Stylized Anatomy for Character Design with Ognjen Sporin

Join Ognjen Sporin in this five-week course on creating clear, readable, and appealing figures with strong shape and body language.

This course will cover both the fundamentals and the particularities of drawing stylized figures, approaching the subject through a combination of lectures, demos and assignments. Over five weeks, we’ll not only go over commonly discussed relevant concepts through a new lens, but also dive into topics specific to stylization and explore various approaches to painting.

Duration: 5 weeks
Date & Time: Sundays at 11:00 AM EST starting Sunday, November 8 2026
⚠️ School closed November 28–29 ⚠️
Skill level: All skill levels welcome
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

We’ll cover:

WEEK 1: INTRO, MOVEMENT, PROCESS & DEVELOPMENT
-Vectors of Stylization: Simplification & Exaggeration
-Visual Movement: Concept, Exaggeration, Gesture in Figure Drawing
-Process, Development, Mindset 

WEEK 2: SHAPE, FORM  & CHARACTER DESIGN
-Shape Design: Organic Shapes, Simple vs Complex, Unifying vs Accenting
-Form Design: Wedging & Interlocking, Geometric Structure, Plane Breaks
-Figure Design for Characters 

WEEK 3: MATERIALS, POSING & DRAPERY
-Body Composition: Skeleton, Muscle and Fat
-Material Shape Design & Counterbalance
-Compression vs Stretch & Muscle Function
-Standing Poses, Attitude & Acting
-Drapery 

WEEK 4: LINE
-Types of Lines
-Line Weight: Feathering, Lost Lines, Ambient Occlusion
-Strokes, Shorthands & Symbols
-Lineart 

WEEK 5: TONE
-Creating Shapes: Brush & Lasso
-Silhouette Shape, Interior Shapes & Edges
-Color
-Refinement

By the end of the course, you should develop a more comprehensive understanding of stylization as a whole, as well as a practical approach and tools applicable specifically to your figures and characters.