Are you like me who draws on paper but wants to shift to digital mode so that you can undo your mistakes as many times as you want without torturing your paper? Or maybe you’re a professional digital artist willing to take your skills to the next level. Whatever your goals, online courses are a great way to get started.

In this guide, I’ve selected the 10 best free and paid digital art online courses for you from the 1.5K+ digital art courses on our catalog by following a well-defined methodology that you can find below.

But if you want to jump straight to the results, here are my top 10 picks. You can click on a course to jump to the corresponding section:

What is Digital Art?

According to Adobe:

Digital art is any artwork that draws upon digital technology as an essential part of its creative process.

It encompasses a wide range of techniques, from digital drawings, paintings and illustration, to photos, videos and even sculpture. All can be classed as digital art, so long as they’re created, enhanced or exhibited digitally.

Some of the different forms of digital art include digital drawing, digital painting, digital sculpting, animation, pixel art, photography, and video. So you can understand that the spectrum of digital art is vast and enables you to explore and choose what you want to work on.

Some of the most popular digital art software include Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Procreate. You’ll get the opportunity to learn more about these applications and how to use them for your digital art in the courses in this guide.

Why are Digital Art Skills Important?

Digital art is also backed up by a ton of media outlets for artists on the web, from opportunities to develop content for social media and digital marketing, to animation and game development. This is certainly the perfect moment to start learning and improve your skills, even more considering the global art market was valued at 65.1 billion dollars in 2021, rapidly recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

There are over 5,000 jobs available for digital artists on Glassdoor, nearly 400 jobs on LinkedIn, and nearly a hundred freelance jobs on Upwork. Also, the average salary for a digital artist is $67,020 a year in the United States (as of November 2022).

What is My Experience with Digital Art?

As far as drawing on iPad is concerned, I’ve used apps such as Autodesk Sketchbook and Tayasui Sketches. And on my desktop, I’ve drawn in Photoshop using graphic tablets.

Besides that, I am a Guided Project Instructor and a Beta Tester at Coursera, having tested many courses before they’re officially launched. I have taken over 50 online courses in various subjects.

My experience as an online learner and teacher has given me some perspective on what to look for in an online course. I used my experience to evaluate each course in this list.

Course Ranking Methodology

I built this ranking following the now tried-and-tested methodology I used in previous rankings (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:

1. Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database with 100K online courses and 200K+ reviews. Then, I made a preliminary selection of 1.5K+ digital art courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks.
2. Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner.
3. Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable and engaging content and they have to fit in a set of criteria and be ranked accordingly: comprehensive curriculum, release date, affordability, ratings and enrollments.

The end result is a unique selection of courses that combines a decade of Class Central data and my own experience as an online learner to try to get the best of both worlds. So far, I’ve spent more than 10 hours building this list, and I’ll continue to update it.

Course Ranking Statistics

Here are some statistics regarding this course ranking:

• Combined, these courses have accrued over 120.4K enrollments.
• 3 courses are free or free-to-audit and 7 courses are paid.
• The most-represented course provider in the ranking is Udemy, with 6 courses.
• All 10 courses are in English.
• The digital art subject is followed by over 2.5K learners on Class Central, and accounts for over 1.5K courses in Class Central catalog.

So without further ado, let’s get to my picks for the best digital art online courses.

1. Digital Painting Master Class : Beginner to Advanced (Udemy)

My first pick for the best digital art online course is Digital Painting Master Class : Beginner to Advanced on Udemy.

This is the most comprehensive digital art course on this list. Focused on digital painting, you’ll cover everything from illustrating characters, creatures, landscapes and more in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Whether you are a beginner or a professional digital artist, you’ll benefit from this course as you learn step by step the fundamentals of the software and work your way up to more advanced digital painting techniques used by professionals.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you’ll start by becoming familiar with the interfaces of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and mastering the most commonly used tools, work on mini projects that will show you the practical applications of Photoshop in the real world, learn professional techniques for lighting, animation and illustration, and explore more advanced digital painting techniques.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 15 sections. Each section involves about 1 to 8 hours of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos and readings .

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

2. You Can Draw This! (Art with Flo)

My second pick for the best digital art online course is the free course You Can Draw This!, offered by Art with Flo on YouTube.

This course is ideal for those who prefer a more flexible and creative approach to learning digital art and illustration. In order to be able to take this course, it’s better that you have some experience in using Procreate or similar apps. These tutorials are easy to follow and will take you through all the steps of the drawing and painting process. Each video covers one type of drawing from start to finish such as landscape, graffiti. mandala, 3D text, animals and many more.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, the instructor will guide you through the basic setup and step-by-step process to achieve professional results for each tutorial. You will learn hundreds of styles of digital painting and drawing in this course: from outer space landscapes to cute animals, hamburgers, phone wallpapers, mandalas, and much more.

This course will also provide you with some more abstract concepts to help you create 3D typography, work with geometric shapes, neon signs, condensation art, etc. You can take the tutorials in any order as they teach the concepts independently from start to finish.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 147 videos. Each video involves about 15 to 30 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through video lectures only. You can also sign up to her treasure chest and receive a free bundle of 70+ brushes for Procreate and other freebies.

