CG Illustration: Character Online Course
Software: Photoshop, blender, daz studio, PureRef
Registration Now Open. Course Start: Sep 1, 2025
Dreaming of creating bold, dynamic character illustrations?
Want to master digital painting techniques and material rendering?
Ready to craft promo-level artwork?
You're in the right place! This is more than just a character drawing course — it's a comprehensive training in composition, lighting, volume, and color.
We prepare students for careers in CG illustration, promo art, and digital painting.
The knowledge you'll gain applies directly to game art, concept illustration, visual storytelling for games, film, advertising, comics, card games, and book covers.
Meet Your Instructor
Alex Leskinen
Magic: The Gathering Artist
Over 10 years of experience in game development and professional illustration.
Worked on everything from texturing models and designing icons to environment concepts, illustrations, and promo art for numerous mobile and browser games.
This course was developed in collaboration with Lina Sidorova, head of CG LAB School.
Course Structure
Artwork by course instructor
This course is suitable for both beginners and advanced artists — lectures are divided into two difficulty levels.
You’ll find more details in the syllabus below.
By the end of the course, you will have created a complete promo-quality character artwork, either stylized or realistic — your choice.
Artwork by course instructor
📅 Course Duration
9 weeks + 1 bonus month to finalize your project, with optional feedback from the instructor.
Each week, you'll access a new lecture and materials. You’ll have a week to complete the assignment, which will be reviewed in a live webinar.
Instructor support is available 24/7 — feel free to message your mentor with any questions.
All students get access to CG LAB’s private forum and chat — packed with useful resources, organized topics, job opportunities, and a friendly community.
Course Program
Week 1: Character Selection, Proportions & Posing
We begin by choosing a character to integrate into your final illustration — either your own design (if approved by the instructor) or one from your favorite book, movie, or game.
This course does not focus on creating a character design from scratch — instead, we’ll build on an existing concept.
Beginner/Middle Level: Explore stylization, learn to work with “chibi” or anthropomorphic characters (robots, Groot-style figures, etc.), and study their proportions.
PRO Level: For students who’ve already taken our Anatomy for Artists and Digital Portrait courses — or those with a solid grasp of human anatomy — we’ll focus on more realistic hero proportions.
We’ll pose the character and explore perspective and camera angles.
Week 2: Light & Tone in Digital Art
You’ll learn how to set up strong lighting, tonal hierarchies, and value/tonal Keys — and apply them to your character to enhance story and mood.
Week 3: References & Composition
We move into illustration development. Gather references and sketch out your initial compositions.
We’ll use PureRef, a free tool, to organize visual research and moodboards.
Week 4: Composition, Lighting, Storytelling, Posing
We continue refining your composition: adjusting poses, fine-tuning lighting, and working on narrative clarity.
Week 5: Color
You’ll create several variations of color compositions.
Week 6: Materials + 3D
Learn how to paint believable materials that match your chosen color palette and lighting.
We’ll use textured brushes and optionally support the process with Daz Studio and Blender for lighting and posing references.
Week 7-9: Final Rendering
General Anatomy of the Head · Houdon Head · Face · Clothes · Armor
Beginner/Middle Level: A complete step-by-step pipeline for stylized character illustration.
PRO Level: A full rendering process for a realistic barbarian.
We’ll cover drawing of all materials and small details, light, and special effects.
You’ll have 3 weeks to complete your final illustration.
🎁 + 1 Extra Month of Feedback
You get 1 additional month to finalize your portfolio piece, with the option to request feedback in chat with the instructor.
⯁ All sessions include bonus materials: brush packs, inspiration folders, video extras, and more.
Student Work
All featured illustrations were created during this course.
The results speak for themselves.
Testimonials
“The Digital Illustration: Character course is amazing — rich, multilayered, and incredibly inspiring. If you follow the pipeline and trust the instructor, growth is simply inevitable.”
“The course is structured to cover everything you need to create a polished, professional illustration.”
“What I truly appreciated about this course was that I wasn’t just following a mentor’s hand or vision — I was encouraged to think independently, analyze, and unlock my own potential.
Throughout the course, I identified my weak points and key aspects to focus on when creating an illustration.”
“I’m really glad I took this course.
Alexander is a wonderful instructor — tactful, insightful, and highly professional.
Every feedback session and paintover felt like a little celebration.
I enjoyed it so much, I’d love to take the course again just to experience that welcoming and encouraging atmosphere one more time!”
Course Enrollment
Course Fee: $500
Registration Now Open. Course Start: SeP 1, 2025
🕘 Students will meet up with Alex Leskinen LIVE once per week on Saturdays at 9 am PT / 12 pm ET.
+ 💸 Exclusive Offers for Our Students
Bundle Discount: Save 15% when you buy 2 courses at once, and an extra 5% for each additional course — up to 30% off total!
Feedback Bonus: Leave a course review and get 5% off your next enrollment.
Returning Student Discount:
- 10% off your second course
- 15% off your third and beyond
👉 All discounts stack — save up to 30%!
You can pay the full fee or in two parts:
– First half before the course begins
– Second half by the end of the second week
Please fill out the form to enroll, make a payment, or ask a question.
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