Stylization: From Basics To Your First Character

Build your skills in stylization and create your unique character design

What you'll learn

Understand the core principles of stylization — from silhouettes and composition to rhythm and structure, and how to apply them to character design.

Learn to design expressive, dynamic characters that communicate personality through gesture, emotion, and strong visual storytelling.

Master advanced design techniques such as mass distribution, focal points, tonal contrast, and rhythm to create cohesive, polished visuals.

Explore essential rendering skills including texture, lighting, and color as a storytelling tool to give your characters depth and mood.

Requirements

Software Used: Adobe Photoshop, Procreate, or Sai

Description

Ready to take your character designs to the next level? This course gives you the essential tools to master stylization — from creating bold, eye-catching silhouettes to designing dynamic, memorable characters. You’ll learn how to bring your ideas to life using composition, storytelling, and practical design techniques, all while building a solid foundation for advanced work.What you will get:8 video lectures8 homework assignments6h+ course durationEnglish voiceoverSoftware Used: Adobe Photoshop, Procreate, or SaiWho This Course Is For: Junior and middle artistsJunior and middle artists who are looking to improve their design skills and add stylized characters to their portfolio.Beginners in stylization who are familiar with digital drawing but want to understand the foundations of stylized character design.Illustrators and concept artists who want to learn how to create characters with personality and strong visual appeal.Course Program:1. Introduction to Stylization: What is stylization? Levels of stylization. Silhouette: readability, perception, and creating compelling designs. Basics of internal composition: rhythm, primitive shapes, and visual flow.2. Advanced Composition Techniques: External composition: negative space, focal points, and tonal analysis. Tonal contrasts within forms and how to apply them effectively.3. Design Principles: Gesture drawing, dynamics, and character-driven design. Building structure: ellipses, thickness, and maintaining visual harmony.4. Complexity in Design: Layers of composition: independent objects and mass distribution. Highlighting areas of rest and focusing on storytelling in design.5. Rhythms in Design: Visual rhythm in fabrics, hair, and effects (VFX). Understanding the role of rhythm in creating cohesive visuals.6.Character Creation: Gesture, anatomy through primitives, and establishing strong silhouettes. Creating character through dynamic poses and detailed gestures.7. Emotion and Expression: Capturing movement and emotion through static poses. The art of exaggeration and subtle emotional cues.8. Rendering Fundamentals: Local highlights and texture techniques. Color as a storytelling tool and ambient occlusion in rendering.Homework for the lecture you can find in the "Resources" folder :)Have a great day guys and stay tuned for upcoming updates!

Overview

Section 1: Lecture 1

Lecture 1 Introduction to Stylization

Section 2: Lecture 2

Lecture 2 Advanced Composition Techniques

Section 3: Lecture 3

Lecture 3 Design Principles

Section 4: Lecture 4

Lecture 4 Complexity in Design

Section 5: Lecture 5

Lecture 5 Rhythms in Design

Section 6: Lecture 6

Lecture 6 Character Creation

Section 7: Lecture 7

Lecture 7 Emotion and Expression

Section 8: Lecture 8

Lecture 8 Rendering Fundamentals

Junior and Middle artists