Character Exploration for Expressive Illustration
A course by Tania Yakunova , Composition Expert and Illustrator Instructor
Learn how to draw characters with personality by exploring shapes, movement, proportions, and scale to amplify their expressiveness
By incorporating characters into your artwork, you can add personality and expressiveness that spark emotions in the viewer. Illustrator Tania Yakunova specializes in creating vibrant illustrations centered around expressive characters. She has exhibited her work around the world, and has collaborated with clients including Coca-Cola, Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
In this online course, she teaches you how to draw convincing human figures using simple shapes and exaggerated forms. Explore drawing exercises to depict expressive humans while challenging the traditional rules of anatomy. Bring emotion to your illustrations with playful and unique characters.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 16 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (260)
- 6,743 students
- 15 lessons (2h 35m)
- 16 additional resources (4 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish, 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 Illustrator
Adobe PhotoshopWhat is this course's project?
Design a lineup of expressive characters and use them to illustrate a vibrant A3 poster.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone interested in illustration or character design, particularly artists who want to enrich their creative practice.
Requirements and materials
Previous experience of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator is required.
In terms of materials, you will need a device with these programs installed, as well as drawing materials like markers and colored paper. Procreate is optional.
Reviews
Tania Yakunova
A course by Tania Yakunova
Tania Yakunova is an accomplished artist and illustrator with over a decade of experience in the field. Her dynamic style and bold compositions have attracted collaborations with major global clients such as TikTok, Google, Upwork, AirBnB, and Logitech. Her work has further expanded into the literary world, illustrating books for Penguin Publishing House and contributing to numerous articles in distinguished magazines and newspapers. Tania’s illustrations have been showcased internationally, with exhibitions in countries like France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Recognized for her innovative approach, she has been honored with prestigious awards, including the World Illustration Awards and Society of Illustrators Awards.
A self-taught artist with a bachelor's degree in social sciences, Tania is a strong advocate for alternative education, passionately sharing her insights with students. Her work is celebrated for its strong compositional elements and vivid shapes, reflecting her belief that art serves as a powerful form of visual communication. Through her teaching, Tania aims to elevate the practice of aspiring artists, encouraging them to explore the power of composition in their creative expression. Her previous course on Domestika connected her with a vibrant community of artists, inspiring her to continue contributing to the field with renewed enthusiasm.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Creating Unique Characters
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Shapes, Emotions, and Synesthesia
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Shapes and Personalities 1
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Shapes and Personalities 2
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Dynamics and Movement
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A Diversity of Characters: Bodies and Scales
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The Choice of Colors
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U3
Sketching and Illustrating Characters
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Research and Sketching
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Composition, Rhythm, and Dynamics
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Lettering and Fine-Tuning
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Tracing and Coloring in Adobe Illustrator 1
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Tracing and Coloring in Adobe Illustrator 2
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U4
Last Details before Sharing Your Work
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Texturing in Adobe Photoshop
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Final Touches and Export
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FP
Final project
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Character Exploration for Expressive Illustration
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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 Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Loved it!
Very creative practice tasks. Fun to do. Learned a lot. Thanks.
很好
L'insegnante è favolosa e bravissima. Gli argomenti molto interessanti. Voto: 10
Buen curso!