Reach a professional level in digital art by following a step-by-step learning system
Develop a reliable painting process
Make steady art progress by practicing from proven techniques
Build art confidence by creating consistently good work, without feeling like it’s a “hit or miss”
Join a passionate community of like-minded artists
There hasn’t been a better time to improve and make a living out of your art than right now
Digital art has changed the game, whether that’s comics, commissions, freelance, concept art, or selling prints. The opportunities are endless.
But you probably already know this.
You’ve spend months (maybe even years) admiring your favorite artists on social media.
You’ve had a passion for art and you’ve been doodling for a while, so you started to hear a voice in your head saying:
Maybe I can finally start taking my art more seriously
Maybe I can develop my skills and start drawing the things I imagine
Maybe I can turn my passion into an actual career instead of settling for studying or working in a field that doesn't excite me.
But every time you start drawing you feel like there’s a huge difference between what you imagine and what’s actually on the canvas which leaves you feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
When you try to do what professionals are doing.. your skills are coming short
But you’re still struggling to figure out what to focus on, constantly doubting whether you’re drawing the right thing.
You are determined to learn art online because let’s face it, art school might not the best option sometimes, whether it’s because of its affordability or the actual information it provides.
So you’ve decided to take the path of the self taught artist.
You know getting better at art takes time and practice..
But when you’re already juggling a hectic college schedule or a 9-5 job, working towards your art dream has no choice but to take a backseat.
And there’s no way you want to give up on the one thing that allows you to be creative and brings purpose into your life.
Then there’s your Art Style..
Because even if you were able to overcome art block and start drawing, you’re still not sure what exactly you want your art style to look like.
You still have no clue how to finish your drawings, so you just keep producing more WIPs in hopes that one day you’ll have enough skill to actually finish them.
In case you were able to finish one of your drawings, you’d just wake up the next morning to realize you actually dislike it.
Every time you sit down to draw, you’re spending hours:
Figuring out where to start
What brushes, tools, colors you need to be using
Stressing about whether you’re going to ruin the one part of the drawing you actually like
or just constantly doubting yourself with things like..
Is this good enough?
This doesn’t look how I imagined it would in my head
There is missing something but I don’t even know what it is
How do I know all this?
Because I went through it myself
My name is Angel Ganev
I’m a full-time professinal artist, art teacher, freelancer, and Youtuber.
When I bought my first tablet in 2011, I had no clue what I was doing. I mean just look at my old art.
2013
As a self taught artist, I wanted to be able to draw everything..
..characters, figures, portraits, illustrations, backgrounds, expressions, comics..
but..
Every time I tried to express my ideas I felt art block, a wall built by my own lack of skills.
So I decided to focus on developing my technical skill. And every tutorial was saying “study the fundamentals”.
However, as I started drawing boxes or learning complex muscles, I found myself wondering “how does this connect to the beautiful art I want to create?”
This led to me losing my motivation for art and feeling burned out.
Temptation to give up was strong, especially when I wasn't makig any money from my art. Worse still, I wasn't even enjoying the process anymore.
Yet, just a few years later I was making a full time living from art - a milestone that finally gave me the confidence to call myself a “real artist”
..and I self-published my first art book full of original characters and their personal stories.
By now you’re probably wondering what I did to get to this point
(don’t worry, we’ll get to that)
But first, here’s what I didn’t do:
I avoided obsessing over custom brushes, little details of my art, and quick “tips&tricks”, constantly jumping from one tutorial to another.
I also didn’t try try to learn complex anatomy or stress over finding my art style immediately.
Instead a balanced artist is someone who is focused on improving their technical skill while still drawing what inspires them.
It means you get to
- Create meaningful art that you’re proud of, without being limited by your skills
- Be confident that you can fix your own mistakes and produce the results that you imagine
- Are able to express yourself through your art and inspire others as a result
- Leave behind a job or college that doesn’t fulfill you and take a leap to the creative career you’ve always dreamed of.
Make no mistake, the path to achieving this can be frustrating, painful and straight up maddening. At least if you go at it alone. But if you’ve ever wished for a guide to help you through the journey - this is it.
Join the AcademyIntroducing
Your step-by-step learning system for reaching a professional level in digital art.
Develop a reliable painting process
Make steady art progress by practicing from proven techniques
Build art confidence by creating consistently good work, without feeling like it’s a “hit or miss”
Join a passionate community of like-minded artists
DW Academy is designed to help you progress one step at a time and build the solid foundation you need in order to be able to create the art you desire.
You won’t find any sped up timelapse videos that don’t actually teach you what you need to be doing in order to improve.
