Animal Portraits in Colored Inks: Tell a Visual Story That Conveys Emotion

Explore ways to add emotion and personality to your artwork by using colored inks. In bite-sized lessons, this expressive illustration course will guide you through creating your own animal portrait from start to finish.

with Anna Sokolova
Buy $34.95
  • Beginner
  • 4.7 (3 Reviews)
  • 1.3 hours
  • Closed Captioning
Explore colored inks with a step-by-step curriculum

Explore ways to add emotion and personality to your artwork by using the magical medium of colored inks with in-depth video lessons, complete instruction, and tips & tricks within every step. It’s an unforgettable learning experience that will have you well on your way to creating an expressive illustration that tells a story and conveys emotion.

  • Getting Started
  • Supplies Checklist
  • Finding Inspiration
  • Creating Thumbnails and Color Palette
  • Sources of Inspiration
  • Beginning the Illustration
  • Finishing the Illustration
  • What's Next
Are you ready to create your own animal portrait
from start to finish?
Buy $34.95
Meet your instructor Anna. Award-Winning Artist.

Anna Sokolova is an award-winning artist based in Berlin, Germany. Anna works with mixed media and is inspired by merging the traditional and innovative approaches in arts. Esteemed collaborations include Netflix, Wired, ImagineFX, and Maison Margiela.

Anna was born and grew up in Lenningard (Saint Petersburg). While studying at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, she was professionally involved with her art projects related to visual narratives. She successfully participated in exhibitions, worked with publishing houses and authors.

Anna’s work combines beautifully drawn, almost idyllic imagery with a slightly visible darker undertone.

I created this course to share my passion for colored inks and show the endless possibilities that can be achieved with this fantastic medium.

Creating an expressive illustration that tells a story and conveys emotion can be so challenging! But if we break it down into small steps of ideation, research and sketching, the whole process becomes rewarding and satisfying.

By the end of the course, students will have new creative tools to support their ideas and realize unique projects.

Create an Animal Portrait with Colored Inks

  • Steps from ideation, research to sketching
  • Bite-sized lessons create your own animal portrait from start to finish
  • Add emotion and personality to your artwork
Animal Portraits in Colored Inks: Tell a Visual Story That Conveys Emotion
with Anna Sokolova

$34.95

Buy $34.95
Join me in my course! We’ll explore ways to add emotion and personality to your artwork by using a magical medium of colored inks.
I promise you’ll be amazed by the things you can create!

Anna Sokolova
Reviews
5 star rating

Excellent Inky Inspiration!

Agatha M

Anna shares very detailed steps on how to find inspiration and create an emotional mood in stand-alone artwork. Special thanks for showing the books and the art supplies you're using in your process! I had colored inks for ages and wasn't su...

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Anna shares very detailed steps on how to find inspiration and create an emotional mood in stand-alone artwork. Special thanks for showing the books and the art supplies you're using in your process! I had colored inks for ages and wasn't sure how and where to work with them!! Now I need to try an animal portrait. Many thanks, Agatha

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5 star rating

Magical Inks

Anna Udalova

A wonderful and inspirational course from a very supportive and charming artist! Lots of easy-to-follow tips and insights. Highly recommended!

A wonderful and inspirational course from a very supportive and charming artist! Lots of easy-to-follow tips and insights. Highly recommended!

Read Less
4 star rating

Painting with Inks

Adyna Akins

I've not been one to do thumbnail sketches before painting. She encouraged me to try it with great tips! I learned something I've never heard before. Love it.

I've not been one to do thumbnail sketches before painting. She encouraged me to try it with great tips! I learned something I've never heard before. Love it.

Read Less
Are you still on the fence?
Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! You will start with in-depth instructions on how to put it all together and discover the endless possibilities that can be achieved with this fantastic medium.

No! Creating an expressive illustration that conveys emotion can be a challenge. But when broken down into smaller steps of ideation, research, and sketching, the whole process becomes rewarding.

Try India inks and shellac-based inks first to discover what you love! 

Sennelier shellac-based inks can achieve a wide variety of effects  for illustration, lettering, and painting. They can be used: undiluted straight from the bottle for brilliant colors; diluted with water for wash painting; and watercolor-like techniques with dip pens for calligraphy and lettering

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay India Ink has vivid color and consistency. The inks are pigment-based (as opposite to dye-based inks), which means they're lightfast, permanent, and can be used with brushes, nib pens, and airbrushes.

*This page may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met Academy may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

  1. Select the inks that you want to use in your illustration. 
  2. Create a color chart to see how the inks blend together. This will help you as you work on your final piece. (Don’t worry, it will be covered in the course!)
  3. Lightly draw your image in pencil. This will be a guide for where to place your color. 
  4. Work in layers and gradually build your colors.


You can use any paper that is created for water-based media. Watercolor papers come in three types of texture: hot pressed, cold pressed, and rough. Hot press has a smooth, hard surface that can be slippery and challenging to control. Rough has a rigid texture and is great for washes, but it often requires extra drying time. Cold pressed paper has a semi-rough surface and lends itself well to details and washes. The recommendation is to use cold pressed watercolor paper with a weight of 300 gsm (or 140lbs). 

*This page may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met Academy may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Illustration is very open-ended, so you can find the supplies that work best for you and your style. But for this project, it would be helpful to use the following:

  1. Sennelier shellac-based colored inks: lemon yellow, senegal yellow, scarlet, carmine, purple (looks more like Opera Rose by other brands), cobalt blue, turquoise blue, violet, gray, and opaque white. An alternative to white ink is white gouache, a gel pen, or acrylic marker.
  2. Cold-press watercolor paper 300 gsm.
  3. HB pencils.
  4. Kneaded eraser.
  5. Watercolor paint brushes. 
  6. Round paint brushes.
  7. Mop paint brushes.

*This page may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met Academy may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.


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