Beginners Digital Illustration with Krita

Posted on: 18th April 2026

Instructor: N/A • Language: N/A

Learn digital illustration basics with Krita, a free open source painting app, including brushes, layers, sketching, and coloring.

Description

If you want to get started in digital illustration without spending money on expensive software, this free course teaches you the basics using Krita, a completely free and open source digital painting application. It covers basic brushes, tools, layers, creating sketches, adding color and shading, with lots of tips and exercises.

This Course Offers

  • A Free Introduction to Digital Illustration: You will learn the basics of digital painting software Krita without worrying about license fees, using a completely free and open source tool.
  • Hands On with Brushes and Tools: The course covers basic brushes (fill circle, ink ballpen, ink gpen, bristles hairy), basic tools (selection, move, transform, zoom, pan, rotate), and layers.
  • Practical Exercises and Examples: You will work through exercises including creating a wood texture, drawing a basic face, a cactus, a cloud, and more, applying the techniques you learn.
  • Tips for Motivation and Workflow: The course includes 6 motivation tips for beginners and 4 tips for improving workflow, addressing the challenges of learning digital painting.

Why We Love This Course

  1. It is free and uses free software. You can learn digital illustration using Krita, which is completely free and open source, without any financial commitment for software or the course.
  2. It is designed for complete beginners. The course is targeted at the absolute beginner and covers taking the first steps in digital illustration, with no prior experience required.
  3. It includes many practice exercises. The instructor believes students learn better when learning actively, so the course includes lots of practice exercises to reinforce your skills.
  4. It is well reviewed. With over 20,000 students and a 4.5 star rating, students praise the course as beginner friendly, informative, and simple.

If you are a complete beginner who wants to get started in digital illustration without spending money on software, this free course provides a solid, exercise driven introduction to Krita. Note that the course was last updated in 2018 (for Krita 4.0), so some interface elements may have changed, and this is only Section 1 of a larger course.

Course Eligibility

  • Anyone who is interested in getting started in digital illustration without worrying about license fees.
  • Anyone who wants to learn Krita, the free and open source digital painting software.
  • Note: This is a course on Krita software, not a general drawing or painting techniques course.
  • Complete beginners who want a free, exercise driven introduction to digital painting.

Course Requirements

  • This course is aimed at the complete beginner.
  • You should have a running version of Krita (free software).
  • It is very strongly recommended that you have a graphics tablet.
  • Digital painting requires some patience and perseverance.

Interested in exploring more business lessons? Check out our full course library to continue building your skills and advancing your learning journey.

Price: Free