Drawing Animal Characters with Human Personalities
A course by Florian Satzinger , Character Designer
Joined November 2021
Explore anatomy, perspective, volume, light, and shadow to bring human-like animal characters to life on the page
Joined November 2021
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Scooby—some of the most iconic characters in the history of entertainment have one thing in common: they look like animals but behave like humans. This duality makes for relatable and eternally memorable animated stars. Award-winning character designer Florian Satzinger has harnessed the power of this dynamic to create universally recognized cartoon personalities, collaborating with household names like Warner Bros. and Disney.
In this online course, learn to draw human-like animals, from the first pencil sketch to the finished artwork in Photoshop. Florian walks you through his entire process, exploring depth, perspective, form, movement, lighting, and color. Design the characters that define your viewers’ childhoods and live on in their memories forever.
What will you learn in this online course?
19 lessons & 13 downloads
- 95% positive reviews (58)
- 2,073 students
- 19 lessons (3h 20m)
- 13 additional resources (4 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software & tools for this course
Adobe PhotoshopWhat is this course's project?
Illustrate a scene with two anthropomorphic characters interacting with each other.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who wants to draw captivating animal characters with human personalities.
Requirements and materials
No prior knowledge is required.
As for materials, you need a sketchbook, graphite and colored pencils, and a light table, as well as a graphics tablet with Photoshop if you prefer to work digitally.
Reviews
Florian Satzinger
A course by Florian Satzinger
Florian Satzinger is an Austria-based character designer and visual development artist. Inspired by the classic, hand-drawn Disney films of his childhood, he went on to study fine arts and animation before launching his freelance career. After building a portfolio of advertising projects, he ventured into the animation industry, creating poster and cover art for Looney Tunes Magazine. Impressed by his illustrations, the Vice President of Walt Disney International contacted him and invited him to join the development team.
During his time at Warner Bros. and Disney, Florian collaborated on some of the most iconic cartoon characters in history, including Donald and Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Sylvester. He has also worked for businesses like The Zanuck Company, ReelFX, Space Age Films, Psyop, Ravensburger North America, Facebook, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and Snapchat. In addition to the art he’s created for the animation and comic-book industry, he illustrates satirical cartoon caricatures that are regularly displayed in galleries like the Caricature Museum in Krems, Austria.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Preparation
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Materials: Analog and Digital
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Lines and Layers
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Understanding the Canvas
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The Reference Laboratory
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The Perspective Stage
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U3
Designing the Characters
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The Anatomy Laboratory
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The Loose Lines and Line of Action
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Adding Costumes and Props
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Key Colors
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U4
Developing the Scene
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Finding Positions
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Creating the Lines
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Adding Final Colors 1
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Adding Final Colors 2
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Creating the Scenery
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Lighting and Shading
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U5
Final Details
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Final Color and Clean-up Work
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Closing Edits
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FP
Final project
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Drawing Animal Characters with Human Personalities
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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
O curso de Ilustração de animais com personalidade humana do ilustrador Florian Stazinger, apresenta informações para criação de personagens muito importantes como perspectiva, luz e sombra, volume e principalmente novos conceitos para o desenvolvimento de personagens com características bem inusitadas, diferentes do que costumamos ver com figuras conhecidas como Pato Donald, Patolino, Mickey e muitos outros, tornando o curso além de instrutivo, muito divertido também.
very helpful and a great teacher
Very helpful; it's expanding my knowledge. Thank you!
Excelente curso! Muchas gracias!
Excelente curso, muy bien explicado y me encanta su forma de dibujar.