Are you stuck at home and want something creative to do? Maybe you’ve always been an artist, but you’re interested in sharpening your skills. Or, perhaps you’re interested in a career as an artist someday.
With these online courses, you can learn from the best of the best.
Receive one on one mentoring from artists from DreamWorks and Pixar, or learn the secrets from the creators of the most popular webcomics out there.
Let’s take a look at the very best digital art courses available to take right now.
Complete Beginner’s Guide to Digital Art
At a Glance
An all-in-one guide that both beginners and established artists will appreciate.
Why You’ll Love It
You don’t need prior knowledge to start this highly acclaimed course by Rich Graysonn. In this extensive course, you’ll learn everything from the basics of drawing lines to coloring, how to use art software, and how to nail difficult things like perspective.
Features
- 16 hours
- 4.4/5 stars, 3,768 ratings
- Over 27,000 students
Drawing and Painting on the iPad with Procreate
At a Glance
Learn the ins and outs of Procreate on iPad, now updated for Procreate 5.
Why You’ll Love It
Taking a course that’s specifically tailored to your equipment and software will help you progress in leaps and bounds. This course will not only teach you some drawing foundation basics but also show you how to create time-lapse videos of your work and import custom brushes.
Features
- 5 hours
- 4.7/5 stars, 12,248 ratings
- Over 46,000 students
A Pro’s Guide to Digital Comic Book Coloring
At a Glance
Create dynamic comics with bold colors in Photoshop using the tips and tricks offered in this course.
Why You’ll Love It
Kurt Michael Russell offers some of his industry expertise in this popular guide. You’ll learn how to create beautifully contrasting color combos, the best way to effectively color line art, and even find how to build your portfolio and find work as a colorist.
Features
- 6 hours
- 4.7/5 stars, 528 ratings
- Over 3,400 students
Ultimate Adobe Photoshop Training: From Beginner to Pro
At a Glance
Clueless when it comes to photoshop? Every digital artist needs this course in order to become a master.
Why You’ll Love It
Cristian Doru Barin is a photoshop wiz that can take even the most clueless of beginners and turn them into photoshop pros. Photoshop can be intricate and complicated with its vast amounts of tools and features.
Barin offers in-depth explanations and practical projects to become familiar with these tools. Even if you work in other programs as a digital artist, you’ll want to take this course to add Photoshop under your belt.
Features
- 15 hours
- 4.6/5 stars, 22,698 ratings
- Over 132,000 students
The Ultimate Character Design School – Beginner to Advanced
At a Glance
Define your style in this character design school for the up-and-coming artist.
Why You’ll Love It
Jaysen and Quinton Batchelor are one dynamic duo. Jaysen’s whimsical art style, coupled with Quinton’s photography and composition skills, ensures that you will learn character design from every possible angle. Learn the basics of poses, emotive faces, and storytelling with this 24-hour long course.
Features
- 24 hours
- 4.6/5 stars, 4,477 ratings
- Over 24,000 students
Learn the ART of Video Games
At a Glance
Turn your concept art into a playable reality using Unity and Substance Alchemist.
Why You’ll Love It
Many digital artists falter in taking the next step into game design because of the technicalities that come with new software and techniques to use. Oxland explores the ins and outs of Unity, as well as how to create your own textures in Substance Alchemist. He also takes care to regularly update the course for new software and changes in the industry, which is another plus.
Features
- 44 hours
- 4.9/5 stars, 610 ratings
- Over 5,000 students
Digital Concept Art: Designing Creatures
At a Glance
Turn your innovative ideas into jaw-dropping creatures using nothing but a Wacom tablet and a little magic.
Why You’ll Love It
Justin Goby Fields is the owner of Ironklad Studios and has worked on films like Iron Man 3, Maleficient, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. He’s well-known for his hyper-realistic creatures and cutting-edge designs. In this course, you’ll explore how to turn your idea into a 3D model using “digital clay” and add details for realism. Fields also details how to use ZBrush, even if you’re a beginner, making this course a popular choice among many.
Features
- 1 hour, 19 minutes
- 57% exceeded expectations
- Over 4,000 students
Coloring Webcomics: From Line Art to Digital Color
At a Glance
A short and sweet course for adding a pop of color to your webcomic.
Why You’ll Love It
Coloring can be a tedious process, but Sarah Andersen shares some methods to speed up the process. This course geared specifically for webcomic artists is a huge hit, with many saying it exceeded their expectations. If you think your webcomics are a little lacking, this course is a great way to help your art stand out.
Features
- 21 minutes
- 49% exceeded expectations
- Over 5,000 students
Line Art Master – Create stunning drawings with Adobe Photoshop
At a Glance
Start off your drawings on the right foot with this tutorial on line art in Photoshop.
Why You’ll Love It
Importing outlines into Photoshop is easy enough, but isn’t it much more convenient to have a vector? Not only does it look cleaner, but it’s much
easier to color and edit later on. This course walks you through creating a flawless piece in Photoshop, from your initial sketch to your final details. If you lack in the line art department, you’ll want to take a note or two from Hardy Fowler.
