Overview
Lessons
Reviews
Instructor
Black Week Sale!   Save 75% AND get 2 Memberships for the Price of 1!  
Sign in
Preview course

Draw a Cartoon Pin-up (follow-along class)

with Emilie Decrock
4.2 (97)
Learn to draw a Marilyn Monroe pin-up in a stylized manner from photo references.
French (original audio), English English, French, 1 more Spanish [Auto]
1+
hours
10
lessons
Intermediate
level
Emilie Decrock

Your Instructor

Emilie Decrock is a French artist and character designer focusing primarily on pin-ups. She is also the publisher of her own comic series since 2009.

All Courses
Get access to this course and 55+ more
$59 / year
$235 / year
left at this price!Save 75%
+
Gift an annual membership (Free)
Get Started
  • Cancel Anytime
  • 30-Day Money-back Guarantee

Only this course
$24.99 USD
Get Single Course
  • 30-Day Money-back Guarantee
Explore the course
1+
hours
10
lessons
Intermediate
level
French (original audio), English
English, French , 1 more
Subtitles
  • Spanish [Auto]

What you’ll learn

  • How to use photo references & transform them into cartoony proportions
  • How to draw a stylized basic structure of the female anatomy
  • How to clean up your sketch so that you can use it as lineart
  • How to color with a digital drawing software step-by-step
  • How to lay your flat colors, adding shadows and lights to add volume
+ See more

Description

Curious how the pros go about drawing gorgeous pin-up illustrations that look so clean and elegant? Well, follow along with French artist, Emilie Decrock, and find out how!

Pin-ups are a timeless theme through the ages, eras and fashions and many things can be expressed through pin-up artwork, such as strength and fragility. For Emilie, pin-ups is one illustration style which she likes to use in her artistic expression, including revisiting portraits of great female figures, like Marilyn Monroe, Dita von Teese, Audrey Hepburn, Betty Page, etc.

In this course, you’ll discover the methods and techniques Emilie uses to draw a lovely pin-up from start to finish. Learn from a pro how to find inspiring references, choose pleasing color palettes, adjust your sketch with Photoshop tools, improve the character’s resemblance and all the other steps along the way!

+ See more

Who is this course for

  • Artists who want to draw their own pin-ups using photo references
  • Artists who want to color and render digitally in a cartoon style
+ See more

This course includes

  • 1+ Hours of on-demand videos
  • Certificate of Completion
+ See more

Used in course

+ See more

What you'll need

  • Digital drawing software such as Photoshop or similar (see examplesAffinity Photo, ArtRage, Artweaver, Astropad, Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter, Krita, Inkscape, IbisPaint, GIMP, Rebelle 4, Photoshop, Paintstorm Studio, Procreate, MediBang Paint, SketchPad, SketchBook, TwistedBrush, Vectr...)
  • You'll learn more if you have a drawing tablet
+ See more

Lesson Plan

Expand all sections
01

Introduction

07:20

Start your Subscription to continue watching
Start your subscription to get access to this class and 55+ more on 21 Draw
Get Started

Emilie, who has been an artist for 20 years, introduces herself and shares her artistic background, ranging from architectural drawing to creating her own art blog, to her current career in comics. Emilie discusses how pin-ups is a versatile and timeless theme and why she personally enjoys drawing them.


1.1
Introduction
04:16
1.2
The pin-up theme
03:04
02

Sketching from photo references

26:17

Start your Subscription to continue watching
Start your subscription to get access to this class and 55+ more on 21 Draw
Get Started

In this fascinating lesson, Emilie demonstrates how to find photo references that inspire you most and how to start off your sketch, combining elements from several photos.

Discover useful techniques for defining the character shape and anatomy, adding details to create structure, and creating a compelling resemblance to the reference photo.

You’ll also learn two methods of rendering the clean line-art: one best suited for comics and one with sketchy, pencil-like feel.


2.1
Finding photo references
01:17
2.2
Sketching from photo references
07:49
2.3
Refining your initial sketch
05:51
2.4
Finishing your sketch
05:37
2.5
The clean method
05:43
03

Colors and shadows

13:18

Follow along as Emilie shows how to apply flat colors to her illustration, add contrast and create highlights and shadows with a soft shading technique, giving shape, volume and life to the pin-up.

Cool feature: You’ll discover her personal color palette (which also looks great in print) that she uses regularly in her published work.


3.1
Laying down your flat colors
05:07
3.2
Laying down the shadows
08:11
04

Finishing touches

06:54

The final stage: Adding those extra details and effects to give your artwork a professional look and appeal, such as correcting some small mistakes, using the Curves tool to adjust the colors and brightness, and much more.

Well done on completing this course! Looking forward to seeing your artistic creations.


4.1
Finishing touches
06:54

Student Feedback

97 customer reviews & ratings

4.2

Course rating

Log in to leave a review or rating.
5 star
53 %
4 star
26 %
3 star
13 %
2 star
4 %
1 star
7 %
Best Suited for
Intermediate
The level is determined by a majority opinion of students who have reviewed this class. The teacher's recommendation is shown until at least 5 student responses are collected.

(Based on 97 reviews)

Most Liked
Great step-by-step process 61
Clarity of Instruction 52
Inspiring 52
Showing 10 reviews of
97
reviews & ratings
S
Sam

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
This was excellent.
I recommend it for All levels
1 person found this helpful
MV
Matija V.

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
Great step-by-step line-art process of creating pin-up style female characters.
I recommend it for Intermediate
2 people found this helpful
AH
Amanda H.

