Expressive Picture Book Characters (DVD + Streaming)

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.

NOTE: If you’d like to purchase only the DVD for this class, you may do so through this link. (Please note, any class PDF materials are not on the DVD itself. You must have streaming access to download those materials associated with the class.)

Creating Animal Characters (29:44)
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.

Dressing Your Characters (13:10)
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.

Adding Character & Emotion (28:50)
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.

Adding Body Language (24:52)
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.

Creating a Sense of Movement (22:59)
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.

Placing Characters in Context (28:51)
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.

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.

How do I access the companion materials for my DVD class?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” area, select the “Classes” content. On this page, you’ll see all classes you’ve purchased from Craftsy. Simply select the desired class from your content list, and you’ll be presented with your selected class page. From the class page you can easily view, download or print the companion class materials, which are in the “Bonus Materials” tab on the class page. You can log in any time, and download or print the companion materials as many times as you like. Companion class materials are not shipped in the mail with your DVD, and must be accessed on Craftsy.com.

How do I stream my class on Craftsy.com?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” content, select the desired class. Stream the video on-demand from the class page any time you like; your viewing access is unlimited. You can stream your class from any computer, tablet or mobile device with Internet access.

Do I have to purchase a Craftsy Membership to get my class?
No, you do not. Every DVD purchased on Craftsy.com includes both the physical DVD in the mail and unlimited on-demand streaming access at Craftsy.com. These benefits are yours with or without a Craftsy membership.

Are DVDs included in a Craftsy Membership?
No, they are not. DVDs can only be purchased on an individual basis and are not included in Craftsy memberships. For non-members, DVDs are a flexible way to purchase only the classes you love best. For members, DVDs are a great choice to build an at-home library you can keep forever and enjoy any time, with or without Internet access.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes, we do ship most physical products, including DVDs, to several International destinations. In addition to the USA and Canada, we ship to Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and most Western European countries. If you live outside these countries, you can still purchase digital items including memberships, individual streaming classes, and pattern downloads.

Do your DVDs work on international players?
Yes, our DVDs should be compatible with any DVD player in use today. All our videos have been created with all current Region Codes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8). If you have trouble viewing a DVD purchased from Craftsy.com, please contact Customer Service.

What is your return policy?
We want to be sure you’re satisfied. If you have trouble playing your DVD, if the content is not correctly presented on the DVD, or you are dissatisfied with the content of your class, we will work with you. Contact Craftsy customer service via email or phone. Upon your request, and upon your return of the DVD to us, we will refund your purchase price or send you another DVD to replace a damaged or incorrect DVD, whichever is your preference. If you do receive a full refund, your streaming video class will also be removed from your Craftsy account, so on-demand video access will no longer be available to you.