digitalillustrator,shibaruirui Details
From Idea to Product
Follow a clear path to start drawing, gather useful references, explore ideas with thumbnails, and develop your best ideas into a finished design.
Designing A Character Sheet
Present turnarounds, expressions, and details with clarity so your character’s design is instantly understood.
Strengthening Basic Fundamentals
Place shadows, create dramatic lighting, and make your characters feel three-dimensional while controlling the mood from soft to bold.
Mastering Shadows and Lighting
Master the essentials of drawing the human form, keep proportions consistent, understand how bodies move, and build figures that feel solid from any angle.
Creating Harmonious Illustrations
Arrange multiple characters using thumbnails for a composition that feels balanced, create natural interactions, and convey relationships through body language.
Rendering and Post Process
Learn to finalize your artwork by refining details, enhancing lighting, and bringing everything together into a polished, glowing finish.
- Section 01
Intro
01. Welcome & Your Design Journey- Meet your instructor - Class overview - What to expect - The 3 V's: Vision and Narrative Research, Visual Research, and Visual Development
- Section 02
Laying the Foundation: Vision & Tools
02. Essential Procreate Setup & Resources- Navigating with Procreate - Brushes used - Toolset deep dive - Helpful websites for references
- Section 03
Vision & Narrative Research
03. Narrative-Driven Ideation- How to research and extract narrative hooks effectively - Techniques for generating unique character concepts
- Section 04
Visual Research
04. Visual Research- Choosing images that convey personality, era, and vibe - Avoiding clichés and finding authentic inspiration
- Section 05
Visual Development
05. Anatomy Basics I- Human anatomy in a shell - Drawing figures that serve your character's personality
06. Anatomy Basics II- Silhouette techniques to create strong, readable shapes - Conveying attitude and story through posture
07. Strategic Color & Value- Choosing palettes that reinforce narrative - Guiding the viewer's eye through color hierarchy - Mastering Value Check
- Section 06
Sketching & Iteration
08. What Makes A Character Interesting? Part 1- Playing with body types, proportions, and scale - Generating multiple design options quickly - Going from big shapes to small, significant details
09. What Makes A Character Interesting? Part 2- Making conscious choices from your sketches - Using narrative to justify and refine design elements - Finalizing the Character
10. Bonus: Deconstructing a Professional Design- A full walkthrough of your own previous character concept - Discussing design choices, failures, and final polish - Comparing old designs and improving them
- Section 07
Sketch to Finalizing
11. Expressive Portrait Illustration- Understanding the face proportions on different angles - Creating emotive and readable faces through stylized face proportions - Simplifying facial features
12. Dynamic Body Illustration- Selecting the perfect pose for your character sheet - Applying fundamentals for a clean, prepared drawing
- Section 08
Line Art & Flat Colors
13. Strategic Line Art- Using variation to define form, depth, and focus with expressive line weight - To line or not to line: adapting your approach for your coloring style
14. Flat Colors- Why do artist use gray? Learn how to clip layers - Creating the base for further coloring - Subtle shifts within flat colors for visual interest
- Section 09
Rendering Mastery
15. Portrait Rendering- Simple coloring techniques for believable faces - Choosing colors for skin rendering
16. Hair Coloring- Simple coloring techniques for hair - Understanding different kinds of hair as shape and flow
17. Eye Coloring- Rendering the eyes - Importance of eyes - Finalizing the portrait
18. Body Coloring- Shading on different body parts - Using different colors for skin rendering - Adding life to your illustration
19. Clothes Rendering- Shading the body and understanding material behavior on cloth - Polishing the draft
- Section 10
Polishing & Presentation
20. Final Polish & Effects- Additional details for your illustration - Utilizing editing tools (curves, gradient maps, saturation and brightness) - Value checking
21. Bonus: Different Kinds of Highlights- Using different colors for highlights - Adding more depth to your illustration
22. Character Sheet Assembly- Making a cohesive layout design - Tips on making an interesting sheet - Making the sheet tailored to the character
- Section 11
Characters in a Scene
23. Character Interaction I: Sketching Composition- Planning character interaction and storytelling within a single frame - How will they interact? - Thumbnailing for narrative impact
24. Character Interaction II: Line Art- Finalizing on sketching characters - Creating line art for the characters
25. Character Interaction III: Coloring- Applying colors to the characters
26. Character Interaction IV: Lighting and Rendering- Applying a touch of light and shadow - Understanding the concept of "time magic" - Having fun with rendering
27. Character Interaction V: Detailing and Setting the Mood- Using important editing tools - Adding final details to convey your desired mood
28. Helpful Tips- Experimenting with blur, chromatic aberration and overlay - Self-reviewing - Using the "Sleep and Check" principle - Viewing on different devices
- Section 12
Outro
29. Review- Key points and reviewing what you have learned - Consolidating the 3 V's Framework (Vision and Narrative Research, Visual Research, Visual Development)
30. Afterwords- How to effectively market yourself - Experimenting on broadening your options, such as Commissions, Artist Alley, Mail Clubs, etc. - Where you can reach me
This course will use Procreate.
Please purchase and install these program(s) for an optimized chapter experience.
*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.