Instead you will be able to follow systemized courses that slowly build upon each other to ensure you’d be able to understand everything fully and actually apply it.
With DW Academy You'll Be Able To:
Know What To Focus On Next
Imagine if your art practice could be as fun as playing a video game. When you have a clear understanding of what you should be focusing on and you're working on drawings tailored to your skill level, you enter a state of flow. You start to enjoy every step of the journey.
And the best part? By dedicating just one or two hours a day to the right practices, you'll see more progress than you would from a full day of aimless sketching.
Develop A Reliable Painting Process
No more hours spent in front of a blank canvas, filled with uncertainty about the outcome of your next art piece.~
With a reliable painting process that you can adapt to any type of art you want to create, you'll have the confidence in each step of the process.
This confidence enables you to consistently create art that aligns with your creative vision.
Measure Your Results
By having an actual defined goal with every step of the journey, you would be able to clearly see if you are moving forward and easily identify any mistakes.
This will allow you to address them and improve your skills with each piece of art you create.
Develop Your Art Style Gradually
The journey to developing an art style isn't a race. It's a gradual process that grows and changes with you.
The more you progress, the more your style develops, and the more you can refine it to truly make it your own.
Our Academy is designed to not only help you enhance your skills but also to nurture your individual style.
Here’s What You Get Once you join DW Academy:
Begin Your Journey The Right Way
In this course, you'll uncover the essential tools and concepts necessary to set yourself up for success in your artistic journey. You'll learn how to optimize your digital workspace, enabling you to learn and create in the most efficient way possible.
Additionally, you'll discover the foundational steps of developing structure in your art and gain insights into the proper use of proportions and lines in your drawings.
COURSE ROADMAP
02 - Lines
The first step to developing structure is being able to represent 3D form with 2D lines. It’s what sets the ground for any real piece of art.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson:
- How to make your drawings look 3D and think about structure instead of symbols
- The secret to creating clean and energetic lines instead of stiff and messy ones
- Line exercises for improving your lines and creating the sketches that you desire
- How to hold your stylus properly (most artists hold it wrong)
- How to sculpt, fade away and build up your lines for the best quality possible
01 - Setup
Before starting this game-changing journey, you need to make sure you’re equipped with the right tools. We will cover absolutely everything you’ll need on the path.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson:
- Which digital tablet is best for you and what settings to use
- How to choose the right painting app according to your needs
- How brushes work and which ones you to use for the best results
- How to use photo references and set up your drawing file the proper way
- How to set up shortcuts in order to paint much quicker
- Tips for posting your work online and creating an art account
03 - Proportions
A common misconception is that “proportions” are fixed - that they are something that you learn one time and then just apply to your drawings. But proportions actually change in every drawing you do.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson:
- How to measure proportions, so your drawings will look real and belivable
- How to capture the likeness of the reference without it looking weird or looking like someone else
- Understanding what is negative space and how to use it to your advantage
- Different proportion hacks on measuring and becoming faster at drawing
Learn The Painting System Through Portraits
This is our main course. It uses portraits as a way to learn the different elements of the painting system by stacking each element on top of the previous one.
This knowledge can then be applied to any subject and art style.
The course includes 10 Lessons which slowly build upon each other to ensure that anybody, no matter their current skill level, would be able to understand it.
Each Lesson is packed with multiple videos and exercises that you have to complete in order to ensure that you understand each element fully before moving to the next.
STRUCTURE
The Lay In captures the most basic planes, helping you to understand the structure of the face, which can then be applied to original characters and different art styles.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- How to simplify the human face down to the most basic planes, so you don’t get overwhelmed by complicated features
- How to find the connection points which help you to draw any head from any angle
- How the proportions of face change and how to capture them using the Lay In
Planes Of The Head are the more detailed planes that come after the The Lay In. They capture the subtlety of the face and set it up for shading later.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- What each of the planes of the face represent
- How to draw in 3D space in order to make your drawing feel real and not flat
- How draw the planes of different features in perspective
- How to simplify hair by drawing the hair chunks
Lineweight is the connection between structure and shading, it’s the final stage of lines. It’s what transforms it from a “robot” to a “human”.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- How to improve your sketches by applying line variation techniques
- How to design the features of the face like the eyes, nose, lips and ears.
- How to draw different hairstyles and make them look real
- How to draw clothes
Shadow Separation sets the foundation for shading. It guides you to identify the light source direction, enabling the accurate depiction of shadow shapes.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- Comprehend the dynamics of light and shadow, and apply them to your sketches.
- Understand and apply the 7 components of shading: cast shadow, core shadow, reflected light, occlusion shadow, light, highlight, and midtone
- Effectively use shading brushes to achieve optimal results.
