Pragmatic People (Video course) – English – only available to buy until 9th of September 2024

Learn to sketch simple but expressive stick figures and full body figures

– for sketchnoting, graphic recording, UX storyboarding or just for fun.

Drawing people, their actions and their emotions is a key skill in any visual practice. People make our drawings relatable and bring stories alive.

People can do all kinds of things – run, jump, talk, argue, ride a bike, sweep the floor or hug each other. People can have emotions – being sad, happy, surprised, suspicious, tense or relaxed. And people are divers – they have different shapes, sizes, colours, ages, abilities and personalities.

All these possibilities can feel overwhelming when learning how to draw people. How do I get the pose or movement right? How do I actually hold a broom and how do I draw this position? How do I get proportions right? And how do I show that this person is older?

In this course you will learn a straightforward approach to drawing simple but expressive stick figures as well as full body figures. I will show you everything I've learnt in over 20 years of drawing human beings, condensed into a modular system. I share my best tricks, shortcuts and the underlying principles, so besides being up-to-speed with simple standard actions in no time, you will also be able to explore and experiment with more complicated and expressive poses on your own long after you finished the course.

What you'll learn

• Simple stick figures
  Learn how to construct simple stick figures, make them move and do different actions.
• Facial Expressions
  Capture emotions with expressive faces.
• Diverse Characters
  Sketch various body types, ages, and personalities.
• Advanced Figures
  Transform simple stick figures into full-bodied characters.

Who is this course for?

This course will be right for you if

• You do sketchnotes or graphic recordings and you want to add more life and relatabilty to your work by including drawings of people
• You are a facilitator or coach and you want to confidently include sketches of certain situations or feelings in your work with clients (e.g. on flipcharts or templates) 
• You want to sketch simple but expressive people in your UX storyboards
• You just want to improve your sketching skills and have fun with drawing cute little figures, maybe for simple comic strips, journaling or capturing fun / special moments in your life

What do you get?

Here’s the full list of materials you will get access to:

• 36 video lessons (over 7 hours of running time) teaching you how to draw simple but expressive little people
• Printable workbooks (PDF) to draw along with the videos
• PDFs with all drawings from the Masterclass
• Practice prompts to keep practicing

The full list of videos

Topic 01: Constructing simple stick figures

• Figure Basics
• Speaking & Thinking
• Exercise: 3 people stories
• Arms – Typical positions
• Arms – Articulation & tension
• Holding things
• Legs & feet
• Figures in action – Walking, running, sitting
• Figures in action – With objects
• Torso dynamics
• Common mistakes

Topic 02: Expressing emotions through facial expressions

• Face proportions
• Facial expressions: Eyebrows
• Facial expressions: Mouths
• Facial expressions: Eyes
• Facial expressions: Mixing and matching
• Emanata
• Sharpening expression

Topic 03: Sketching different types of people

• Ingredients for different characters
• Body shape and proportions
• Clothes
• Props
• Background & language
• Inclusivity
• Age
• Gender
• Abilities
• Exercise: Random character game
• Creating a character sheet

Topic 04: From stick figures to full body figures

• From stick figure to full figure
• Line articulation & limb thickness
• Practicing outline figures
• Adding clothes
• Practicing figures with clothes
• Bone and joint technique
• Practicing bone and joint technique

All videos in this course are part of the full Pragmatic Sketching Masterclass I run every year. If you would like to join the full Masterclass after buying this course, write me an email to get a discount to upgrade to the full Masterclass.

How do I get access?

After signing up, you will get immediate access to the course space that contains all materials and videos.

You will have access to the course space for at least 3 years from purchase.
(I will provide access to the course for as long as I offer courses– which is hopefully longer than 3 years– but I will guarantee access for at least 3 years from the date of purchase).

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