How do I choose the right digital art course for my goals?

Start by identifying your creative focus—whether you want to illustrate characters, design environments, create motion graphics, or build a portfolio. For foundational skills in concept and visual design, try The Language of Design: Form and Meaning by CalArts. Interested in storytelling or character art? Explore Character Design for Video Games or Story and Narrative Development for Video Games . Want to learn hands-on software skills? Consider Graphic Design , a specialization ideal for beginners.

Which digital art course should I start with as a beginner?

These beginner-friendly courses help build core artistic and digital illustration skills—no prior experience required: Adobe Illustrator for Beginners: Create Vector Artwork – Teaches techniques to create a visually appealing project with text, colors, gradients, and effects. Introduction to Imagemaking by CalArts – Covers drawing, visual language, and composition through analog and digital techniques. Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers – Focuses on layout and visual principles that transfer well to digital art.

What’s the difference between a digital art course, Specialization, and Professional Certificate?

A course focuses on one creative area—such as digital painting, character illustration, or art fundamentals, like Character Design for Video Games . A Specialization combines multiple courses for progressive skill-building—like Game Design: Art and Concepts Specialization , which includes storyboarding and design workflows. A Professional Certificate is less common for digital art alone on Coursera, but creative professionals may find overlap in design-focused programs (e.g., Adobe Graphic Design Certificate ) or broader creative career tracks.

Digital art is a form of artwork that is created by an artist using digital technology. It's a type of multimedia art. Art that is presented using digital technology, such as a computer monitor or TV screen is also included in this genre of art. As a field of study, it can be combined with many other technological areas, such as data transmission, metaliteracy, and using emerging technologies to achieve goals, such as self-branding.

What career opportunities can arise from learning digital art?

Career opportunities that can arise from learning digital art include comic book artist and architectural 3D modeler. These are jobs that artists would have performed by hand in the past, but digitized technology makes it possible to do in less time and with greater accuracy. Digital artists may also work as legal and medical animators, using skills such as digital signal processing to create visual aids that bring a legal or medical situation to life on the screen.

Top Digital Art Courses - Learn Digital Art Online

Explore the Digital Art Course Catalog

Coursera Project Network
Create and Design Digital Products using Canva
Skills you'll gain: Canva (Software), Design, Digital Design, Product Design, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Creative Design, Color Theory, Graphic Design, Intellectual Property, E-Commerce, Direct Selling, Digital Content, Digital Assets, Marketing, Marketing Materials
4.4
Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
1.3K reviews
Advanced · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: New
Status: Preview
Michigan State University
Digital Painting Specialization
Skills you'll gain: Color Theory, Digital Design, Graphics Software, Creative Design, Creativity, Adobe Creative Cloud, Image Quality, Design
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Packt
Learn Midjourney For Your Future 6 Figure Career
Skills you'll gain: Generative AI, Responsible AI, Content Creation, Entrepreneurship
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Skillshare
Nomad Sculpt for Beginners
Skills you'll gain: 3D Modeling, 3D Assets, Color Theory, Computer Graphics, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Computer Graphic Techniques, Animation and Game Design, Graphical Tools, Data Import/Export, Image Quality, User Interface (UI), Creative Design
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
California Institute of the Arts
Game Design: Art and Concepts
Skills you'll gain: Animation and Game Design, Game Design, Animations, Prototyping, Conceptual Design, Video Game Development, Storytelling, Software Design Documents, Ideation, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Storyboarding, Design, Virtual Environment, Art History, Technical Design, Design Elements And Principles, Usability Testing, Creative Design, Design Strategies, Interactive Design
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
4.1K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Skillshare
Kickstart Your Creativity with Procreate
Skills you'll gain: Creative Design, Creativity, Peer Review, Digital Design, Design Elements And Principles, Graphical Tools, Storyboarding, Storytelling, Design Software, Technical Drawing, Color Theory
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

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Explore topics outside of work

Status: Free Trial
The Museum of Modern Art
Modern and Contemporary Art and Design
Skills you'll gain: Art History, Performing Arts, Photography, Liberal Arts, Aesthetics, Creativity, Electronic Media, Culture, Cultural Diversity, Media and Communications, Public History, Social Justice, Design, Content Creation, Storytelling, Design Elements And Principles, Multimedia, Sustainable Development, Photo/Video Production and Technology, Sustainability Standards
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
15K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Michigan State University
Art for Games
Skills you'll gain: Unity Engine, Animations, 3D Modeling, Color Theory, Animation and Game Design, 3D Assets, Video Game Development, Game Design, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Maya, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Computer Graphics, Conceptual Design, Computer Graphic Techniques, Prototyping, Graphic and Visual Design, Graphical Tools, Design, Data Import/Export, Design Elements And Principles
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
415 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Skillshare
Midjourney: Generative AI for Creatives
Skills you'll gain: Graphic and Visual Design, ChatGPT, Creative Design
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Adobe
Image Editing
Skills you'll gain: Photo Editing, Adobe Photoshop, Photography, Generative AI, File Management, Graphic and Visual Design, Creative Design, Storyboarding, Graphic Design
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
127 reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Adobe
Generative AI in Adobe Creative Cloud
Skills you'll gain: Photo Editing, Adobe Illustrator, Color Theory, Adobe Photoshop, Responsible AI, Typography, Generative AI, Graphic and Visual Design, Graphic Design, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Photography, Data Ethics, Design, Adobe Creative Cloud, Design Elements And Principles, Logo Design, Digital Design, File Management, Branding, Storytelling
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
551 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Michigan State University
Pixel Art for Video Games
Skills you'll gain: Animations, Animation and Game Design, Unity Engine, Color Theory, Video Game Development, Adobe Photoshop, Game Design, Computer Graphics, Graphic and Visual Design, Creativity
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
267 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months