-article by Karen Abend, Creator of Sketchbook Revival
How to move from feeling like 'I have no idea to how to do that, it's so
hard!' to 'I'm finally getting it! This is so fun!'
1. Take a class:
I signed up for an online character illustration course a few years ago. I actually never finished the course, but what I did complete gave me some basic skills and understanding of how to approach creating characters.
I'm not sure it's enough to call it a foundation especially since I haven't actually finished the class, but it did help me to start exercising the necessary muscles for creating characters using a combination of reference photos and my imagination.
2. Practice the basic skills:
I’ve been regularly sketching people from reference photos for the last few years as part of a personal illustration project. I scan these sketches into my iPad and color them in digitally to give them a more unique, stylized look, but their essence comes from a reference, not my imagination.
Drawing from life comes a lot easier for me than drawing from the imagination. But what I now realize is that spending all that time drawing people for this project has given me a lot of practice and familiarity with the human body and how it moves.
3. Copy from the masters:
When I heard the same tip from several artists I admire and follow -- that it's okay to copy from your personal masters to learn new techniques -- it felt like a message from the universe. A real 'aha' moment. They reminded me that copying from the masters is a traditional way of learning and that we are allowed to do it and that this kind of copying is not stealing.
That was life-changing for me! I have a real fear of copying or being overly influenced by artists I admire. I decided to let that go and take their advice. I picked an artist whose characters I absolutely love - Philippa Rice. If you look her up, you'll see how adorable her characters are.
I had so much fun copying her work and before I knew it I found I could look at reference photos and turn them into more stylized characters inspired by what I had learned through this process. Practicing this way helped me just have fun and actually believe that with even more practice I might actually be able to do this in my own way.
4. Take more classes, try new approaches:
I decided to explore more online classes to get more practice and stumbled upon one that really clicked. It’s called Odd Bodies and is taught by illustrator Tom Froese on Skillshare.
I highly recommend it to anyone
looking to learn how to draw characters that are more imaginative and stylized than realistic. Using some of the exercises he taught, and without too much struggle, I was able to create characters from my imagination that I really liked. This was a first for me! Things were starting to get exciting and fun!
5. Create your own challenge:
Put into practice what you've been learning and start to make it your own. I decided I was ready, and now had the confidence, to turn this into a personal practice in my own style using the art materials that I love. I know I have a ways to go, but I am thrilled that I finally have the courage and basic ability to start to really practice and grow this skill I’ve been struggling with and dreaming about for the longest time.
