Digital Painting Academy
A Clear Path to Creating With Confidence!
Short on time but big on passion? Whether you're juggling work, family, or both—follow our step-by-step learning path to master the skills, tools, and techniques that bring your art to life in just minutes a day.
trusted by over 9000 students
Let me guess…
You have the ideas. The inspiration. The passion.
But something keeps getting in the way…
- Your Skills Don’t Match Your Vision – What you see in your mind never quite makes it to the canvas.
- You’re Short on Time – With everything else going on, even one hour of painting feels like a luxury you can’t afford.
- YouTube Tutorials Leave You Guessing – You follow along, but no one shows you the full process to improve.
- You're Stuck with Software Struggles – Searching for the right brushes, shortcuts, and settings eats up your creative time.
- Being a "Great Artist" Feels Out of Reach – When you try to break free from references, your art just doesn’t turn out right.
You’re tired of practicing for hours… but your skills still don’t match your vision! 😭
If this sounds familiar, it’s not your fault–you’re just missing the right path to get there.
That’s where the Digital Painting Academy comes in.
Introducing the Learning Path:
Your 5-level journey to creative Freedom.
Level 01:
Jump start your skills
Starting from scratch? No problem. In this first stage, you’ll get comfortable with your tablet and digital tools, mastering your software and learning to paint right away.
By the end, you’ll have completed your first digital painting- in under 60 minutes!
Level 02:
Digital Painting Essentials
Now that you have the basics down, it’s time to refine your skills. You’ll dive into sketching, rendering, and coloring techniques, while learning how to bring objects, animals, and portraits to life with confidence.
These are the fundamental skills that will set you up for success!
Level 03:
How to paint what you see and beyond
It’s time to take control of your art! Learn how to master perspective and draw it accurately. Train your eye to observe and how to apply color harmonies, gaining ultimate control over your color palette.
Say goodbye to flat, lifeless paintings—your art will pop off the screen like never before!
Level 04:
Painting Pro Essentials
Say goodbye to reference pictures. This level focuses on the principles of composition, perspective, and light theory to learn how to create unforgettable mood and impact in your paintings.
Every scene you create will feel like you just walked out of it (or into it)!
Level 05:
Bring It All Together!
Now, it’s time to take full creative control. You’ll create a complete, portfolio-worthy illustration from scratch, applying everything you’ve learned so far.
By the end, you’ll have the skills (and pro workflow) to create stunning digital paintings on your own with COMPLETE confidence!
✨ This is why the Academy is Different. ✨
Step-by-Step Learning Path
No more jumping between random tutorials or feeling overwhelmed. Our structured 12-month program guides you from beginner to pro with a clear, step-by-step learning path.
Whether you’re just starting or refining your skills, you’ll always know what to focus on next!
Skill Refinement for All Levels
Even experienced artists have gaps in their process. Whether it’s color theory, rendering, or composition, we help you strengthen your weaknesses to take your work to the next level.
You’ll be surprised at how much your art improves with the right guidance!
Build Your Own Schedule
Struggling to stay consistent? Develop a reliable workflow that fits your schedule that makes digital painting feel like second nature.
With a solid creative process in place, you’ll create unshakable painting habits!
Real-Time Feedback and Guidance
No more second-guessing yourself. Get expert feedback on your work from instructors and fellow artists inside our community.
Whether you need technical advice or creative direction, you’ll always have the support you need to push your art further!
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Hi there! 👋 I’m David
I am an illustrator and founder of The Digital Painting Academy.
As a digital artist of over 10 years (wow), I understand the challenge of creating art with a busy schedule.
After struggling with slow progress due to limited time to practice, I developed a streamlined learning path that helped me reach my artistic goals.
Whether you’re juggling parenting, a full-time job, or both (trust me- I’m still there!), the Digital Painting Academy fits your packed schedule while fast-tracking your artistic growth. That’s right- you can skip the years of trial and error I went through!
Let’s transform those small pockets of creative time into an opportunity to paint beautiful digital illustrations that you’re PROUD to share!
Steal my professional workflow ✏️
Everything I teach comes down to one thing: my workflow.
It’s the foundation behind all the success I’ve had as an illustrator. Once you learn it, you’ll be able to cut hours out of your process, finish paintings faster, and see the quality of your work skyrocket up and beyond the canvas!
Say goodbye to:
- Abandoning half the painting you started because you hit a wall…
- Feeling deflated & overwhelmed because there’s just too much to learn…
- The frustration of knowing what looks good but not having the skills to actually pull it off…
Because You'll get:
- The confidence & skills to pull off any concept you can imagine!
- A professional workflow to create anything from imagination!
