Lynne Chapman

Expressive Picture Book Characters

Lynne Chapman

Already a member?

Sign in to view the full class
Sign in or Become A Member to view full class!
  • In-depth Instruction; over 168 mins
  • On-demand video access anytime
  • Bonus downloadable PDF resources
  • Access to class Q&A
Meet your instructor, Lynne Chapman, and get started drawing expressive characters! Learn the basic shapes behind all human characters and identify the proportions defining young and old characters. Then, learn how to draw three-quarter-view facial features to add dimension to your drawing.
Learn the advantages and disadvantages of using animals as characters. Practice sketching a cute cat with humanized features, such as feet and a smile, and discover how altered proportions add personality. Then, expand your characterization with Lynne's techniques to draw animal-specific details.
Adding clothes to your characters makes it more fun for the reader! Learn how Lynne uses small details to help readers identify gender, social codings and personality traits. Just don't cover up your animal-specific details! Lynne helps you determine other potential problems with dressing animals.
Lynne demonstrates the range of emotions possible with simple manipulations to facial features. Learn how to position certain features to create a variety of expressions for your characters, whether they're animals or humans! Then, see how eyebrows and mouths play a huge role in displaying emotion.
Discover how body language plays a major role in deciphering emotion in humans and animals alike. Lynne demonstrates how a few simple strokes can change a character from scared to sad and every emotion in between. Then, learn about hand-to-face variations and how hand placement shows expressive details.
Make your characters walk and run with Lynne's guidance! Learn to decipher which details portray running characters and which details portray walking characters. Then, sketch a running bear to get the angles right. Finally, express emotion and movement together to create a chase scene.
Now that you can draw any character you want, Lynne teaches you how to place them in a scene! Learn how to use angles to portray human and animal characters interacting with their environment in a natural-looking way. Then, explore how to use setting to help push the narrative of your illustration.
 
 
7 Lessons
2  hrs 48  mins

Learn how to draw compelling characters for picture books that will be read again and again. Alongside accomplished illustrator Lynne Chapman, you’ll start with techniques for using basic shapes to draw any human character with proportions perfect for picture books. With these fundamentals covered, find out how to draw cute animals with personified features and animal-specific details. Next, build skills for drawing clothes that reveal your character’s gender, age, profession and personality traits. Move on to drawing facial expressions and body language that show your character’s emotions and personality. Then, build confidence drawing characters on the move with two fun exercises. You’ll even find out how to bring your scenes to life by showing the interactions between your characters and their surroundings.

Lynne Chapman

Over the course of nearly 30 years as an illustrator, Lynne Chapman has published more than 30 children's picture books. Along with working on books, Lynne has taught drawing and illustration at The Sheffield College and Hallam University in England, as well as in workshops across the globe. Lynne also runs Urban Sketchers Yorkshire and is an Urban Sketchers correspondent. You can enjoy an over-the-shoulder view of Lynne's work on her blog, An Illustrator's Life for Me.

Lynne Chapman

Bonus materials available after purchase

Explore Classes by Lynne Chapman

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You may be interested in

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Get exclusive premium content! Sign up for a membership now!
This site uses cookies and other technologies to track your use of the site that will allow us and our service providers and partners to enhance your experience and deliver relevant content to you. By agreeing to or closing this notice, you understand and agree to such use and data collection. For more information about our privacy practices and your choices, please visit our privacy policy and cookie notice.

Sign in to Craftsy

Enter your sign in info below