- Learn to manipulate values, shapes, and edges in your artwork
Value Expansion is about building up the shadows and lights in your painting, enabling you to expand the details of the painting.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- The step-by-step shading process that can be followed for any painting and art style that you do
- Knowing where to place the different shading components
- Adding value, shape and edge variation
- Learn the techniques of shading hair and clothes
Rendering is the final stage of your painting. It’s about polishing all of the shading you’ve done before that, in order to achieve a “finished” look.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- Understand what rendering is and how it works.
- How to render different parts of the face like eyes, nose, lips, ears, hair, clothes
- Keeping a balance between structure and details
- Knowing when a painting is finished and when to stop rendering
- Learn techniques for painting backgrounds in your portraits.
SHADING
Design
After understanding all of the structure by drawing and painting males, it’s time to learn the Advanced Sketching method and apply it to females.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- How to sketch quicker like a pro
- The difference in structure between male in female portraits
- How to draw female hair
- How to design the female features like eyes, nose, lips.
Applying all of the shading knowledge and experience you’ve built so far, to create stunning female portraits.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- The difference between male and female rendering
- Uncover the secrets behind beautiful female paintings
- Learn to render soft skin, long hair, and jewelry
- Discover techniques for adding makeup to your paintings
Still Lifes are the perfect introduction to color, since they are more simplified than portraits and can easily show you the basics of color.
What you’ll learn inside this Lesson
- The step-by-step color painting process
- The 3 components of Color - Hue, Saturation and Brightness
- How to pick better colors
- The basic color principless
- Explore different types of lighting and how to handle them in your artwork.
COLOR
COLOR
With a comprehensive understanding of the painting system elements, you're now prepared to apply them to color portraits for a finished, professional result.
What you'll learn inside this Lesson
- The advanced color principles
- Learn to adapt the color painting process to various lighting scenarios and references.
- Discover how to edit colors and apply filters to enhance the colors in your paintings.
- How to start stylizing your portraits
The Warriors Tools
Reference LibraryWondering what to draw next?
References are like the building blocks for your visual library, helping you expand it one drawing at a time. It’s what nourishes your inspiration and helps you unlock your creativity.
Often times artists end up in perpetual cycle of scrolling through Pinterest wondering which reference to pick, which leaves them feeling overwhelmed and lost, resulting in an art block.
By joining the Academy, you'll have access to our Reference Library which contains over 300 hand-picked references, organized based on the specific purpose of each lesson.
WorkbooksYou didn’t think our courses are just pure theory, right?
Artists are infamous for the bad habit of watching countless of hours of tutorials and never really applying the information.
After each video, you’ll be able to download a PSD file that we call a Workbook. Each Workbook has a specific task that you have to compete which helps you understand the content of the video lesson and put an end to procrastination.
Real improvement in art requires more than just watching – it involves hands-on practice. No more doubting what to focus on.
Simply watch the video, complete the workbook task, and watch your skills grow.
HandbookYou’ve probably experienced watching a long tutorial, just to realize at the end, that you forgot 95% of the things that were mentioned.
Along with the Workbook, you’d be able to download an accompanying PDF handbook that contains all of the content of the video with all of the drawings and instructions inside, just like a digital art book.
If you want to revisit some information, you can easily scroll through the handbooks and quickly review the art and the drawing process.
You’ll be able to easily study on the go or keep your handbooks on the side while drawing which will accelerate your progress even more.
3D ModelsBeing able to recognize planes, might be a daunting task if you’ve never studied structure before.
That’s why we’ve created two different 3D models to help you understand the different planes of the head.
You’ll be able to rotate the models in any angle and study those hard views that you’ve always struggled with.
Access To The DW Community
Practicing by yourself can be a frustrating and lonely experience. Knowing that others are going through the same experience as you, can keep you accountable and inspired.
By joining the Academy, you’ll become a part of our private Discord server which is full of other like-minded artists who are on the path to improvement.
You’d be able to share your results and receive feedback from other students.
What Other Professionals Are Saying
Breno Pontes
@brenopontesart
Varun Singh
@varun.draws
Scott Ormston
@scottormston
Doodle Warriors Academy
- Starts from the ground up and the content slowly builds upon each other, covering absolutely every step you need to know about.
- Has detailed explanations for each video that goes in depth on things that advanced artists consider “common knowledge” but for you might feel overwhealming.
- Has practical workbooks that ensure you’ll understand the concepts properly.
- Gives you clear criteria so you can measure your results and see if you applied the material correctly.
- Is build from the experience of teaching others, so it’s proven to work for anyone,even people who didn’t even own a tablet before joining.