Fun Facts

• Art with Flo’s YouTube channel teaches drawing and painting on iPad, mostly in Procreate.
• Their website also contains a collection of Procreate tutorials, articles and resources like special Procreate brushes, color palettes and ebooks.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

3. Pixel art for Video games (Udemy)

My third pick for the best digital art online course is Pixel art for Video games on Udemy.

If you’d like to create cool pixel art graphics for video-games or any other design, then this course is for you. This course will teach you all you need to know to get started with your own pixel art using Adobe Photoshop. You’ll start with the basics and move up to more advanced topics to give your pixel art the professional look. You’ll not only learn to create a character, you’ll also create animations within minutes.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you’ll learn the foundations for creating anything in pixel art, create solid line work and stunning shading, learn how to build video-game mockups for your games, create characters and animated them in minutes, create tiles in the top down RPG style, and draw pixel art in Isometric view like an RTS game.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 14 sections. Each section involves about 30 minutes to 2 hours of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos, readings and quizzes. Downloadable resources are also provided.

Fun Facts

• Vale has been working in the games industry as an amateur since 1998.
• In 2003, he started as a professional and his projects range from all forms of game art, from 3D low-poly to 2D pixel art, vector or even animation.
• He has also taught illustration, 3D modeling, Flash animation and Photoshop at a professional school.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

4. Adobe Illustrator Advanced Vector Artwork (Udemy)

My fourth pick for the best digital art online course is Adobe Illustrator Advanced Vector Artwork on Udemy.

Designed for complete beginners, this course teaches you the basic, intermediate and advanced skills you need to create any type of vector illustration using Adobe Illustrator. Even if you’re not familiar with Illustrator, you’ll learn how to use it from the very basics. The course is hands-on and teaches you the core concepts and the secret techniques through projects covering all types of vector illustrations.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you’ll create different kinds of vector illustration styles, master the secrets and proven techniques of working with vector illustration in the real production environment, and learn how you can become a vector graphic professional and start making money using the skill learned from this course.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 9 sections. Each section involves about 30 minutes to 1.5 hours of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos, readings and downloadable resources.

Fun Facts

• Muttaqien is the CEO of Expose Academy and the founder of several other creative-based companies.
• He has a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a master’s degree in business management and information systems.
• He has over 20 years of experience in the CG industry and specializes in digital painting, 3D visualization, animation, game development, web design, video and motion graphics.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

5. Animals (Genevieve’s Design Studio)

My fifth pick for the best digital art online course is the free course Animals, offered by Genevieve’s Design Studio on YouTube.

The simple name of the course is enough to tell what this course is about. Need I say more? To all the animal lovers out there who have used Procreate before, this is your chance to learn how to draw cute cartoon animals in Procreate with these simple tutorials. Each video will teach you how to draw a different animal from start to finish.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you’ll learn to sketch, digital paint, color and shade, add background, and animate cute animals such as cat, dog, otter, magical moth, bear, lion, hamster, koala, zen tiger, sloth, fox, witchy cat, spooky bat, squirrel, hedgehog, and winter bunny.

There’s also holiday moose, holiday polar bear, watercolor penguin, watercolor llama, raccoon, watercolor owl, panda, watercolor flamingo, new year tiger, love elephants, fennec, color-changing chameleon, watercolor duck, and watercolor flower bunny.

More animals include watercolor axolotl, watercolor sea turtle, corgi, Krypto from the league of super-pets, watercolor toucan, watercolor mouse, jellyfish, animals in a cup (cat, dog, bunny and more), along with tips and tricks.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 43 videos. Each video involves about 30 minutes to 1 hour of work. Concepts are taught through video lectures only.

Fun Facts

• Genevieve makes videos for everyone including designers, entrepreneurs and hobbyists on her YouTube channel.
• She started working as a graphic designer at age 13 and is now a full-time children’s book illustrator and content creator.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

6. A Pro’s Guide to Digital Comic Book Coloring (Udemy)

My sixth pick for the best digital art online course is A Pro’s Guide to Digital Comic Book Coloring on Udemy.

As we talk about digital art, how can we forget digital comics? To all the comic enthusiasts out there, here’s your chance to learn sequential comic book coloring from start to finish using Adobe Photoshop. You’ll start from the very basics of layer setup through special effects and post-coloring printing prep, and make your pages read properly while being a storyteller throughout.

What You’ll Learn

First, you’ll learn the basics of setting up your workspace and installing presets for brushes and tool settings, prepare your line art and layers, explore the major tools such as the lasso and magic wand, and understand the basics of color theory.

Then, you’ll learn about separating planes, value and contrast and rendering styles, review the basics of brush modes, create special effects, work with multiple light sources, utilize adjustment layers and textures, prepare your pages for printing, and build a portfolio.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 11 sections. Each section involves about 15 to 50 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos, readings and downloadable resources.

