Digital Painting Courses Online

digital painting beginner to advanced

Digital painting requires a very similar skillset to traditional painting with oils, watercolours and pastels. It is a common misconception that the computer does all the work for you, in fact, the computer is merely another tool to be mastered by the artist.

One of the major advantages digital artists have over their traditional counterparts is an unlimited amount of paint to work with, as well as unlimited brushes which can mimic various traditional painting methods, as well as multiple, undo for those moments when things don’t quite go according to plan.

If you are a traditional artist wanting to learn the skills necessary to incorporate digital art into your portfolio, or you are an aspiring artist trying to figure out if digital painting is the medium you should choose, we have the best digital painting courses that will get you up to speed fast with this exciting art form.

Every course is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

Ctrl+Paint

learn digital painting online for free

Getting started in digital painting can be a very difficult time for the fledgeling artist, there is so much to learn that it can seem an overwhelmingly, daunting task.

That’s why the Ctrl+Paint Digital Painting Course has a clear curriculum for you to follow, starting with the basics and then gradually progressing to more advanced topics, delivered through easy to digest, short, concise video tutorials. Learn small skills at your own pace and on your own schedule.

The Ctrl+Paint course originally started out as a rather small scale educational project but has now grown into a massive library of on-demand video tutorials, organised in such a way that the course follows a logical path, allowing you to build your skills gradually and precisely.

If you are ready to put in the work, the Ctrl+Paint digital painting course will provide you with everything you need to become a top-notch digital artist.

This incredible, totally FREE Course does rely heavily on Adobe Photoshop as its main software tool. However, the skills you will learn are easily transferable to other digital painting and drawing packages such as Affinity Photo, Krita and the many other digital art programs out there.

The Digital Painting MEGA Course

Created by Austin Batchelor

Whether you are just looking to level up your artistic skills, or you are hoping to work in the creative industry sometime in the future, either as an illustrator or a concept artist, then the Digital Painting Mega Course will help you achieve your goals.

Learn the tricks of the trade from concept artist and freelance illustrator Austin Batchelor as he walks you through basic concepts such as canvas settings and layer modes, through working with brushes and how to create your own, to painting fundamentals like values, composition and edge control, up to more complex topics such as mastering light and colour and painting tricky subjects such as water or glowing surfaces.

Go from rough sketch to final render in a variety of painting styles, learning step by step how to achieve professional results.

By the time you finish the course, you’ll be blown away with the improvement in your ability to create amazing digital paintings.

All in all this course will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to get a start in the world of digital painting and help you start creating art for your portfolio or personal projects.

How to Draw and Paint Digitally

Learn How to Use Digital Tools to Draw and Paint

Computers are rapidly changing the way we work and this applies to the creative disciplines as much as any other medium.

So if you are thinking about replacing your pencil with a stylus, then this introductory Digital Art course will teach you how to make that transition, by explaining the hardware you will need and training you on the software applications available.

Learn how to master the core principles of digital art, such as using brushes, understanding layers and working with selections and transformations.

Although the course uses Adobe Photoshop as its base the core disciplines will apply to almost any art apps you can think of, including but not limited to, Corel Painter, Affinity Photo/Designer, Clip Studio Paint, Krita and many more.