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
I can't seem to work in Photoshop without getting shaky lines, but all of this can be applied to ProCreate or Paint Tool SAI. Great instruction.
I recommend it for All levels
2 people found this helpful
XIMENA X.

2 years ago

Verified Purchase
Great Course! love it so much! very inspiring
I recommend it for Intermediate
1 person found this helpful
CO
Carlos O.

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
all around great Course.
I recommend it for All levels
Lisa D.

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
I liked the process. It was clear and easy to follow. I wish she drew other characters or expressions but aside from that it was great. Thank you Emilie!
I recommend it for Intermediate
RC
Ralph C.

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
Worth it only if you have somewhat experience in drawing
I recommend it for Intermediate
Reine H.

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
Inspiring course of a great artist. I’ve learned a lot. The use of multiple references, colourpalette, some sketching techniques. Looking forward to a new course. ;-)
I recommend it for Intermediate
Oxana B.

2 years ago

Verified Purchase
Perfect step-by-step video ! Not too long and shows everything from beginning to end. The voice sound in the video was a little too low, but other than that everything was perfect.
I recommend it for All levels
1 person found this helpful
Jaime L.

2 years ago

Verified Purchase
I loved the subject, just adorable finished project.
I recommend it for Intermediate
See more reviews

About the Instructor

Emilie Decrock
Illustrator & Colorist 1 course

Emilie Decrock is a French artist and character designer focusing primarily on pin-ups. She was born in Martinique and moved to Lyon, France when she was 5 years old. Emilie has worked for Hachette Education, PlayBac, Disney Hachette Presse and others, contributed to several French comic books and published her own comic series since 2009.


Follow Emilie on

Full bio

Bonus Offer

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 21 Draw?

21 Draw is an online learning community where students of all skill levels can learn how to be a better artist. Our contributing artists and instructors are the best in the world.

Our streaming platform on www.21-draw.com makes it possible for anyone to watch hundreds of video lessons by industry legends who have worked for Disney, Marvel, DC, Dreamworks, Pixar & more. A membership gives full access to our streaming platform.

On books.21-draw.com you can buy our popular learn-to-draw ebooks and physical books, separate from the courses, and they too are also delivered to you by the heavyweights of the art industry.

160 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

What is included in the membership?

Membership includes unlimited access to all 55+ courses taught by the world’s best artists PLUS new courses as they are released.

Each class includes 10-20 video lessons that are 7 minutes long on average. Most classes include exercise sheets, assignments, and layered PSD or PNG files.

Some classes include the ability to chat with the instructor in a public forum, e.g. if you want feedback on your artwork.

227 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

Do I receive a certificate after I complete a course?

Yes! When you complete a 21 Draw course, you will receive a certificate of completion, which you can download and share with your friends, relatives, co-workers, and potential employers!

171 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

Are these online or offline courses?

21 Draw courses are on-demand (pre-recorded) video tutorials that you can watch online with any digital devices anytime and for an unlimited number of times! This means you can easily watch (and rewatch) them at your own pace and convenience.

434 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

Can a beginner follow along?

We have classes for all levels, even for those with zero drawing experience. In general, artists at all levels can benefit from these courses—whether beginner, intermediate or advanced.

308 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

Do the courses teach digital or traditional art?

Many lessons in our courses apply to both digital and traditional art. In a few tutorials, digital drawing software, e.g. Photoshop or Procreate for iPad is required. However, for the majority of lessons it is more about the underlying concepts and all that is needed is a pen and paper.

276 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

Can I download the course videos?

You can download the course resources (exercise sheets, assignments, PSD files, etc.) from the site, but you cannot download the video lessons to your computer.

283 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

How much does a membership cost?

Normally it costs $235/year. However, there is a special sale running now for a limited time: Save 75%! This means you can get an annual membership for just $59 USD/year.

If you purchase the annual membership at a discounted price, it will remain at that price for each consecutive year, so long as your membership is not cancelled.

503 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

How does the 30-day guarantee work?

If for any reason at all you are unhappy with our courses or feel it isn’t what you are looking for—then just fill out this form or email us at [email protected]. We’ll be more than happy to give you a full refund within 30 days of your first purchase. No questions asked. Just a guarantee you can trust.

238 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

How do I cancel my membership?

You can easily cancel your membership renewal on your My Account page. Follow the prompts to cancel (Billing > Change Plan > Cancel Membership) and your membership will immediately be terminated. Please note: Refunds ONLY possible within 30 days after the date of purchase.

If you have more questions, please check out our Knowledge base or write to us here. We’re happy to assist in any way we can!

204 people found this helpful
Was this answer helpful?
Yes
No

More from 21 Draw

About 21 Draw

21 Draw offers online courses and books on how to be a better artist for students of all skill levels. Our contributing artists and instructors are the best in the world.
Explore Courses & Books
Preview course
Watch the trailer
Access to all courses
Get access to this course and 55+ more
$59 / year
$235/ year
left at this price!Save 75%
+
Gift an annual membership (Free)
Get Started
(including this course)
OR
$24.99 USD $39.99 Single Course
Lifetime access
No commitments
Cancel Anytime
30-Day Money-back Guarantee
Still not sure?
Check out our FAQ
Start your Subscription to continue watching
Start your subscription to get access to this class and 55+ more on 21 Draw
Get Started
Emilie Decrock Draw a Cartoon Pin-up (follow-along class)
Get all-access
Save 75% on annual membership + Give one for FREE. Get started