Fun Facts

• Russell has been working professionally as a comic book colorist since 2011 and teaching digital coloring online on YouTube since 2013.
• As of 2020, he has colored over a hundred books for publishers such as DC, Image, Vault, Top Cow, IDW, Oni, and many more!

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

7. Ultimate Guide to Digital Sketching: Beginner to Advanced (Udemy)

My seventh pick for the best digital art online course is Ultimate Guide to Digital Sketching: Beginner to Advanced on Udemy.

If you want to digitally sketch images for games and film industry like a pro then this course is for you. You’ll learn techniques used to create digital sketches and images that stand out, and you can apply these skills to any digital art software such as Adobe Photoshop or Procreate. After completing this course, you’ll be able to create your own portfolio of digital art and concept art.

What You’ll Learn

First, you’ll digitally sketch from life, use digital tools, digitally sketch objects and scenes from your imagination. create character designs, landscapes and abstract images, improve your sketches using digital techniques, and add detail, texture and shading to your sketches.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 8 sections. Each section involves about 30 minutes to 1.5 hours of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos and downloadable resources.

Fun Facts

• Batchelor is a working professional creative in the game industry.
• He works as a concept artist and freelance illustrator.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

8. Complete Beginner’s Guide to Digital Art (Udemy)

My eighth pick for the best digital art online course is Complete Beginner’s Guide to Digital Art on Udemy.

This comprehensive, in-depth course is not only about digital art but art in general. You’ll start as a beginner or a hobbyist and work your way up to have the mentality of a professional. You’ll build a solid base in (digital) art so that you can enhance your own work. By the end of this course, you’d have mastered the foundations of digital drawing and illustration and started creating art like a pro.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you’ll learn the basics of line drawing, make simple shapes, understand the relationships between lines and shapes, use lines and shapes to draw from observation, learn the basics of any digital art software, and understand the fundamentals of digital coloring.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 16 sections. Each section involves about 30 minutes to 3.5 hours of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos and downloadable resources.

Fun Facts

• Graysonn is a freelance illustrator who also gives tutorials on YouTube.
• He steadily expanded his work from clients who needed branding to doing work on indie games and apps.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

9. Pixel Art Master Course – Beginner to Expert/Freelance level – for Video games – PART 1/3 (Beginner) (Skillshare)

My ninth pick for the best digital art online course is Pixel Art Master Course – Beginner to Expert/Freelance level – for Video games – PART 1/3 (Beginner) on Skillshare.

This course will teach you all you need to know to get started with your very own pixel art for video games. You’ll start from the very basics and move up to more advanced concepts. The course is divided conveniently into different sections, each dedicated to a single topic such as lines and shapes, color and textures, objects etc. At the end of each section, there’s an exercise so that you can apply what you learned.

What You’ll Learn

First, you’ll explore which software to use for pixel art, such as Photoshop, Pyxel Edit, Aseprite and Piskel. You’ll be introduced to lines and shapes, and shading and lighting (value and contrast basics, positive and negative space, basic geometric shapes, shading a cube, sphere, cylinder, cone and pyramid, and dithering).

Next, you’ll move on to colors and textures (hue, saturation, value, color theory, color harmony, color palette, wood texture, metal texture, and applying textures to shapes), create objects (principle of creating objects from simple geometric shapes, creating an orange, potion, book, arrow, sword and gun)

After that, you’ll work with tiles (what tiles are, tiling basics, grass tile, dirt tile, water tile and tileset), backgrounds (making a simple image, using colors and shapes to create depth, and add reflection on water surface), and characters (creating 8×8, 16×16 and 32×32 pixel art character).

Finally, you’ll learn about animation (what animation is, simple grass animation, 8×8, 16×16 and 32×32 character walk, run and attack animations).

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 71 lessons. Each lesson involves about 1 to 10 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos, projects and downloadable resources.

Fun Facts

• Majdandžić is a game artist specialized in pixel art who has been doing pixel art as a freelancer for years.
• Even in his childhood, he was creating new boards and card games!

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.

10. Digital Painting (Proko)

My tenth pick for the best digital art online course is the free course Digital Painting, offered by Proko on YouTube.

This course, or rather, series of tutorial videos, will teach you different aspects of digital painting. You’ll learn the basics of digital painting as well as painting skin tones, working with light, tools, techniques and tips, and also some common digital painting mistakes. Moreover, you’ll also take a look at creating digital paintings in Adobe Photoshop.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you will learn about environment storytelling, painting skin tones, storytelling with light, character concepting process, Photoshop painting tips, digital shape carving, how to make digital paintings look traditional, digital painting mistakes, caricature critique, tools, techniques and tips, how to paint Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and much more.

How You’ll Learn

The course is broken down into 21 videos. Each video involves about 10 to 20 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through video lectures only.

Fun Facts

• Prokopenko is an artist and teacher.
• His YouTube channel is a resource for artists to get good art instruction videos.

If you’re interested in this course, you can find more information about the course and how to enroll here.