SVS Painting Color and Light is an online class from the School of Visual Storytelling, taught by illustrator Will Terry with guests Jake Parker and Ty Carter. It explains how light, shadow and colour behave and how to recreate different lighting situations in a painting, from spotlights and ambient light to reflected and coloured light, time of day and atmospheric perspective. The class has 31 lessons with about six and a half hours of video, a workbook and a series of exercises, and is included in the SVS Learn membership.

The concepts apply to any medium, from oils and acrylics to watercolour and digital painting. The class is aimed squarely at the familiar complaint that work looks flat, and at artists who wonder how others get luminous colour.

What You Will Learn

How light works and the different types of shadow
Predicting where light and shadow will fall
Collecting and altering photo reference for lighting
Recognising lighting situations, including reflected and coloured light
Choosing light placement for mood and clarity
Blending paint and enhancing lighting with a 3D paint-over
Lighting demonstrations with backlighting, dappled light and light beams
Choosing accent colours, and when to use neutral or saturated colour

Who Is SVS Painting Color and Light For?

The class suits illustrators and painters who can draw well but whose colour work looks flat or muddy. It is relevant to both digital and traditional painters, and to anyone painting picture books, covers or concept art.

You will get more from it if you have taken Light and Shadow for Illustrators and The Magic of Color first.

How the Class Works

The class mixes explanation with practical exercises, more than eight in total, from painting shadows and predicting light to placing light sources and blending paint. A long series of lizard demonstrations shows the same subject under different lighting conditions, which makes the differences easy to compare.

Course Structure

Introduction: course overview and workbook
Understanding Light and Shadow: how light works, types of shadows (Exercises 1 and 2)
Using and Collecting Reference: photo reference and altering it (Exercise 3)
Lighting Situations: reflected coloured light, coloured light sources (Exercise 4), light placement (Exercise 5), optical illusions
Painting Demos: blending paint (Exercise 6), 3D paint-over (Exercise 7)
Lighting Demos: lizard demos with backlighting, dappled light and a light beam (Exercise 8)

What You Will Make

Through the exercises you will paint a series of lighting studies and can colour the compositions from Building Backgrounds for Characters, turning sketches into finished, lit illustrations ready for your portfolio.

Price and Access

The class is included in the SVS Learn membership. SVS lists its Studio membership at $29.95 a month, and class pages show a $300 annual option. A 14-day free trial is available with a card and becomes a paid subscription unless you cancel.

About the Instructor

Will Terry has been a freelance illustrator for 26 years and has illustrated about 30 children's books for publishers including Random House, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic and Penguin. Jake Parker, a guest in the class, worked at Reel FX and Blue Sky Studios and created Inktober.

How It Fits the SVS Curriculum

Painting Color and Light is part of Level 4 of SVS Essentials. It follows Building Backgrounds for Characters and is followed by Painting Texture and Details.

Things to Consider

Time: six and a half hours of video and many exercises.
Medium: digital or traditional.
Before this: Light and Shadow for Illustrators and The Magic of Color.
Next steps: Painting Texture and Details.
Feedback: share your studies in the SVS community.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with SVS Learn?

Start Painting Color and Light

For the full curriculum and membership options, visit the official SVS Learn website.

Looking for more ways to learn? Browse all courses and learning resources on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 26, 2026

Painting Color and Light by SVS Learn