- A set of skills to create BETTER art and start attracting potential clients!
Hear what past students have to say..
Over 9000+ students have joined the academy!
"Every portrait that
I'm doing (…) is better
than the last"
Amanda Gremba - Paintable Student 
"The progress that I've made is insane"
Taryn Peterson - Paintable Student
"If you try it, you are going to love it"
Miguel Olalder - Paintable Student
“I’ve been struggling for some time to seriously start painting digitally. The Digital Painting Academy gave me the tools and approaches to finally jumping the border from traditional or half-digital to a complete digital workflow… without putting me in a strict corset that wouldn’t have fitted my life.”
“Thank you for putting together such an accessible and understandable program. I've learned more about digital art within a week of joining DPA than I was able to do in nearly two years of trying to make sense of random YouTube tutorials on my own.”
"I wanted to create more complex illustrations, work with light and shadows, textures and create nice compositions. I tried a few courses on Skillshare but there was no sense of community or people I could relate to. The DPA is way more engaging than a simple class because you’re really pushed to create your own art based on the ideas they share with you. Now, I have more confidence and a step by step process I can follow to create the things I want to create.”
“I’ve watched YouTube videos and read books, but there wasn’t a pathway to follow. It felt haphazard and I didn’t like what I was producing. So I’d just fizzle off and lose momentum. When I found Paintable I could tell there was a structure to the way David teaches. I like the short videos and how easy they are to follow.
“I got more out of this than I did in a full-semester class at university and didn't have to take out a loan to do it. The videos are amazing and in-depth, and the structure of the class is perfectly paced to take you through the process of painting without overwhelming you.”
"I really enjoyed the organized structure of the courses. The foundations and the modules for individual aspects such as hair, skin tones or anatomy made it easy to divide my studying time into smaller chunks. That really helps with the motivation to continue learning and painting!"
"I love the site and can't begin to tell you what a difference it's made for me. I went from 'I have an art degree' being the funniest joke I could tell to actually making work that looks good."
"I feel far more comfortable with digital painting now. I don't struggle with smooth blending and I've learnt lots of easy tips and tricks that make it easy to fix mistakes or to really push the drawing to the next level. Basically, I've learnt how to use technology efficiently to create beautiful paintings."
“Before joining The DPA, I felt like I was lacking those fundamental skills I needed. Since joining, I know how to manipulate layers in my art, and use the tools to my advantage to really bring out light, colors, shadow and contrast. It makes everything look more dramatic. Plus, I feel I have more discipline and I’m making art on a more regular basis.
“Art instructors aren’t always great at explaining their process. What is that brush doing, why did you do that stroke, what’s the purpose? I couldn’t follow their steps or express what my imagination was telling me to do. I was frustrated with the results of what I was making. I now have a methodology to refer back to. Before, I was using tools and effects randomly. Controlling colors was hard. I felt my work looked childish and dull.
I needed help breaking it down into a process. I was looking for a workflow that worked for me consistently. Colors, shadows… I wanted a way of thinking. Since joining the DPA, I feel like I’m getting a university education based on how thorough everything is. You walk away knowing the direction you need to go in so you can finish the work.
Bonuses That Take Your Learning Further 🚀
01
bonus 01
Create your own time management & daily practice plan! ⏰
This brand new mini-class will help you make art a regular, sustainable part of your life. Inside, you'll find:
- Solutions to the biggest barrier to making art: TIME! Learn how to stay on track and build a better, unshakable art habit.
- A custom-made schedule builder template to help you maximize your unique time constraints.
- A sneak peek at how David organizes his personal calendar to fit creativity into his busy weeks.
It’s the perfect place to kick off your journey inside The DPA.
02
bonus 02
The Deep-Dive Library Unlocked 🔑
The Deep Dive Library is our massive collection of mini-courses on essential digital illustration topics!
It’s not just boring sketch work- we’re talking anatomy, portraiture, character design, landscapes, and more!
You could invest hundreds (or thousands!) of dollars on a course covering just ONE of the dozens of topics we cover inside The Deep Dive Library…
Or you can join the Digital Painting Academy TODAY and get unlimited access to all of it, in one place (for less than a fraction of the price)!
03
bonus 03
Share your art journey with other DPA members in real time! 🙌
Be part of the friendliest community out there. Have a question? Simply pull out your phone (or desktop app) and ask in the Discord. The Tribe community is here for you 24/7 (and with a private channel exclusive to DPA members)!
- Post your exercises and receive feedback from the community on them right away!
- Share your artistic journey with other DPA members. Learn from one another!
- Get direct access to David! YES, for real. David, the lead instructor of the DPA, is an active member of the community, ready to help or give you some encouragement.
