Drawing Faces From Imagination by Esben Lash Rasmussen

What you’ll learn

In Drawing Faces From Imagination, students learn how to construct believable, expressive faces without depending only on direct reference. The course is built around the problem many artists face: drawing a head from imagination is much harder than copying a face from reference. In his own LinkedIn launch post, Esben describes drawing faces without reference as “daunting”, but says the course is designed to make the process less intimidating by distilling his own principles for drawing faces more confidently and accurately from imagination.

You will learn how to:

• Build faces from simple forms before adding detail.
• Understand the skull and underlying structure of the head.
• Use simplified “low-poly” thinking to understand planes of the face.
• Draw facial features in a more structural way, not just as isolated details.
• Improve proportion, head rotation, and expression.
• Draw faces for concept art, illustration, character design, and personal work.
• Move from reference-based practice toward more confident imaginative drawing.
• Practise through assignments, exercises, and community feedback.

From the course visuals indexed on the official page, the curriculum appears to move through The Skull, Low Poly Head, The Features, and Exercises + Demos, which gives the course a construction-based structure rather than a purely “copy this portrait” approach.

Requirements

This course is best for beginner to intermediate artists, not complete non-artists who have never drawn before. The official FAQ says Esben recommends it for beginner-to-intermediate students and that it avoids heavy anatomical/Latin terminology because that can confuse students more than help them while drawing.

Recommended requirements:

• Basic drawing ability and comfort with sketching.
• A digital drawing setup or traditional sketching tools.
• Willingness to do assignments, not just watch videos.
• Stable internet connection, because the course videos are streamed through the Members Area and are not provided as downloadable files.
• Time for practice: the course includes 20 assignments and is described as real work, not just passive watching.

Software is not presented as the main requirement for this course. Since the focus is drawing faces, the core skill is construction and observation, not mastering one specific app.

Description

Drawing Faces From Imagination is a full online drawing course by Esben Lash, focused on helping artists understand and invent faces rather than only copy them. The course is part of Art Guild, Esben’s online art school, which he describes as a place for aspiring artists and storytellers to develop their craft and bring imaginary characters and environments to life.

The course is especially useful for artists who struggle with the “blank page” problem: they can draw from reference, but when they try to invent a face, the proportions, structure, perspective, or expression fall apart. Esben’s external launch post frames the course around exactly this challenge: drawing faces is already difficult, and drawing them without reference is even harder.

Instead of teaching portrait drawing as a collection of separate facial features, the course appears to teach the head as a system: skull, simplified planes, facial features, and then practical exercises/demos. This makes it closer to a construction course for artists who want to design characters and portraits from imagination. The official materials list 4 chapters, 6+ hours of video, assignments, exercises, a line brush pack, Discord classroom access, and 50+ hours of recorded feedback sessions.

A useful detail from social media promotion is that Esben has shown student “before and after” examples where students had 10 minutes to draw a head from imagination before the course and again after the course. That suggests the course is marketed not only as theory, but as measurable improvement in head construction and confidence.

Who this course is for

This course is for artists who want to become more independent when drawing faces and characters. It is not only for portrait artists; it also fits concept artists, illustrators, character designers, and students who want stronger fundamentals for entertainment art. The official FAQ specifically says knowing how to draw a good face is important whether you are doing concept art or illustration.

Best suited for:

• Beginner-to-intermediate artists.
• Artists who can copy faces but struggle to invent them.
• Character designers who need more believable heads and expressions.
• Illustrators who want stronger portrait structure.
• Digital artists who want a practical, assignment-based course.
• Students who prefer simplified, useful anatomy over memorising complex anatomical names.
• Artists who want community support and feedback through Discord.

This course is probably not ideal for someone looking for a deep medical anatomy course, hyperrealistic rendering only, or a passive “watch-only” tutorial. The course is positioned more as a practical construction and practice system.

About the Author

Esben Lash Rasmussen is a Danish / Copenhagen-based illustrator, concept artist, senior illustrator, and art director working in the entertainment and game industry. Multiple external profiles describe his background with major studios including Riot Games, Sixmorevodka, and IO Interactive.

His work is strongly connected with fantasy, storytelling, character-driven imagery, and game art. ROI Event describes him as a Danish artist with a deep love for fantasy, mentioning influences such as Warhammer, LARPing, Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, Warcraft, and fantasy storytelling. The same profile says he is now Art Director at IO Interactive and involved with their new IP, Project Fantasy.

A Playgrounds profile describes him as a storyteller whose passion is creating emotion through well-crafted imagery and stories that resonate. It also highlights his decade-long experience in the video game industry.

An older Art Side of Life interview identifies him as a Danish concept artist and illustrator who was working as a Senior Illustrator at Riot Games in LA at the time, and notes that he studied at The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark.

Final Result

By the end of the course, students should be able to draw faces from imagination with better structure, proportion, and confidence. The expected result is not simply one finished portrait, but a stronger method for inventing heads and faces from scratch.

A realistic final result would be:

• More confident face sketches from imagination.
• Better understanding of skull structure and facial planes.
• Stronger head rotation and perspective.
• More believable facial features.
• More expressive character faces.
• Less dependence on copying reference directly.
• A clearer workflow for building faces from simple shapes into finished drawings.

Based on the course materials and student testimonials, the main transformation is confidence and structure: students mention improvement in drawing faces from different positions, adding more structure to their work, and feeling more capable after each assignment.

What people are saying

The strongest public testimonials are still hosted on Esben’s own site, so they are not fully independent reviews. However, they are specific enough to identify the main strengths students mention: quick explanations, assignment-based learning, clear structure, Discord support, and practical improvement.

Students say the course is strong because:

• The lessons are quick and direct.
• Students can start assignments immediately after each video.
• The course avoids long passive lectures.
• Esben breaks complex topics into simple forms.
• The Discord community is supportive.
• Feedback sessions help students improve.
• Students report better structure when drawing faces in different positions.

One student says they could not draw from imagination before, but became more confident after each assignment. Another says they saw major improvement in drawing faces from different positions and adding structure to their work. Several testimonials also mention the course being challenging but rewarding, which matches the official FAQ’s warning that the course requires active work.

More polished course-card version

Drawing Faces From Imagination is a practical drawing course for artists who want to stop relying only on reference and start creating believable, expressive faces from their own imagination. Taught by professional concept artist and art director Esben Lash, the course breaks down the head into clear, understandable building blocks: skull structure, simplified planes, facial features, and guided exercises.

Rather than overwhelming students with complicated anatomical terminology, Esben focuses on the information artists actually need while drawing. The course teaches how to simplify first, then gradually add complexity, helping students build a reliable process for inventing faces, characters, and expressions.

With 6+ hours of video lessons, 20 assignments, practice exercises, a line brush pack, Discord classroom access, and recorded feedback sessions, this course is designed for active learning. It is best suited for beginner-to-intermediate artists, illustrators, and concept artists who want stronger portrait fundamentals and more confidence drawing faces from imagination.

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