course, you will have an in-depth understanding of Procreate. Procreate is one of the best digital drawing apps for the iPad. You'll also learn how to create and import custom brushes, create Speedraw videos, which you can post online, among other things. Above all, you'll have a basic understanding of how to compose and create a painting.

Painting is so much fun, and this particular digital online course makes it very easy with the iPad Pro. Thanks to the help of the Procreate software, you will pick up tons of painting and drawing techniques that will potentially help you to draw nearly any subject, anywhere. 

The iPad and Procreate are amazing digital art devices that are perfect for artists on the go, those who love to paint during their free time, and established artists who would want to enhance their craft even further. Painting and sketching in the digital art world are made easy thanks to the iPad and Procreate that turns the daunting task of making an illustration into a highly exciting activity.

In this course, you'll have access to more than twenty video demonstrations so you'll be able to watch how to draw several features, and you'll also be equipped with tons of straightforward painting and drawing techniques that you can incorporate into your art-making journey right away. Overall, this is a fantastic online digital art class, worth your time and money.

Udemy: Complete Beginner's Guide to Digital Art

Complete Beginners Guide to Digital Art
Complete Beginners Guide to Digital Art

If you are just starting to learn the basics of digital art, then this particular is perfect for you. It is an in-depth course that will propel you from a novice to become a professional with excellent skills. The skills that you will learn in this course will potentially give you a solid understanding of what is required in the digital art arena. Click Here To Find Out Price at Udemy: Complete Beginner's Guide to Digital Art

Some of the things that you'll learn in this course include the basics of line drawing, the relationships between shapes and lines, the basics of any digital art software, how to create a basic human figure, how to make simple shapes, how to use shapes and lines to draw from observation, the basics of digital coloring as well as how to use sketchbook pro. You will need either a tablet or computer, paper, and pencil only. Being a beginner course, you don't need any prior knowledge of art! Your instructor will take you through everything.

It is imperative to note that this course can be downloaded freely and is one of the most popular course materials on Udemy. The free download version features 7 hours on-demand video, four articles, full lifetime access, 80 downloadable resources, access on TV, mobile, assignments, and a certificate upon completion.

It is an introduction to not only digital art but art in general. It is an in-depth course that will dramatically boost your digital drawing skills, transforming you into a professional.

Udemy: A Pro's Guide to Digital Comic Book Coloring

A Pros Guide to Digital Coloring
A Pros Guide to Digital Comic Book Coloring

This is another highly comprehensive digital art drawing course that will take everything from the basics of layering to finishing pieces with unique effects. You'll also learn something about color theory, techniques for adding color to line art in different styles, tips on portfolio building, among other vital digital coloring techniques. What's more, you'll learn which layers work best for different effects and save time using different tricks, tips, and shortcuts that are critical to working in the production of comic art. Click Here to Visit Udemy: A Pro's Guide to Digital Comic Book Coloring

Regarding what you will need for this course, a graphics tablet is strongly recommended. It is also imperative to mention that photoshop is applied in every single session of this particular course. As an extensive course, you will need to tune your mind and be ready to learn. The course covers so many things.

This course will not only teach you how to color in comics but will equally teach you how to become an excellent storyteller. It will equip you with new skills to expand on your knowledge of sequential comic book coloring. The course will teach you all you need to know about the process of coloring in Photoshop, from the very basics of layer setup to special effects and post-coloring printing prep. There is an emphasis on learning the skills to make your pages more appropriate, leading the reader's eye to the significant aspects, and being an excellent storyteller throughout.

You only need to enroll for the course and gain instant access to entire course materials. Every single lesson is very easy to follow, and there are more than 1000 tutorials. It is also important to note that the lessons build on each other, so it is essential to go through all the lessons to ensure you understand everything as needed.

SmArt School:

Smart School
Smart School

Founded in 2011, Smart school has grown to become one of the most popular online art schools around the globe. This platform works with some of the best teachers who are at the very top of their fields. Smart Art school boasts an illustration-focused teaching method with a seriously impressive roster of tutors featuring Todd Lockwood, Donato Giancola, and Greg Manchess, alongside a broad selection of special guests who are proven professionals in the art industry.

This top-notch online course material was founded by Rebecca Leveille, whose main aim is to bring some of the most recognized, celebrated illustrations and artists to help budding artists learn the basics of art. This platform will allow you to interact freely with some of the world's best artists in a very personal, productive way to the great benefit of your work and possible successful future in the illustration world or art industry.

