Are your characters' faces telling a story?
Before a character speaks, before they move, before we know their backstory, their face already gives us clues. Are they dangerous? Kind? Naive? Protective? Clever? Proud?
In this course, I’ll teach you how to design original faces for your characters using a simple, practical system. I'll show you how to design original character faces that express personality, support the story, and feel memorable at first glance.
LEARN THE SECRETS BEHIND ICONIC CHARACTERS' FACES
The 10 Head Volumes.
We’ll begin with a simplified mannequin of the head. Instead of memorizing complicated anatomy, you’ll learn how to assemble these pieces like building blocks, creating a solid three-dimensional head that can be transformed, pushed, and designed with intention.
Capturing Real Faces
Then we’ll study how to take inspiration from real people by moving those pieces around to understand likeness and personality. After that, we’ll enter the heart of the course: the archetype system.
The 7 Archetypes
We’ll study seven character archetypes: The Lion, Bear, Ox, Snake, Fox, Owl, and Pup. We will look at plenty of examples from movies, animation, and games. We will examine how their shapes, proportions, and facial features function, and we will design our own female and male versionsof each archetype.
Designing a Face that Tells a Story
By the end, you’ll design a full character portrait from scratch; we will create our own interpretation of the evil witch in Snow White, but set in the pre-Columbian Bribri culture of Costa Rica. You’ll see the full process: design iterations, color palette, final portrait, pose, personality, light, and shadow.
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR
This course is perfect for artists who want their characters to feel more specific, expressive, and story-driven.
It is especially useful if you:
- Want to create original faces for your characters
- Feel like your characters look too generic
- Want faces that express personality and story role
- Like character design, comics, animation, games, or visual development
- Want a simple head construction method without heavy anatomy
- Want to capture likeness from real people and turn it into character design
- Want to create portfolio-ready character portraits in a cel-shaded comic style
Course curriculum
Head Building Blocks
Welcome and Overview
Get an overview of the course and learn how storytelling principles can help you design more memorable characters.
The 10 Head Volumes
Learn the ten core volumes of the head and how they create a strong foundation for character design.
Step-By-Step Drawing
Follow a practical drawing demonstration and learn how to construct the head using simple volumes and forms.
Adapting the Structure
Learn how to modify, reshape and simplify the head structure to create a wide variety of unique character types.
Archetypes
Welcome to Archetypes
Discover the role archetypes play in character design and learn how they help communicate personality and story.
The Lion
Learn how to design confident, powerful characters using the visual traits of the Lion archetype.
The Bear
Explore the Bear archetype and learn how to create characters that feel friendly, dependable, and grounded.
The Ox
Discover how to design tough, strong characters through the visual language of the Ox archetype.
The Snake
Learn how to create cunning, mysterious, and intimidating characters using the Snake archetype.
The Fox
Explore the Fox archetype and design characters that appear clever, agile, and full of personality.
The Owl
Learn how to portray wisdom, intelligence, and insight through the design principles of the Owl archetype.
The Pup
Explore the Pup archetype and learn how to create characters that feel innocent and child-like.
Character Process
Exploration
Explore different design ideas and learn how to generate concepts that support a character's story and personality.
Cleaning
Refine your chosen concept by improving the sketch and strengthening the character's design.
Colors
Experiment with different color schemes and discover how color choices influence a character's mood and identity.
Sketch
Develop the character further by exploring expressions, poses, and angles before committing to a final design.
Lines
Create clean, confident linework that clarifies the design and prepares it for the final rendering stage.
Coloring
Bring the character to life with color and complete a storytelling design that feels cohesive and memorable.
F.A.Q
Is this a portrait drawing course or a character design course?
It is both, but the main focus is character design. You will learn how to build faces, but always with the goal of creating original characters that support a story.
Is this course good for beginners?
Yes, especially if you want a simple way to start designing character faces. It is also useful for intermediate artists who want their characters to feel less generic.
Do I need to know anatomy?
No. This course uses a simplified 3D mannequin made from basic shapes, so you can focus on structure and design instead of complicated anatomy terms.
What are the archetypes?
The course explores seven story-driven face archetypes: Lion, Bear, Ox, Snake, Fox, Owl, and Pup. Each one helps you understand how shape language and facial design can communicate personality and role.
What is the difference between this and How to Draw Faces Like a Pro?
How to Draw Faces Like a Pro, another of my courses, is the complete foundation for understanding and drawing faces. Storytelling Portraits is more focused on designing original character faces for a story.
What is the difference between this and How to Paint Stylized Portraits?
Storytelling Portraits focuses on designing the character’s face and role. How to Paint Stylized Portraits, another one of my courses, focuses on painting: values, lighting, color, and final stylized rendering.
How does the 30 Day Guarantee work?
If for some reason you are not happy with your purchase, simply contact me within 30 days and I'll process your refund.
We reserve the right to deny refunds with suspicious activity.