Illustrating a Stylized Character

Course by Ben Eblen
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Bundle discount Each additional course part in your cart adds 3% off all courses, up to 15% off.
Full course
You will be given unexpiring access to watch the videos online.
20%
$35.99
$44.99
Lessons
17 Lessons (estimated)
Duration
10h 26m (estimated)
Skill Level
All Skill levels
overview

NOTE: This course is on presale for 20% off. Discount ends and course content will be released on November 1st.

From short IG tips and tricks to this long-form walkthrough

If you're struggling to learn stylization then this demo is for you. This is a real-time walk-through filled with actionable, in-context explanations of my thoughts and techniques when it came to creating this character from sketch to rendered painting. You'll see me go from start to finish on this stylized character illustration touching on many topics it's filled with tips and tricks as I'm needing to use them to accomplish this particular character design/illustration. 

There's lots of valuable knowledge you can pick up from this demo and here's just some of the questions that I'll answer while you watch me complete this piece. 

  • How do I exaggerate the shapes and make the character feel ‘Stylized’?
  • When and how do I shade things in certain ways to make them feel ‘realistic’ yet ‘stylized’?
  • What brushes should I use? (It’s really not that important!)
  • How do I steer away from realistic photo reference and create my own character?
  • How do I take a black and white painting and convert it to color (though ‘convert’ isn’t the right way of thinking about it)?
  • My drawings are feeling very ‘flat’—how do I give them ‘life’ and ‘dimension’?
  • What do ‘layer modes’ do and how do I use them?

Throughout the demo you'll get to hear my thought process where I explain 'why' I'm doing certain things that otherwise might have been a bit too tricky/lengthy to tackle through a social media post or short video. Everything I talk about/demonstrate is in the context of this character/illustration.


This isn't a lazer-focused course on any one particular topic like rendering, lighting, stylization, perspective, likeness, photoshop etc. They'll be coming for sure... but this is not one of them.

What's included 📚

  • A 7+ hour walk-through video broken up into digestible chapters.
  • A 40+ page Field Guide (PDF) that allows you to study away from the videos (something I personally like to do from time to time).
  • The walk-through PSD file.
  • A Procreate techniques video that maps to the ones shown in the walk-through using Photoshop.
  • The full original recording video (no voice-over).
  • Experimental bonus 3D-modeled anatomy study images.

Proko Exclusive Content - Head Turn Around Drawing

Just for Proko customers, I've added an extra 2 hours worth of content specifically around how I invent the head turn around from our initial character illustration.

So, If you've enjoyed my free stuff on Instagram I think you'll get a lot out of this one.

Who am I?

Hey there, 👋



I'm Ben, an Aussie that loves to draw, paint, learn how to learn and share my findings and 'aha' moments online.

You might have seen some of my work/sketch notes and time-lapses on my Instagram, Twitter or TikTok.


Over the past 2 years or so, I've built a bit of a following online where I share my illustrations, sketches, and more interesting to me (and apparently to a few others) the thought process and techniques on how I got to the end result.

A huge shout-out is in order for those of you who have been following me on my journey so far– without you, this tutorial probably wouldn't exist.

If by chance you do end up grabbing this –do me one favour, please...Squeeze as much actionable knowledge out of it as possible, and probably go create something awesome with it. There's no use in sitting around in your inbox doing nothing.

Oh and If you do, please tag me, I'd love to see it!

As always, stay consistent, use reference, have fun with it and remember, it's only pixels baybee 🕺✍️

Cheers,
Ben ✌️

What you will learn
1Photo Reference and Art Inspiration
Learn how I think about simplifying and stylizing from photo reference and the other artists I used as reference for this piece.
2Think in 3D!
I share thoughts on how to make your art more three dimensional along with providing 3D materials for you to study.
3Line Work
Actionable tips that will help you achieve ‘dynamic’ feeling line-work along with my thoughts about it.
4Rendering
Learn my process around inventing the illusion of light.
5Process
Learn how ‘thinking clearly’ leads to ‘cleaner’ work saving you time and energy on your artwork.
6Finishing Touches
Take your illustration from good to great by adding those fun things like ‘rim lights,’ and more to a piece.
7Technical Art Tips
Advice on layer modes and layer organization (demonstrated in both Photoshop and Procreate, but it applies to most painting software).
8Tools and Resources
You'll find out all the brushes I use along with some of my recommended resources that personally helped me with topics like anatomy and rendering for you to dive deeper into.
Premium Benefits
eBooks
Includes one or more PDF eBooks that you can download or read right in your browser!
Demonstrations
Watch video demos with educational commentary from the instructor. Most of us are visual learners (we’re artists!), so reading about it or hearing it explained is not enough. We have to see it!
Downloads
Includes content that the student can download to any personal device for offline viewing.
Money Back Guarantee
Contact support@proko.com within 30 days. We usually don't ask questions, but a request is subject to review if over 25% of content was downloaded. This is to protect our instructors from dishonest wardrobing and ensure a happy and thriving community.
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Browse the FAQs or our more detailed Documentation. If you still need help or to contact us for any reason, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!