Basic Principles of Drawing People from Imagination

Illustrate detailed scenes filled with realistic characters using just a pencil and your imagination. Drawing instructor and storyboard artist Tom Fox has over ten years of experience in the animation industry and has worked for studios such as Universal Studios, Axis Animation, and The BBC.

In this course, he shares his expertise in reducing complex subjects like anatomy and perspective into manageable stages. Learn step-by-step how to draw realistic human figures in action and bring any scene from your imagination to life.

Get to know your teacher, Tom Fox. Discover what motivated him to start drawing and how he turned his hobby into a career. He shares the artists who have inspired him and the different ways in which they have influenced his work.

Learn what form is and how to use it in your drawing. Tom introduces the two questions which you’ll use as a guide throughout the course to create realistic 3D mannequins. Then he takes you step-by-step through the process involved in drawing a box mannequin and transforming it into a more advanced illustration using the human anatomy, silhouettes, and contour lines. Find out how to use basic folds to add realistic clothing to your figures.

Use the techniques learned so far to practice drawing people from your imagination. Begin by positioning your mannequins. Learn how to set up your scene and how your figures fit within it. Then add muscle and contour to your figures to make them look like real people. Dress them using your knowledge of folds, then learn how to create realistic-looking hands and heads.

Finally, it’s time to add depth and realism to your scene. Create a more realistic background by adding layers and lighting to your setting. Add the finishing touches to your drawing using a combination of hard and soft edges to suggest form.