Creating Expressive Characters by Kenneth Anderson

On July 30, 2021

Release date:2021, July 15

Duration:02 h 18 m

Author:Kenneth Anderson

Skill level:Intermediate

Language:English

Exercise files:Yes

Learn how to tell a compelling story through your artwork and create characters with personality and emotions.

What exactly is ‘Characterfulness’?

To Kenneth Anderson it’s ‘bringing your characters to life so they connect with and move your audience.’ Character design goes beyond a character’s physical looks: their hair, clothes, size, height, etc. A huge part of the design process is portraying who they ARE as a person, what their personality is and how they express emotions and feelings. As Kenneth says, ‘How a character acts, performs and expresses themselves is what really defines who they are.’

If you want to learn how a professional artist goes about doing that, then hop on board this fascinating course! Kenneth explains all the essential concepts for creating expressive poses, gestures and expressions. He also shares loads of practical tips on drawing interesting characters, such as: how to draw hands, squash and stretch, balanced poses, facial anatomy and more!

At the end of the course, you’ll see how all these concepts can be applied to your artwork by watching a detailed demo of Kenneth designing a unique character and explaining his process along the way. Have fun!

What you’ll learn

An easy way to draw hands
How to use the different facial features to create various expressions
Learn how personality, mood and desire affect how a character expresses themselves
Grasp essential principles like Squash & Stretch and Anticipation to give a sense of movement to your artwork
Find out how to draw facial features to create various expressions
Discover tools in Photoshop for tweaking and editing your drawing fast
Understand concepts like weight distribution, using consistent shapes, the Line of Action, etc. to make poses more realistic and interesting
Design your own lively character from start to finish

Who is this course for

Character designers looking to make their characters lively and expressive
Artists wanting to learn how to create dynamic poses, gestures and expressions
Those who want to understand the character design process and discover useful drawing tips

Requirements

Digital drawing software, such as Photoshop or Procreate, however the concepts taught apply to paper and pencil artwork as well
Some previous art experience needed

Watch online or Download for Free

Trailer – Creating Expressive Characters

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Task 1
2. Loosening Up – for Expressive Drawing
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Brushes
2.3 Arm and Hand Techniques
2.4 Using an iPad
2.5 Pencil and Paper
2.6 Task 2
3. What Drives Expression?
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Personality, Emotion & Desire
3.3 Performance
3.4 Task 3
4. Useful Principles – for Expressive Characters
4.1 Principles of Animation
4.2 Squash and Stretch & Anticipation
4.3 Staging & Secondary Action
4.4 Exaggeration, Solid Drawing & Appeal
4.5 Shapes & Anthropomorphism
4.6 Calibrating the Principles
4.7 Task 4
5. Posing – Body Language and Gesture
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Reference
5.3 Posing a Character
5.4 Posing Tips
5.5 Task 5
6. Hands – Making Hands Expressive
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Drawing Hands and Fingers
6.3 Posing Hands
6.4 Task 6
7. Expressions – Drawing Expressive Faces
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Face Anatomy
7.3 Unity in the Face
7.4 Animal Expressions
7.5 My Process
7.6 Task 7
8. Bringing it all together
8.1 Introduction
8.2 The Sketch
8.3 The Tie Down Final Line Art
8.4 Adding Color
8.5 Task 8