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

Status: New
Status: Preview
Michigan State University
Digital Painting Specialization
Skills you'll gain: Color Theory, Digital Design, Animations, Creative Design, Creativity, Design
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Packt
Learn Midjourney For Your Future 6 Figure Career
Skills you'll gain:
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Coursera Project Network
Create and Design Digital Products using Canva
Skills you'll gain: Canva (Software), Design, Digital Design, Design Elements And Principles, Product Design, Color Theory, Graphic Design, Intellectual Property, Product Promotion, E-Commerce, 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: 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, Innovation, Social Justice, Design, Journalism, Storytelling, Architectural Design, Design Elements And Principles, Multimedia, Environmental Issue, Photo/Video Production and Technology
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
15K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Skillshare
Midjourney for Beginners: Step-by-Step AI Art Guide
Skills you'll gain: Prompt Engineering, Generative AI, Creativity, Content Creation, Web Applications
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Skillshare
Kickstart Your Creativity with Procreate
Skills you'll gain: Creative Design, Peer Review, Digital Design, Design, Storytelling, Design Elements And Principles, Creativity, Color Theory, Technical Drawing
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

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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, Graphic and Visual Design
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
4.1K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Michigan State University
Art for Games
Skills you'll gain: Unity Engine, Animations, 3D Modeling, Storyboarding, Color Theory, Animation and Game Design, Video Game Development, Game Design, Autodesk Maya, Computer Graphics, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Design Elements And Principles, Adobe Photoshop, Conceptual Design, Computer Graphic Techniques, Prototyping, Graphic and Visual Design, Virtual Environment, Design, Data Import/Export
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
411 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Michigan State University
Pixel Art for Video Games
Skills you'll gain: Animations, Storyboarding, Animation and Game Design, Unity Engine, Color Theory, Video Game Development, Adobe Photoshop, Game Design, Computer Graphics, Graphic and Visual Design, Design Elements And Principles, Conceptual Design, Creativity
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
264 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Project Network
Use Canva to Design Digital Course Collateral
Skills you'll gain: Canva (Software), Color Theory, Developing Training Materials, Digital Design, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic Design, Creative Design, Marketing, Social Media
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
1.5K reviews
Advanced · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: Free Trial
The Museum of Modern Art
What Is Contemporary Art?
Skills you'll gain: Performing Arts, Art History, Electronic Media, Aesthetics, Creativity, Design, Liberal Arts, Architectural Design, Multimedia, Photo/Video Production and Technology, Social Justice
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.9K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Michigan State University
Concept Art for Video Games
Skills you'll gain: 3D Modeling, Computer Graphics, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Adobe Photoshop, Conceptual Design, Computer Graphic Techniques, Virtual Environment, Graphic and Visual Design, Data Import/Export, Design Elements And Principles
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
108 reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months