As opposed to the more conventional online school structure that usually resolves around pre-recorded tutorial clips coupled with critique sessions, this particular digital art school offers its lessons live through the help of GoToMeeting. Classes are taught over fourteen sessions for three months. Even though a significant number of the courses focus on illustration techniques and in a more traditional setting, you will also have access to Bootcamp classes that are ideal for new students who haven't had any interaction with comprehensive classes on how to draw figures or any other basic digital drawing experiences.

Udemy: Learn to Become a Digital Artist using Corel Painter

Learn to Become a Digital Artist Using Corel Painter
Learn to Become a Digital Artist Using Corel Painter

Do you have what it takes to become a qualified digital artist? After enrolling in this course, you'll have all the necessary tools needed to become a pro digital creative. The course is designed for anyone who loves digital art, ranging from web and graphic designers to photographers, animators, and new to Corel painter and art enthusiasts. Click Here to View Price on Udemy: Learn to Become a Digital Artist using Corel Painter

For those new to digital art drawings, Corel Painter refers to a raster-based digital art software designed to simulate as accurately as possible the behavior as well as the appearance of traditional media associated with printmaking, painting, and drawing. It is a functional creative tool meant to be used in real-time by professional creatives. 

It provides a spectrum of traditional artists' tools and materials. With the help of a mouse or a graphics tablet, you can quickly reproduce the effect of physical drawing and painting media such as color pencil, charcoal, oil, or watercolor. Simply put, it tries to emulate traditional media's visual elements and is an essential tool in the digital art world.

Some of the things you'll learn in this course include how to expertly create and modify objects on the canvas, how to create art using digital brush tools, how to create and modify painter projects, sketch and paint a storyboard theme and understand how color should be used appropriately in the digital art world. Some of the essential materials you'll need are a copy of Corel Painter, preferably the 2015 version, even though older versions may also suffice. There are no skill prerequisites required.

Skillshare: Ink Illustration Techniques in Procreate 

The course will take you through what it takes to become a digital artist. The essential skills you will learn in this course will help you use painter more confidently and create fantastic art pieces. It is also important to note that Udemy learned to become a digital artist using Corel Painter free download, which includes five hours of on-demand video, eight articles, and fifty-five downloadable materials. Click Here To Check Price on Skillshare.

For most concept artists and illustrators, Procreate is the ultimate program to design and create mind-blowing art. If you were not aware, this is typically a simple program or app available on iPad and other versions of the iPhone. However, you'll need an iPad and an Apple pencil to use it properly. Overall, it is an easy to use application and is also relatively more affordable. Procreate is popular among digital artists because it is designed to correctly mimic the experience of creating art using traditional materials, but with the added advantage of instant copy, paste, erase and cut functions.

In this particular SkillShare course, you will learn how to use dots and ink lines to add shadows, depth, and highlights to your work. What's more, you will be taken through various tips and techniques for hatching, stippling, cross hatching, and cover something on how to add bold colors to your linework to add contrast and variation and make your art stand out online and in print.

First, the illustrator will create a playful drawing from scratch, before exploring several easy ways to use hatching to define shadow and highlights on the object. After this, you'll be provided tips on how to get your crosshatching angles and line thickness correctly to ensure you don't end up with an inky mess along the way. Before you enroll for this particular digital art course, you will need to equip yourself with tools such as an iPad, inking pens, stylus, and pieces of paper.

SkillShare: Isometric Illustration in Procreate: Design Your Dream Room:

An isometric illustration will allow you to easily present a three-dimensional object on a flat two-dimensional surface. Before websites started to use isometric illustrations, they were previously used by technical illustrators, engineers, and architects. Today, isometric illustrations remain the most popular design trends simply because they make your artwork look amazing. Click Here To Check Course Details at Skillshare.

In this class, you will be provided with a broad range of hot Procreate tips to design your dream isometric space. What's more, you will be equipped with a collection of free Procreate brushes to help you sail through the course effortlessly. Some of the critical topics that are comprehensively covered in this course include understanding isometric perspective, how to use real-life references creativity, how to use an appealing pastel color palette, Procreate speedpaint as well as tips on the tools, the canvas specs and Procreate brushes.

This class is suited for beginner artists, though some basic understanding of the Procreate app is needed and can be a plus. For highly experienced digital artists, this course will inspire you to create striking isometric illustrations for your art portfolio. Your completion of this course will help you have a better understanding of perspective and learn how to expertly translate space into an illustration. For this course, some of the tools you will need include an iPad, an Apple pencil, and the Procreate 5 application. Of course, you can also use any illustration software you are familiar with.