Other Art Courses
Includes mostly timelapses and speedpaints, without explaining why the artist do what they do.
Doesn’t tell you what you need to be doing exactly.
Has no established criteria of how your work should look, so you don’t know whether or not you’re doing well.
The drawing process works only for the artist who created the course.
Is A Perfect Fit For You If:
Is NOT A Perfect Fit For You If:
Still Unsure?
And investing in yourself as an artist is scary. Especially when there’s probably a part of you wondering:
How do I know if this is going to work for me?
Because, if by “work” you mean you’ll just magically start creating amazing art - then no, definitely not. (Well.. unless you already have amazing art. Then, maybe).
- A system to follow for continuously improving step by step
- Discovered what mistakes you’re doing in your drawings so you can be able to fix the.
- A community that’s going to support you through the highs & lows
- A drawing process that you can rely on, time and time again
- All of the learning resources, like video lessons, handbooks, workbooks, references and 3D models, to help you and guide you on the journey
- Laid down the foundation that’s going to help you reach a professional level and be closer to developing your own style
Because becoming a successful artist isn’t about how ‘’special’’ or ‘’talented’’ you are it’s about having the courage to start the journey, committing to reach that first peak, and taking one small (already laid out) step at a time.
I can’t guarantee you’ll find a unique art style and make a living from your art overnight after joining the DW Academy.
But I do guarantee that if you do the work, follow the system, and commit to moving forward, your skills will improve and you will have more confidence in your art.
If, within 30 days, you aren’t satisfied
We’ll give you all your money back.
Just email our team at: [email protected] and we’ll get it sorted out for you.
Join Now And Get Additional Bonuses
Bonus #1
Styles - Course
In this bonus course, we’ll dive deeper into the art of stylization.
You’ll understand how stylization works and how you can start exploring different art styles and being closer to developing your own style as well.
Bonus #2
Portrait Bootcamp
For the past 4 years, our coaches have been doing weekly critique livestreams, giving feedback to students inside our Academy.
By joining you’ll get access to all of the hundreds of hours of recordings that cover absolutely every mistake and question that you can encounter on the journey.
Bonus #3
Figure Bootcamp
Every week, our coaches come together for a livestream where they share their figure drawings and realizations, give feedback to each other, answer figure questions and talk about how to approach learning figure drawing.
By joining, you’ll get access to all of our learning materials, references, drawing files and be able to join us on our journey of learning about figures!
Join DW Academy Now to Get Instant Digital Access
$29.00 / month
- Instant Access to Essentials Course
- Instant Access to Portrait System Course
- Instant Access to Styles Course
- Instant Early Access to Figure System
- 300+ Hand-picked Reference Images
- 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
- Student-only Access to our Growing Discord Community
- 40+ Practical Exercises with Clear Criteria and Goals
- Access to over 400+ Critique Livestreams (and new ones recorded weekly)
- Over 100 Hours Of Video Lessons (and constantly growing)
One Last Thing..
My 100% honest take? There’s nothing wrong with that. Many of your favorite artists (myself included) have gotten to а professional level through good old trial & error.
But I’m guessing that if you’re here, this approach has only gotten you so far.
And it’s likely taking you hours to sit through hundreds of videos just to find one useful piece of advice that’s relevаnt to you.
That’s why we created DW Academy. It’s filled with the steps that hundreds of students have already taken to completely transform their art.
And it’s everything I wish I had known as an aspiring artist, all in one place.
And if you trust the process, and follow the art system, you’ll spend less time watching endless tutorials and more time actually moving towards
Being able to one day make a living on the side (or even full-time) with your art. Inspiring others with your art and be able to share your own personal story.
And most importantly..Making meaningful art that fulfills your soul.
This is why DW Academy exists.
FAQ
Do I need any specific software, tools, or equipment?
You will need a drawing tablet and digital painting software, but the courses inside the Academy are not limited to any specific tools.
Don't worry if you're new to digital painting - we've got you covered! Inside our Essentials course, we will help you select the best tablet and software tailored to your unique needs.
Who is DW Academy for?
If you want to reach a professional level in digital art without going through years of art block, and to have fun while following step-by-step learning systems to help you improve at:
Portraits,
Figures,
Stylized Paintings,
and more,
while simultaneously working on your art fundamentals, then DW Academy is exactly for you.
There are a lot of courses/tutorials on digital art, what makes DW Academy different?
Unlike many other courses, DW Academy starts from the basics, with detailed videos, practical workbooks, and a clear progress roadmap.
We ensure our methods work for everyone, even beginners with no previous experience.
Other courses often skip vital information, lack clear instructions, and might not suit all learning styles.