Character Development for Comics and Illustration by Daxiong Guo

During this 11-week course, illustrator Daxiong Guo will teach you his character development process. You’ll learn to conceptualize various stories and illustration styles, and Daxiong will show how to develop characters in diverse styles, including fantasy, American comics, and traditional Asian illustration. This course will help you create your own characters in various styles, preparing you for any illustration project.

Week 1: Fantasy Style – Adolescent Characters With Daxiong Guo

During the first week, Daxiong will present his approach to character design for illustration, where you’ll discover how to utilize shapes to create characters. Additionally, he will demonstrate how to craft adolescent characters for a fantasy storyline.
3h 35m 46s

Week 2: Fantasy Style – Adult Main Characters With Daxiong Guo

During the second week, Daxiong will showcase the creation of adult characters for a fantasy world, teaching you how to use adult traits to design characters. With shape as a building block, Daxiong will illustrate various concepts for fantasy characters.
3h 16m 19s

Week 3: Fantasy Style – Adult Side Characters With Daxiong Guo

During the third week, you’ll discover how to develop side characters for a fantasy storyline. Daxiong will demonstrate the use of shapes to design these characters and provide insight into the different roles they can play within your story.
3h 17m 40s

Week 4: Fantasy Style – Villain Characters With Daxiong Guo

During the fourth week, Daxiong will teach you how to design and draw villains in a fantasy storyline, demonstrating the use of unique proportions to create orcs and monsters. Additionally, he will provide insight on the important features needed to make these characters feel like true villains.
3h 32m 16s

Week 5: American Comic Style – Designing Characters With Daxiong Guo

During the fifth week, Daxiong will instruct you on how to illustrate in the American comic style, teaching you to combine different concepts to create a unique narrative. Daxiong will demonstrate the conceptual side of character development and help you develop your story.
2h 16m 26s

Week 6: American Comic Style – Side and Main Characters With Daxiong Guo

During the sixth week, you’ll learn how to develop the main character and villain for your American comic story. Daxiong will demonstrate the process of expanding concept drawings into full-character designs.
2h 11m 12s

Week 7: American Comic Style – Developing a Comic Cover With Daxiong Guo

During the seventh week, Daxiong will showcase the creation of an American-style comic book cover, teaching you how to use thumbnails to conceptualize the image. Additionally, Daxiong will create a pencil drawing utilizing American-style characters specifically made for this storyline.
2h 32m 32s

Week 8: American Comic Style – Inking a Comic Cover With Daxiong Guo

During the eighth week, Daxiong will instruct you on how to ink a comic book cover, showcasing how he refines his pencil lay-ins using ink. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment with different pens and explore how they achieve different line characteristics, enhancing the visual interest of your cover page.
5h 15m 17s

Week 9: Asian Style – Musician Illustration With Daxiong Guo

During the ninth week, Daxiong will showcase work in the traditional Asian illustration style. You’ll have the opportunity to study the different characteristics that define this style and observe the traditional approaches and tools commonly used by Daxiong.
5h 14m 40s

Week 10: Asian Style – Dragon Illustration With Daxiong Guo

During the tenth week, you’ll learn how to develop a dragon character in the traditional Chinese illustration style. Daxiong will provide insight into the cultural significance of dragons and teach you about their distinctive characteristics.
1h 49m 4s

Week 11: Asian Style – Monkey King Illustration With Daxiong Guo

During the eleventh week, Daxiong will showcase his rendition of the traditional Monkey King character, teaching you about the unique characteristics and traditions associated with this character.
3h 11m 32s

The course covers different styles of illustration and character design, with a focus on developing characters for fantasy storylines. Students will learn to use shapes to design characters and how to create different types of characters, including main characters, side characters, and villains. The course also covers creating comic book covers and developing unique narratives.