SkillShare: Character Painting- Design and Render like a Pro:

Even highly successful digital artists have much to learn, and to avoid stagnating and being left behind, as a creative, you need to push yourself to the limit and improve on your digital drawing skills. And that doesn't mean learning new software techniques or making sure you have the best pencils at your disposal. You also need to refresh and refine your core art skills to ensure you can effortlessly create brilliant visuals, whatever your medium. This course will help you achieve just that! Click Here to Check Course Price on Skillshare.

Digital painting is a massive subject in art and is very popular nowadays. However, finding excellent beginner-level courses and tutorials on this particular subject is not that easy. And this is where the character painting skillshare course proves handy.

If you are an artist with a passion for designing and creating cool-looking characters, this course is what you need to realize your dream. It is an amazing and highly detailed course that will get you where you want to get with your digital art career. In this course, you will be taught all the professional level tricks and techniques that will demystify the process of creating character art using Adobe Photoshop. The entire course will be covered in an easy to understand, step by step process, allowing you to master all the essential digital painting techniques that will have you surprised at how gorgeous, realistic and full of personality your digital character art has become.

However, this course offers so much more than just demonstrating painting techniques and tricks. You'll also be taught nearly everything you need to know to start thinking like a professional character concept designer. Simply put, the experts behind this course offer responsive support as well as other loads of other vital resources to allow you to take your work in digital art to new heights.

Udemy: The Ultimate Digital Painting Course – Beginner to Advanced

Here is another useful ad extensive course worth your time and investment. You will learn digital painting techniques, drawing fundamentals, color theory, photo-realistic painting, how to enhance concept art and perspective. The ultimate digital painting course will teach you how to create advanced art that will stand up as a professional job. It is a course that will provide you with all the vital skills needed to advance in the world of digital painting. Click Here to Check Price On Udemy: The Ultimate Digital Painting Course – Beginner to Advanced

The course is set up to promptly take you through a detailed digital drawing process and painting in a variety of styles. It will equip you with the knowledge needed to create beautiful designs and illustrations. In general, you'll have access to 18 sections of the course that will teach you the fundamentals of drawing and digital painting.

Just like any other detailed digital painting course, this course starts with the basics. Here, you'll cover how to use the most important device in the digital painting world, the brush. After this, you will be taken through an in-depth understanding of the drawing fundamentals. If you didn't know, fundamentals are the most essential part of creating professional art pieces. You'll learn everything that ranges from line fundamentals to 3D form. And once you have mastered the drawing fundamentals, you'll now learn how perspective works and how you should incorporate it into your art. You'll go through one, two, and three-point perspectives and many other essential aspects that go into perspective.

After this, your attention will be turned toward how color and light work together. In this section, you will be shown how to select realistic colors for your shadows and highlights. What's more, you'll learn how light interacts with different surfaces. By this time, you would have known how to paint full still life paintings. Painting still, life is a vital ingredient of becoming a professional artist. Next, the course will take you through color theory and how you should choose amazing color pallets. Choosing colors is usually a tricky part of digital painting, perhaps because there are millions of colors. Thankfully, this course will equip you to find nearly everything you need to become a pro in regards to choosing colors.

And you have mastered the color theory, the focus will now turn to how to control your brush and mix colors in a series of highly enjoyable projects. Next, the course will cover how to paint different materials and textures, ranging from translucent materials to rough textures. You'll round off things by learning how to paint people. You'll cover everything from the nose, eyes, ears, mouth, and entire portraits. At this stage, you’ll be ready to start painting landscapes. As you may have seen, this is a highly extensive course that requires lots of determination and focus. In terms of requirements, you'll need a digital painting software, drawing tablet with a stylus, and the motivation to learn!

The Bottom Line:

As we mentioned earlier, choosing the best online digital art class can be confusing and intimidating, especially if you are just starting to find your feet in art. There are potentially endless video courses online that guarantee to make you an accomplished artist. Thankfully, we have done the difficult task of researching the best online digital art courses, and have come up with these nine courses. With these courses at your disposal, you'll get top-tier digital art education online, refining your skills with proven instructors who have proven their ability in art at the global stage.

Ian

Ian Walsh is the creator and author of improvedrawing.com and an Art teacher based in Merseyside in the United Kingdom. He holds a BA in Fine Art and a PGCE in teaching Art and Design. He has been teaching Art for over 24 Years in different parts of the UK. When not teaching Ian spending his time developing this website and creating content for the improvedrawing channel.

Recent Posts

The 9 Best Digital Art Online Courses