21 Draw – Creating Expressive Characters with Kenneth Anderson

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

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.

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

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