try this character exercise

+ character project check-in

I’ve got about 3 weeks left of my self assigned 6 week character project! So far I think it’s going quite well- I’ve been drawing a LOT of characters and really enjoying it.

In these first few weeks I’ve been mostly using one specific exercise to practice, so I wanted to share here- it’s very simple and it’s fast and I’m really finding it very useful.

A Simple Character Exercise

1. Find 3-4 reference pictures on Pinterest, Unsplash or Pexels- we won’t be copying these completely, they are just a starting point especially for gesture/pose, so the more expressive and interesting the pose, the better!

2. Grab your sketchbook and 2 different drawing materials- totally up to you what you want to use but I’ve been using 1 large mark maker (like paint, water soluble graphite, pan pastel) and 1 small mark maker (pencil, pen, crayon). I think this combination of large and small works really well!

3. Working quickly, draw your characters from reference. Start with large marks to grab the overall body, head and limbs. They’ll be messy and loose- this is perfect.

4. Then work back into that with your small marks to give specific shape and line to clothing, face and hair. I typically stick to the reference to get the general shape and posture but then I often change up these smaller details however I’d like. If you need to ignore your larger mark to get a better shape or detail, do it. Once your small marks are in, your larger marks will fade into the background or will add dimension.

5. Repeat 3-4 times, as many times as you want! I sometimes work on 1 character at a time or sometimes I go through and do all the large marks, followed by the small.

6. Voila- you will end up with a spread like the one below!

And here’s a little timelapse from Instagram too (using oil pastel for large marks and then a Blackwing pencil for small):

Things I’ve learned that might be helpful:

• Like all art, they will not all go well or look good- just move on. It is a practice after all! Moving quickly or giving yourself a time limit helps with this. If you really like a certain pose or character, draw them again!

• If there is a character that you draw through this practice that you love, start to imagine how they might exist in a bigger scene or interacting with other characters. For me this often happens naturally as I’m drawing them the first time and it’s been a fantastic idea generator for me.

• I really recommend sticking with the large/small mark making practice- I’m sure everyone will be different on this but using the large marks first helps keep me loose but also provides a great structure for your smaller marks too.

• Here are my favorite materials so far for this exercise! For large marks- pan pastel, watercolor brush pen (like Ecoline or Tombow), oil pastel, art graf water soluble graphite (applied with a paintbrush) and watercolor/gouache paint (I recommend a lighter color). For small marks- Blackwing pencil (any pencil would be fine, I just love my Blackwing Mattes), colored pencil, neocolor crayon in an unexpected color. When I first got started a wrote a list of large and small mark making materials I have and I have been trying to do a different combination each time.

3 weeks left: what’s next for my project?

So far I’m really happy with the way my project is going. I’m so glad I set myself goals at the beginning of this project, as they are a great way to stay on course now that I’m in the middle and prone to distraction.

For the next 3 weeks I want to focus on my goals of drawing the same character multiple times/in multiple postures and angles. I also had the goal of creating a few portfolio pieces for this project- I’ve already made some work I really like so I think I have already got a few things to add to my portfolio but I’m going to keep pushing on this. I’m loving creating simple spot illustrations of characters at the moment but I know I also need to practice placing them in a larger scene or background.

I also want to go draw people on location and try a version of this practice in real time, at least once but hopefully more! (This was suggested to me by my Instagram friend Suzanne van Vlerken- on IG as @vlerkwerk and I think it’s a fabulous idea)

That’s it! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the character practice as much as I do. If you give it a try I’d love to know how it goes for you!