Character Design: Illustrate an Expressive Creature
A course by Sam Nassour , Art Director and Visual Development Artist
Joined September 2020
Learn how to design an animal-based character full of emotion and personality in Photoshop
Joined September 2020
Anything is possible in the world of character design—all it takes is some creative ideas paired with the right tools to bring them to life. Art director and visual development artist Sam Nassour finds an endless source of inspiration in the shapes, colors, and designs of the animal world. He has worked with major international animation studios including Netflix Animation and Dreamworks TV.
In this course, Sam shows you his entire drawing and character creation process to develop unique and expressive creatures in Photoshop. Explore professional techniques to give shape to your most imaginative creature from start to finish.
What will you learn in this online course?
24 lessons & 12 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (218)
- 4,994 students
- 24 lessons (5h 18m)
- 12 additional resources (7 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software & tools for this course
Adobe PhotoshopWhat is this course's project?
Create an appealing character design based on an animal reference. Sam uses a Basilisk lizard.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone interested in digital illustration who wants to create an original character and improve their Photoshop skills.
Requirements and materials
Basic digital drawing and painting skills in Adobe Photoshop are recommended..
To take this course, all you need is access to a computer with Adobe Photoshop, or similar software.
Reviews
Sam Nassour
A course by Sam Nassour
Sam Nassour is an art director and visual development artist in the animation and video game industry. Although Sam enjoyed drawing since a young child, he decided to study architecture at university, which paved new creative paths in the fields of design language and 3D space creation. Later on, he decided to pursue his real passion: creating visual characters and stories in the animation and entertainment industry.
He finds his inspiration in nature and the animal kingdom, which can always be found in his designs; whether it be through shapes, colors, or designs. Sam has worked with several major animation studios around the world, including Netflix Animation and Dreamworks TV. He is currently working on a new game project with Rovio.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Pre-Production
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Introduction and Materials
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About Character Design 1
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About Character Design 2
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What Makes a Design Appealing
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U3
Creating Our Character
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Looking for Inspiration
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Exploratory Sketches 1
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Exploratory Sketches 2
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Narrative
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U4
Creating the Final Character
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Refining the Sketch
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Starting With Flat Colors
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Lights and Shadows 1
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Lights and Shadows 2
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General Polish 1
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General Polish 2
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General Polish 3
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Adding a Background 1
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Adding a Background 2
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Adding a Background 3
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U5
Final Details in Our Character
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Light Effects, Camera Blur
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Final Touches 1
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Final Touches 2
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Exporting the Final Image and Sharing Your Work
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FP
Final project
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Character Design: Illustrate an Expressive Creature
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
What are Domestika's online courses?
Domestika courses are online classes that allow you to learn new skills and create incredible projects. All our courses include the opportunity to share your work with other students and/or teachers, creating an active learning community. We offer different formats:
Original Courses: Complete classes that combine videos, texts, and educational materials to complete a specific project from start to finish.
Basics Courses: Specialized training where you master specific software tools step by step.
Specialization Courses: Learning paths with various expert teachers on the same topic, perfect for becoming a specialist by learning from different approaches.
Guided Courses: Practical experiences ideal for directly acquiring specific skills.
Intensive Courses (Deep Dives): New creative processes based on artificial intelligence tools in an accessible format for in-depth and dynamic understanding.
When do the courses start and when do they finish?
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
What do Domestika's courses include?
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
Have you been given a course?
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
Adobe Photoshop
fantastico curso, explica todo de una manera tan amigalbe que muy bien vale la pena recomendarlo
me encanto muchas gracias :3
Un curso muy bueno!
Content voice it too low, I barely hear it. I feel there must be some check happens once the course it published.
Great course for everyone who wants to create an amazing character full of life, with colour and light techniques. The teacher explains everything excitingly and with a lot of useful information.
I learned a lot. Thank you so much!