Class outline

In this class, you will learn how to combine gouache and colouring pencils to create your own character illustrations. You will also learn about the materials we are going to use, some colour theory, and how to use mark making to generate new ideas and help with your character design.

This class is for everyone from beginners to experienced illustrators and artists.

One of the aims this class is to have fun with colour and paint and overcome the fear of the blank page. These skills are useful not only for creating character illustrations, but in every area of your creative practice!

You will need gouache paints, soft colouring pencils, round brushes, and hot pressed watercolour paper.

If you're interested in seeing my work, you can find it on Instagram or www.celinemoya.com

Make sure to check out the other great illustration classes on https://www.skillshare.com/browse/illustration

By the end of this class, you will have created your own illustrated characters with gouache and colouring pencils.

In the final project, you will use everything you learned from the previous projects—how to combine gouache and colouring pencils, how to choose colours, how to use marks to come up with new ideas—to create your final characters.

The finished project will consist of at least three illustrated characters on one page, however you can draw as many as you like (or as many as the page permits)!

First, we will talk about the materials we are going to use. I will demonstrate how I use gouache and colouring pencils, and share my top tips with you.

Creating character illustrations using gouache and colouring pencils - image 1 - student project

We will then learn a little bit about colour theory, and I’ll show you how I tend to use colour in my work. Then, we will warm up by making marks on the page and turn them into characters.

Creating character illustrations using gouache and colouring pencils - image 2 - student project

This exercise will get you to defeat the fear of the blank page and help you to generate ideas for your final project. We will then flesh out these drawings by turning them into more developed sketches, and finally use these sketches to create your final piece.

Creating character illustrations using gouache and colouring pencils - image 3 - student project

Creating character illustrations using gouache and colouring pencils - image 4 - student project

I highly encourage you to share your work at every step of the process. There will be a small project to complete at the end of each class. Please take a high quality photo or scan of your work and post it on the project gallery for each project.

Class 1 outcome: Material test page

Class 2 outcome: Make a colour wheel!

Class 3 outcome: Random marks turned into characters

Class 4 outcome: Turning your mark characters into sketches

Final project: Creating your own character illustrations using gouache and colouring pencils

You can find the materials I used in this class below:

Coloring pencils: Cass Art watercolour pencils and Faber Castell Polychromos

Gouache: Daler & Rowney Aquafine Gouache

Brushes: Winsor & Newton Cotman Round Brushes

Sketchbook: Moleskine Artists Sketchbook

Celine Moya

Illustrator - Animator

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