ART-GD-148: Character Design Fundamentals

By Charactographies Categories: Arts
Wishlist Share
Share Course
Page Link
Share On Social Media

About Course

Are you a beginner artist with big ideas but unsure where to start?

Well, the good news is that we’re not gonna do any animations in this course! So, don’t let my little animations turn you away, because this course is meant to help you gain the fundamental skills for building your own original character. 

Do you need prior drawing experience?

This course assumes that you have already taken Prof. Joy’s Drawing 101 class (or any preliminary drawing class where you were taught drawing fundamentals like light/shadow, contour lines, perspective etc. With that foundation laid down, we can take your drawings to the next level.

This 12-week course will guide you through the fundamentals of figure drawing and character design—all the way to creating your very own mini 4-page comic!

Show More

What Will You Learn?

  • Understand basic anatomy, proportions, and gesture
  • Design expressive, original characters with personality
  • Use shape language, clothing, and props to tell visual stories
  • Plan, write, and draw your first comic based on a relatable life theme
  • Each lesson includes hands-on demos, creative assignments, and real-time feedback. We'll also have student presentations and art critiques so we can learn from each other and grow together. You'll finish the course with a complete character turnaround sheet and a short comic starring the original character you will create throughout the course.

Course Content

Shape Language & Silhouettes
Simple shape drawing (circles, squares, triangles) Learn how shape language communicates personality - Create 5 character silhouettes based on emotion/archetypes - Assignment: Design 3 silhouette thumbnails for character types (hero, villain, comic relief)

Gesture Drawing & Movement
Understand line of action, balance, and rhythm 30-second gesture poses Explore dynamic posing and character motion: - Do the line of action tutorial. - Assignment: 10 gesture drawings and one refined dynamic pose

Proportions & Simplified Anatomy
Body part breakdowns (head, torso, limbs) Intro to stylized vs realistic proportions Practice drawing standing characters from reference - Assignment: Create a turnaround sheet of a simple character (front, side, back)

Facial Expressions & Emotion Mapping
Quick expression sketches (angry, happy, sad, etc.)

Clothing & Character Identity
Student Presentations Drawing clothing folds

Props, Accessories & Worldbuilding
Draw 3 random everyday objects

Character Turnarounds & Final Design
Clean line art practice

Storyboarding Basics & Comic Panels
Student Presentations 3-panel emotion story. Intro to panel layout, pacing, and flow

Scriptwriting & Dialogue
Student Presentations Writing natural, expressive dialogue

Rough Drafts & Page Planning
Panel pose thumbnails Sketch your 4- page comic (loose pencils)

Inking, Lettering, AND FINAL TOUCHES
Line variation exercises Clean up lines, finalize balloon placement Color swatch testing

Presentation day
Share your comic and character in a mini-showcase

Want to receive push notifications for all major on-site activities?

✕