Emma Gillette – Character Design Fundamentals

Imagine and illustrate animation-ready characters.
Learn the art and science of character design in this fun and jam-packed course. Learn shape language, the 80/20 rules of anatomy, how to use motifs, create appeal, and much more. You’ll learn dozens of drawing tips and hacks, plus get extremely comfortable using Procreate (though any drawing app will do).

Course Length:8+ hours

What makes a Good Character Design?
Dive into the psychology behind great character design. Learn to hack your audience’s brain to create an emotional connection.

The Big 3 of Character Design
Shape Language, Anatomy, and Motif are all skills you’ll need to learn to have a solid foundation for your characters.

Illustration Techniques
Emma is a professional illustrator, and will share lots of her battle-tested tips and tricks for achieving better drawings.

Procreate Pro Tips
You can use any drawing app, but Emma will show you lots of great Procreate techniques to speed up your workflow.

Creating a Professional Model Sheet
Designing characters for animation comes with some extra requirements, and you’ll learn them in 2D and 3D varieties.

Navigating the Stylescape
Should you have a unique style? And if so, how does that work? You’ll go deep into the character design stylescape.

Learn the secrets of high-end work
School of Motion instant-access courses are unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Along with world-class training, you’ll also get access to tons of professional project files and a 24/7 network of likeminded artists, and more support than you’ll know what to do with.

Over 20,000 artists have taken School of Motion courses, find out what all the hype is about.

This instant-access course features

Exercises and project files for every lesson
Each course comes packed with free project files, assets, and additional material to keep you learning and growing long after the course ends. Our exercises are designed from real world briefs, so you’re learning the skills you need to excel on your next project or venture.

Permanent access to course materials
We all need a refresher now and again, which is why you’ll keep access to your course—and all the assets and project files—for the rest of your life. Come back to listen to exclusive interviews, review old lessons, and try out new techniques using your old assets.

Meet your instructor
 Emma Gillette
Professional Illustrator
Emma has a BFA in Animation but has always had a passion for illustration. She worked on her first children’s book project soon after graduation and decided then that illustration was the perfect fit for her.

Inspired by nature, fantasy and the whimsy of childhood, Emma loves to do colorful illustrations for book covers, picture books and magazines. She’s worked with brands like Disney, National Geographic and American Girl. She has deep experience with character design and visual development, and won a student Emmy for her student film. When she is not drawing, she loves reading, exploring mountain meadows and watching movies with her husband.