Through a variety of exercises, students will learn basic anatomy and movements of children and animals. They will apply their observational skills into developing unique, believable and appealing characters suitable for children’s books. The emphasis is on creating characters who are consistent through a variety of facial expressions and movements.
Katia Wish’s Character Design Class was incredible. It challenged us to develop characters in just two short days, but she led the way. I was honestly intimidated to begin and she gave me individual tutoring on how to draw characters in motion without a reference photo! I didn’t know that was even possible.
Although my final piece still is not anatomically correct, she put me on the path of how to create characters that can someday be featured in a book. After her class, I purchased the colored pencils she recommended, used the window tracing method for my watercolor paintings, and traced dozens and dozens of children’s book characters to learn how they drew facial expressions and movements. It is frustrating to try to master this and yet also very fun!
I applied what I learned from her class with the collage class that I took from Jenny Brown. Little by little, I am learning!
p.s. Related posts:
Jenny Brown’s Collage Class in Cambridge MA
My Art for the Aquent Talent Show 2023
Musical Journeys: Introduction to Piano Online Class for Young Children
RISD Pre-College Student Art Show 2022
6 Children’s Books Celebrating Art and Creativity
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My books:
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