04
bonus 04
Professional feedback & expert paint-overs on your artwork 🖌
As an Academy members your have a chance to receive personalized feedback from a pro artist, or pick up new ideas as you watch fellow DPA members get feedback on their work during our monthly LIVE paint-over sessions!
These paint-over sessions show you exactly what to do to level up your illustrations. Can't be there? No worries, we upload the recordings to the DPA.
Ready to Join The
⭐️ Digital Painting Academy? ⭐️
Get the A-Z of digital painting, and a start-to-finish process to take your illustration skills to new heights (in just a few minutes a day)
Here's what your membership includes:
- Our signature Learning Path: don't get lost going "newbie" to "pro" in digital painting!
- Portfolio Builder Program for real-life assignments to kickstart your career!
- BONUS: Creating Your Personal Time Management & Daily Practice Plan!
- BONUS: Access to hundreds of dollars of tutorials in the Deep-Dive Library!
- BONUS: Access to our private DPA community (and support from David)!
Join now and create your next (or first) digital painting within 60 minutes of signing up! 🖌️
Best Value
Risk-free 30 day money back guarantee!
Most Flexible
Risk-free 30 day money back guarantee!
My big Promise:
Spot The Difference in 30 Days, or It’s on Us!
STILL UNDECIDED?
Give It a Try—Totally Risk-Free (30-Day Guarantee!)
I genuinely believe you’ll love going through the Academy, just like the thousands of students before you who’ve seen real results.
But hey, I get it… not every course clicks with everyone.
That’s why I offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you dive in, complete the lessons, and give the exercises your full effort (but still feel like it’s not the right fit), I’ve got your back.
No hard feelings, no weird hoops to jump through 💛
Questions you might have about joining us…
The DPA is an online membership that provides step-by-step tutorials, resources, and support to improve your digital painting skills. 🎨 You’ll follow a structured learning path, from newbie to pro, with access to live Q&A sessions, a supportive community, and feedback from professional artists (even if your art isn’t chosen to be critiqued, you will learn so much from watching others get feedback)! Everything is recorded and you can go at your own pace.
Plus, you’ll have access to the portfolio builder, featuring briefs and guidance to help you add a brand new painting to your portfolio every single month that shows off the skills you’re building! 💪
You’ll master digital illustration techniques in the RIGHT order, from observation and sketching, to lighting and perspective. Plus, you’ll learn how to effectively use your digital tools, master color theory, shadows, proportions and build your own creative workflow.
Portraits, characters, landscapes, animals, icons and more — we’ll explore it all inside The DPA, in a structured path that means you’ll never get lost. (Plus, there’s the deep dive library with mini courses on topics like anatomy, special FX, and so much more!)
Ultimately, the goal is to help you master your software and tools, and be able to create any digital painting from imagination within the next 12 months… with noticeable progress in your skills in just the next 30 days! 🖌️
The DPA is best for beginner to intermediate level artists who are looking for a path to improve their skills, master their tools and software, and sharpen their workflow. You’ll pick up valuable lessons and techniques to help you grow and refine your digital painting skills.
Nope! DPA welcomes artists of all backgrounds and experience levels. 🎉 We’ll guide you through the basics and help you progress at your own pace, so you’ll never feel left behind.
Absolutely! The DPA’s bite-sized lessons (typically 5 minutes or less) make it easy to learn and practice, even with a busy schedule. 📚 Plus, our flexible learning paths let you progress at your own pace, so you can become a better artist without feeling overwhelmed. 👌
The DPA offers a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to learning that leaves no stone unturned. It’s focused on the big picture and teaches the right skills in the right order. 🥳
You’ll never have to “guess” or piece together different ideas again. The unique structure of The DPA will help you stay motivated and make real progress in your digital art journey.
DPA is designed to keep you engaged and motivated! With our supportive community, interactive live sessions, and step-by-step learning path, you’ll find it easier than ever to stay consistent and see your skills grow. 🌱
We take all the confusing theories and information and turn it into ONE simple process you can follow to master the right skills in the right order. If you have a few minutes a day, you will make progress and an see an improvement in your paintings. (Plus, you’ve got 30 days to test that promise out for yourself with our money-back guarantee.)
While you will need a drawing tablet and digital painting software, DPA doesn’t require any specific tools or software. We’ll help you choose and master the tools that work best for you, so you can focus on your craft! 🙌
No worries! Our live Q&A sessions, private Discord channel, and supportive community are here to help you overcome challenges and find solutions. 😊 You’ll never be alone in your digital art journey.
📧 Just shoot us an email at [email protected]! Our friendly team is always happy to help with any questions!