Features
- 1 hour 50 minutes
- 69% exceeded expectations
- Over 4,500 students
Introduction to Concept Art & Digital Illustration
At a Glance
Become a highly talented concept artist through live video calls, weekly assignments, and instructor feedback.
Why You’ll Love It
CG Spectrum put a lot of effort into this course. Not only did they pull from their fantastic assortment of industry professionals, but they took added steps to ensure that students would have one-on-one instructor time and feedback. This course is an excellent value, as it explores the basics of concept art as well as more advanced techniques. You’ll also develop your portfolio and gain valuable advice on how to succeed in the digital art industry.
Features
- Long term classes
- Receive a certificate of completion
- Connect with one on one mentor and alumni for connections
The Gnomon Workshop
At a Glance
A renowned art college offers a crash course from their instructors for aspiring digital artists.
Why You’ll Love It
Gnomon Workshop is one of the renowned digital art and CGI colleges based out of Hollywood, California. Many of their students have gone on to develop prolific careers with major film studios.
Now, they’re offering exclusive access to their recorded lectures and tutorials for anybody to learn from. With a monthly membership, you’ll gain 1000+ hours of instruction, led by actual artists at major studios. If that’s not reason enough to check The Gnomon Workshop, then check out their affiliations with Apple, Dreamworks, and other leaders in the digital art scene.
Features
- 1000+ hours of instruction
- Used by Apple, Playstation, Ubisoft, and DreamWorks
- Monthly Memberships Available
21Draw With Courses From Kenneth Anderson, Erika Wiseman, Tom Bancroft, And More
At a Glance
Fans of classic Disney animation will adore these courses on character design and other techniques.
Why You’ll Love It
21Draw is home to a variety of courses by artists with their own individual styles and tastes. But many of their artist all share the common thread of a whimsical, storybook style commonly associated with Disney. You, too, can pick up this style and character design with their assortment of tutorials and courses. For those who prefer different styles of digital art, there’s something for you too, as they have a varied selection of artists.
Features
- Several classes for free
- Classes for Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced
- Classes in Character Design, Shading, Photoshop, and more
2D Mentorship Courses by CGMA Master Academy
At a Glance
The ultimate opportunity for those serious about having a legitimate digital art career.
Why You’ll Love It
CGMA offers an exciting opportunity for those who are preparing to launch a career of their own in the digital art industry. Some of the biggest names in concept art, animation, and illustration offer exclusive mentorships where you’ll receive personalized feedback, weekly critique, and advice on everything from portfolios to marketing yourself as an artist.
Each of their mentorship courses focuses on a specific niche, such as rigging or character development. Any of these courses would make a worthy addition to your resume, and you can easily take your finished projects with you into your portfolio.
Features
- From 4 to 10 weeks
- Mentorship from Dreamworks and Pixar artists
- Additional courses in 3D, VFX, and games
Story-Driven Illustrations by Djamila Knopf on Schoolism
At a Glance
Captivate your audience with characters that convey emotion and tell a story by taking this course.
Why You’ll Love It
Take one look at Djamila Knopf’s artwork, and you’ll see why storytelling is her forte. Her characters and scenes are both dynamic and ethereal and invoke a feeling in the viewer. Knopf will walk you through how to add this kind of dimension to your work, as well as offer tips on the storyboarding and brainstorming process.
Features
- Access all Schoolism courses with a monthly subscription
- Get live video feedback from the artist with critiqued sessions
- For artists who work in drawing, illustration, sculpture, and more
Digital Painting by CGMA
At a Glance
College-level instruction on the new era of digital painting packed into an eight-week course.
Why You’ll Love It
Digital painting is one of the most mesmerizing genres of digital art. It’s also one of the most complex genres and takes hours of practice to master.
Unlike traditional painting, digital painting requires specialized techniques and in-depth knowledge of art software in order to create the realistic look and feel of a painting. CGMA guides its students through these techniques in its eight-week course. You’ll spend about eight to ten hours a week in practice, as well as complete weekly assignments.
The instructor feedback you’ll receive will help you fine-tune your work. CGMA is a fantastic name to have on your resume, and they’re known for helping artists get their foot in the door. If you don’t have much in the way of a portfolio, taking this course can help you add some pieces with the help of another pair of eyes.
This course is a great art school boot camp for those who don’t have formal education in art or are transitioning from
graphic design or another career. While this course is a bit more challenging than the others on this list, the reviews indicate that this challenge is beyond worth it for the results in the end.
Features
- 8 weeks
- Intermediate level
- Assignments due weekly
Equal Parts Art and Technology
Whatever stage you’re at as a digital artist, you can find a course that’s perfect for you. Pick a course to help you develop a specific skill or lay down a solid foundation with a long-term class.
If you’re really looking to maximize the amount you get out of a course, try opting for ones with a mentorship or instructor feedback. Not only will you get personalized critique on your work, but you also might get the opportunity to land some connections.
Is there an amazing course that we missed today? Let us know in the comments below.
