Design and draw your own illustrated character!

To start, you’ll want to find inspiration for your character. You can either work on a character you already have in mind, draw based on the acorns and twig Mimi is using, or find something to spark your imagination out in the world!

Then, start to sketch out the general shape and structure of your character. You’re welcome to do this digitally or using analog materials. It might take a few different tries to find the right approach! A basic understanding of anatomy will really help you get this right—Mimi recommends Proko’s videos on YouTube for studying up—this Skillshare class could also provide some good tips specifically for illustration work.

Once you have your characters, start to put them into a scene. Think about what kind of setting they might be in, how they would be relating to each other, or different actions they may be doing to show off their personality traits.

Once you’re happy with your character(s) and scene, it’s time to polish it up with final line work and color! If you’re drawing using Procreate, Mimi walks through plenty of tips and tricks for playing around and tweaking your digital drawing until it’s just right, and adding fun details to really make your scene shine.

Whatever you create, please share your work in the project gallery so we can all see the creativity behind your unique characters.

Resources

Connect with Mimi on Instagram, her website, and Patreon.
Check out Mimi’s other classes on her Skillshare profile.
Download the exclusive Procreate brush pack here, and check out installation instructions if you need support.
Check out Proko’s anatomy videos on YouTube (or a good primer on Skillshare for illustrators).

Explore More Classes on Skillshare

Illustrating People: Character Design for Storytelling — Karla Alcazar

Fun With Spaces: Create a Stylised Scene in Procreate + Animation — Charly Clements

Character Illustration: From Feelings to Faces — Christine Nishiyama

Jen Waughtel

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