Although he received some education in technical drawing, Dumoulin was initially intended for a commercial career.

Arriving in Grenada, he made business while drawing plans and views for the governor.

Returned to Vevey in 1783, he turned his sketches of the battles into oil paintings and watercolours, earning his life diving drawing lessons.

Between 1795 and 1797, Dumoulin was in Paris, where he took lessons in anatomy, copied ancient paintings in the Louvre, attended the Academy and the School of naval constructions.

In 1810, Dumoulin published a collection of 150 engravings themed on the journey of Robinson Crusoe, which is considered to be a precursor to modern comics.