Essentials of PaintinG

If you are new painter or a seasoned professional wanting to discover new perspectives to painting, this on demand course is for you. Essentials of Painting will equip you with the proper fundamentals to be able to design and create your paintings with the solid foundations. With lessons and homework briefs in both digital and gouache mediums, you can follow along in your either medium or learn both digital and gouache techniques in one course.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

  • Designing Strong Compositions: How to use grids and intentional layout to build paintings with thoughtful design.

  • Creating Evocative Paintings: How to arrange values to guide the viewer’s eye and create proper mood.

  • The Anatomy of Color: How to understand and harness color relationships to strengthen your work.

  • Painting Believable Light: How to handle different lighting situations with confidence to create convincing light and shadow through studying the masters and plein air painting.

Download the sample syllabus you can follow here.

Scroll down to read testimonials from students who have taken the course!

What you get with this course:

  • 20+ hours of pre-recorded lessons you can watch at your own pace

    • Digital AND gouache demos included to show I think apply concepts in both mediums

    • Homework briefs with digital and gouache versions with different tiers to choose your level of difficulty with each lesson module

    • Student homework examples and extra resources from books

    • PSD files of demos

    • Download of Tiffanie’s brush and tool presets and gouache supply list

    • Discord community where students can share work and get written feedback from peers and Tiffanie

    • Please note: This is an on-demand, online course with pre-recorded lessons so there are no weekly online or physical meetups.

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  • This course is perfect for artists looking to gain a fresh perspective on painting, focusing on developing both technique and a painter's mindset. It’s great for:

    • Fine artists who want to incorporate digital painting into their workflow. (A basic understanding of Photoshop is recommended, with a month of practice suggested to familiarize yourself with basic tools. Click here for a helpful beginner’s Photoshop guide is available for those new to the software.)

    • fine artists who want to get better at gouache and start from the fundamentals!

    • Beginner to intermediate artists who have some experience with Photoshop and want to strengthen their foundational skills to take their art to the next level.

    • Experienced digital painters looking for new techniques and approaches while revisiting core fundamentals.

  • My course is designed to use simple tools in Photoshop to focus on the actual fundamentals. Please refer to this playlist I made to understand all the things you’ll need to know in Photoshop.

  • If you are focused on digital painting, you will need:

    • DEVICE: A laptop, desktop, or iPad. If using an iPad, an Apple Pencil is essential. I use an iPad Pro 12.9” (3rd generation), but any model works for plein air painting.

    • If you have a desktop or laptop you need a painting tablet or stylus like a Wacom Intuos. If you're just starting out, I recommend the Wacom Intuos Pro. (If you are using an iPad, you do not need a painting tablet, as you can just paint directly on your iPad sceen with your apple pencil).

      OR

    • A Cintiq: This is very expensive, and if you are just starting out, a tablet is better and laptop/desktop is better. No need to invest in this yet. I painted for years on a tablet. If you already own one, you’re all set!

    • Software: Adobe Photoshop (I use the 2023 version) is the primary software I’ll be using in this course. You can only use this on your desktop, not on the iPad. You do have to get a subscription, so it can be pricey.

    • ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS: If you don’t have Adobe Photoshop, other programs for the iPad like Procreate, Heavy Paint and Infinite Painter will work. My two choices are Infinite Painter and Heavy Paint. You can download them on your iPad.

    If you are focused on gouache painting, please refer to my gouache list here.

  • There is not wrong time to take this course because you can learn on your own time at your own pace. Your progress will be saved on the progress bar on the top, and you can rewatch lessons as many times as you want!

Read what students have to say!

Over 200 students have taken this course, and all of them have loved it. Read how Essentials of Painting has helped them in their art journey.

Student Work

Course FAQ

  • Lifetime access — for the lifetime of the course.


    Enroll once and get ongoing access to all lessons and materials for as long as the course is available online (guaranteed for at least two years). No subscriptions or renewals needed — just keep learning at your own pace.

  • In this course, you need to know how to use the brush tool to paint, how to use and organize layers, and how to use the lasso tool, gradient tool, and U tool. You should also know how to use clipping masks and layer masks as well as a basic understanding of adjustment layers. Beyond that, this course focuses on painting rather than Photoshop tricks, so the concepts learned can translate to other apps (such as Infinite Painter, Heavy Paint, Procreate, etc).

  • Yes, while I use Photoshop in this course, you can follow along with other apps such as Infinite Painter and Heavy Paint Classic, which is much cheaper. Check those out, as those are two of my favorite apps for plein air painting.

  • This course is on-demand, so you will be doing homework on your own time and self critiquing, which is an important skill to build up. However, there is a discord channel where students can post their work at any time. Tiffanie will hop in at least once a week to give written feedback to any students who post progress.

  • If you don’t understand the homework, fear not! Join the Discord server (you will receive access upon purchase of course) and ask any questions you have. I will be on there, as well as other students to answer your questions.

  • I can’t guarantee you’ll paint exactly like me, as everyone develops their own style at their own pace. However, with two years of access to this course, consistent practice and repetition of the lessons will be key to strengthening your painting fundamentals. My goal is to help you see and think like a painter, so you can understand my design and color choices and apply them to your own work.

  • No, after you have purchased the course, you cannot get a refund.

  • Since you have your own login, you can log back in at any time and resume. Your progress will be saved and you can continue where you left off.

  • YES! This is what this course is designed for. If you need to rewatch a lesson, or do the homework a couple rounds to get it right, it is UP TO YOU! you control the speed, and you are also responsible for your own progress.

  • No, I do not use any AI whatsoever. This course is designed for you to be able to paint using YOUR skills, so you can be better then AI!