Narrative Art: Drawing Imaginary Characters

Behind every good cartoon character is a narrative artist.

A narrative artist is someone who can imagine and design the kinds of characters that draw us in and lead us on crazy adventures. Characters of all kinds, from the epic and cosmic to the simple and familiar. In this class, you'll learn the process and principles that narrative artists use to bring a character to life. 

Here are the topics I'll be covering:

• How Narrative Art Works
• Disney's 'The Illusion of Life' Book
• The Squash and Stretch Principle
• Character 'Appeal'
• Staging Characters and Scenes
• Conceptualizing a Scene
• Sketching and Composition Planning
• Inking an Illustration
• Coloring an Illustration

All you'll need for this class is a pencil and paper but I'm working in Clip Studio Paint for visual clarity.

• Introduction
• Class Overview
• Narrative Art History pt. 1
• Narrative Art History pt. 2
• Narrative Art History pt. 3
• Disney's Illusion of Life
• Squash and Stretch pt. 1
• Squash and Stretch pt. 2
• Character Appeal
• Advanced Appeal
• Believability
• Staging Characters
• Staging Scenes
• Staging Environments
• Other Kinds of Heroes
• A Few Thoughts
• Class Project: Concept
• Class Project: Sketch pt. 1
• Class Project: Sketch pt. 2
• Class Project: Ink pt. 1
• Class Project: Ink pt. 2
• Class Project: Color pt. 1
• Class Project: Color pt. 2
• Wrap It Up