Composition for Illustration with Joseph “KunoMD” Chan

Join KunoMD in this eight-week course on developing robust composition and sketching processes for personal and professional image-making.

Students will explore composition in-depth for commercial and personal illustration through sketching philosophy. Topics include: sketching basics, cinematic framing, stylized composition, reference gathering/usage, idea organization/development, and illustrative workflows. This course will attempt to simplify your drawing process for the purpose of approaching complex illustrations through self-analysis and methodical sketching. 

This course will mainly focus on setting up your illustrations for success through the planning and sketching phases of your workflow and will NOT be covering fundamentals or rendering techniques. This is an intermediate to advanced level course that will prioritize the philosophy of compositions, teaching you to see the potential in your ideas and converting them into visuals on the canvas. 

Limited-time promotion: Get a bundle 50% discount on a spectator seat or a 30% discount on a critique spot for KunoMD’s upcoming winter term class by, Illustrative Style Matching! E-mail us after purchasing Composition for Illustration (this class) for details!

Duration: 8 weeks
Date & Time: Saturdays at 2:00 PM Eastern starting Saturday, October 24 2026
⚠️ Clocks will turn back 1 hour on November 1; School closed November 28–29 ⚠️
Skill level: Intermediate–advanced; all skill levels welcome to spectate
Tiers: Receive direct feedback in class or spectate without homework feedback
Format: 4–5 hour live class with combination of lectures, demos, and feedback. Recordings are generally provided within a couple days of each live session.
Materials: Any digital or traditional tools. Paintovers will be done digitally.

All weeks will be a combination of lecture, demos and feedback.

SYLLABUS

WEEK 1
Topics: Class Introductions • What is Composition? • Required Skills for the Course
Description: Setting the goals for the course from a desire to personalize and simplify how you approach drawing • Understanding all students’ current skillsets and their applications to the class
Assignment: Current state portfolio review with detailed explanations of each piece; how did you approach each drawing?

WEEK 2
Topics: Abstraction to Visualization • Playing with Dolls!
Description: Framing your art the way you see it • Simplifying how to think about composition by separating planning from execution • Macro visual organization
Assignment: Use stick figures and abstracted shapes to recreate the compositions of example illustrations

WEEK 3
Topics: Compositional Analysis • “Family & Friends” pt.1
Description: Picking apart artist compositions • Reverse-engineering illustrations through object relations and perspective/layout
Assignment: Come up with five detailed descriptions of five illustrations of your choice that accurately describe what the artist may have wanted to convey at the onset of their process

WEEK 4
Topics: Compositional Analysis • “Family & Friends” pt.2
Description: Picking apart artist mentalities • Reverse engineering illustrations through hidden reference and influence • Finding compositional and stylistic relations within illustrations through reference & inspiration
Assignment: 3 Master studies of illustrations of your choice from artists you have analyzed so far; approach these studies as though you are the original artist

WEEK 5
Topics: The “Artist’s Eye” pt. 1 • Idea Generation
Description: Building and filtering good ideas from bad ideas • Scene building, characterization, and writing skills
Assignment: Write and sketch out 2–3 scenes with a clear written & visual narrative

WEEK 6
Topics: The “Artist’s Eye” pt. 2 • Idea Generation
Description: Building your own “family tree” of object inter-relations on the canvas • Refining how you use compositional rules to clarify visualized ideas through mechanical execution • Napkin sketches
Assignment: Write and sketch out an additional 2–3 scenes with a clear written & visual narrative with illustrative composition in mind

WEEK 7
Topics: Composing with Constraints • Commercial Compositions & Usage
Description: Learning to compose complex scenes with commercial usage in mind • Learning to strategically place compositional elements that adhere to physical constraints of the canvas
Assignment: Sketch out three thumbnails from given prompts that adhere to designated form factors

WEEK 8
Topics: Every Exception to the Rules • Abstracting Visual Conformity
Description: How to break rigid compositional rules for stylistic purposes • Getting “intentionally” messy and weird