Ink-Style
Characters
Love the washes and negative space of ink painting, but unsure how to bring it into digital art? This course helps you carry gongbi ink-wash brushwork onto the digital canvas—from skeleton and line art to ink-toned coloring—so you can paint characters with an authentic Eastern feel.
- Pay once, keep lifetime access to course videos
- Gongbi ink-wash brushwork, fully mapped into a digital workflow
- Includes a bonus ink-themed brush pack
- Discord group and online meetups exclusive to paid students
Start From the Basics: Four Steps Into Digital Ink Painting
The ideal way to learn once you've picked up your software: master the fundamentals first, then develop your style.
Rough Sketch
Learn to simplify and break down the human body—grasp the knack and you'll solve most skeleton problems.
Understanding Ink
The most common gongbi ink-wash techniques—understand them, then apply them in your digital work.
Coloring
Start with color-mixing principles from paper and canvas, then connect traditional painting concepts to digital use.
Review
Learn to review and finish your own work, plus explore other approaches to ink-style creation.
"I love the ink-wash style, but where do I even begin in digital painting?"
- ✕How to create brushstrokes that look like real ink on a screen
- ✕How to accent washes and negative space without it feeling awkward
- ✕With so many gongbi techniques, which ones actually work on digital characters
Ink-style character painting is one of the styles students ask about most. But translating ink's free-flowing washes into digital work often leaves people unsure where to start.
This course gives equal weight to gongbi ink concepts and digital software application: first you'll shore up the fundamentals—skeleton, structure, poses, and color—then, with the included brushes, you'll develop your own ink-wash style.
This Course Fits Exactly What You Need
Perfect if you already know your way around the software and want to move toward the ink-wash style.
You love the ink-wash style,
and want to render it digitally
You have digital painting experience,
but can't achieve that wash effect
You struggle with rhythm,
when to let go and when to rein in
Course Syllabus
Here's a look at what this course will share with you.
CH 01The Essential Foundation — Line Art
Clearing the first hurdle of any piece
Solid line art is the baseline skill for any work. The skeleton is the first hurdle in drawing characters—learn to simplify and break down the body and you'll solve most skeleton problems. We'll even tackle basics like shaky-hand lines.
- 1-1The knack for simplifying and breaking down the body
- 1-2Solving common problems when drawing the skeleton
- 1-3Multiple rough-sketch methods for the digital era
- 1-4Line-art basics: how to fix shaky-hand lines
CH 02Understanding the Ink-Wash Style
Bringing gongbi techniques into digital art
Traditional gongbi ink-wash shares many techniques with drawing fundamentals. This chapter introduces common gongbi ink-wash techniques and applies the related concepts to digital work—skills that serve you just as well in other styles, sketching, and coloring.
- 2-1Common gongbi ink-wash techniques
- 2-2Texture strokes and ink tone: dark, light, dry, wet
- 2-3Where ink-wash concepts meet drawing fundamentals
- 2-4Connecting ink techniques to digital brushes
CH 03How to Paint Characters Well
Color-mixing principles and polish
Color is built from hue, saturation, and value—more to consider than monochrome sketching. This chapter starts with the color-mixing principles of paper and canvas, builds up traditional painting concepts, then applies them digitally to dramatically raise the polish of your work.
- 3-1The three elements of color: hue · saturation · value
- 3-2Color-mixing principles, starting from paper and canvas
- 3-3Connecting traditional painting concepts to digital use
- 3-4The key to raising a character's level of polish
CH 04Understanding and Applying Color
Luminous, natural skin tones
Painting luminous, natural skin tones is a pain point for many. This chapter covers the essential color theory every character artist must know and puts it into hands-on practice, while also addressing the details clients care about in commissioned work.
- 4-1Essential color theory for character painting
- 4-2Painting luminous, natural skin tones
- 4-3Hands-on practice: putting concepts into action
- 4-4Color details that matter in commissioned work
CH 05Self-Review and Extras
Finishing touches and a hidden chapter
Self-review and critique are crucial. This chapter shows you how to bring your work together from the right perspective and finish strong, plus explores other ink-wash creative paths not covered earlier. Complete the chapter assignments to unlock a hidden chapter.
- 5-1A perspective for bringing your work together and finishing
- 5-2Other creative paths in the ink-wash style
- 5-3Chapter assignments with personal feedback from the instructor
- 5-4Collect all unlocks to earn a personal artwork album
Ink-Themed Brush Pack
The course comes with Wei's custom-tuned ink brushes, so you can create ink tones and negative space on the digital canvas as you learn.
- Wash and ink-tone brushes：Recreate the dark, light, dry, wet, and bleed effects of xuan paper
- Gongbi line brushes：Draw stable, confident character line art
- Complete the chapter assignments：Unlock hidden chapters, and collect all three to earn a personal artwork album
Prerequisites
We suggest starting with this foundation course first — the rest will come much easier:
Procreate Impasto Basics: In-Person Class for BeginnersRecommended firstFinished this course? Here's your next step
Based on the skills you'll have built, this is the smoothest path forward.
Next, place your characters in a scene — that's when the picture feels complete.
Portfolio ready? Learn how to land your first commission.
More Than a Pre-Recorded Course—Ongoing Support
Rewatch the recorded videos anytime, backed by live meetups and a community so you're never learning alone.
Lifetime Rewatch
Rewatch the pre-recorded course anytime, anywhere—slow it down or pause at will, with no worry about replaying as often as you like.
Occasional Live Meetups
Painting discussions, live process demos, and paid-student Q&As—each running about 30 minutes to an hour.
Exclusive Discord Group
A discussion group and casual chat channel just for paid students, on mobile or desktop—send in your work and the instructor personally replies with advice.
Wei Chang
"Master the basics first, and the ink-wash style will stand on its own."
With over a decade of professional art-outsourcing experience spanning film animation, game characters and scenes, publisher cover and interior illustration, and advertising visuals; has taught courses on the YOTTA and TIBAME online platforms, and exhibited at Taiwan Comic Festival, Taiwan Original Fair, and the NCUE Fine Arts Department, among others.
FAQ
Can complete beginners take this course?
This course is designed from the ground up. It first helps you build the fundamentals—character skeleton, structure, and color—before moving into the ink-wash style, so beginners can keep up.
Do I need special software for the course?
The demonstrations use the Adobe Photoshop CC series, and we recommend CS6 or later. If you use other software like Clip Studio or Procreate, we suggest getting familiar with the basics—layers, brushes, file size, and resolution—before purchasing.
Can I ask the instructor questions during the course?
Absolutely, ask anytime! We provide an exclusive Discord group and occasional online meetups, and the instructor personally replies with feedback on your work.
If I miss an online meetup, can I still catch it?
Meetup recordings are posted in the paid-course Discord group. Once you join the course area, you can rewatch anything you missed.
Can overseas students enroll?
Yes! The instructor teaches in Chinese. If you need English subtitles, they will be added gradually after the Chinese version is released.
Ink-Style Characters
- Pay once, keep lifetime access to course videos
- Gongbi ink-wash brushwork fully applied to digital characters
- Includes a bonus ink-themed brush pack
- Discord group and online meetups exclusive to paid students