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English, Spanish, 2 more
German, French
English, French,
3 more
Spanish, German, Portuguese
Tony Bancroft is an animator and director, who worked at Disney Studios for 30 years. He co-directed the film Mulan and created characters like Pumbaa, Cogsworth.
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English, Spanish , 2 more 
English, French , 3 more
Translate your character’s emotions and personality into dynamic poses that tell a storyPractice drawing various thumbnail poses for a single characterUse animation principles like 'Twists & Tilts' and 'Squash & Stretch' to add visual interestCreate a variety of relaxed poses that look natural, not stiff or rigidLearn how to create realistic balance and weight distribution for charactersShow your character’s personality through inactive and active posesDiscover how silhouettes help make a good, clear poseAre you fairly good at coming up with characters, but somehow feel that they are a bit stiff and unnatural, with stances that seem a bit ‘awkward’? Or do you tend to draw standard poses for standing, sitting, walking, etc. and want to infuse them with life, to make them more interesting?
There are lots of tutorials these days on character design, but far less teaching how to create poses and gestures for those characters. A well-drawn pose plays a big role in effectively conveying a character’s emotions and unique personality, be they a sinister villain, a courageous hero or an amusing side-kick.
In this course, Tony Bancroft, shows you how to do just THAT, drawing from his wealth of experience in the animation industry, having worked with studios like Disney and Warner Bros. He explains the key principles used in cartoons to make movements believable and entertaining and demonstrates the techniques for applying these concepts to your artwork.
At the end of this course, you’ll think about illustration in a whole different way and have a new set of skills at your disposal to create characters that practically jump off the page!
1+ Hours of on-demand videos
7 Cheat sheets/guides
Certificate of Completion
Get to know your instructor, Tony Bancroft, and the cartoon characters that he created.
A pose doesn’t only refer to a model’s position on a magazine cover. 🙂 In the world of art, a pose captures a character in one moment in time, portraying their action, emotion and personality in a single illustration.
When you understand what makes a good pose work, your picture can paint a vivid story that draws the viewer in. Tony delves into this subject in this first lesson, demonstrating how different poses change the vibe of an illustration.
The line of action is the central thrust of a character’s pose, following a directional curve. It is an essential tool that professional artists and animators, like Tony, use all the time when drawing, to create a natural ‘flow’ in the pose and a sense of energy.
In this lesson, you’ll see several examples of different kinds of ‘lines of action’ and learn the basics of how to use them for your own characters.
‘What do I do with my hands?’ The age-old question!
Not only does this issue come up at a family photo-shoot, but making your illustrations look natural and relaxed when inactive can sometimes be tricky too!
Discover the key aspects of drawing relaxed poses that look believable, such as how to position the hands, elbows and shoulders. Tony also discusses ways to modify a pose to communicate a variety of feelings, eg: boredom, worry, disinterest and curiosity.
2 Cheat Sheet Guides Included
Adding twists and tilts is a great way to make your characters appear less stiff. Not only does it enhance their personality, but it makes the pose a lot more interesting too!
This is something we all do naturally, but don’t necessarily think of. As you learn about this concept in this lesson, you’ll be more conscious of it and be better able to implement twists and tilts in your drawings.
Tony discusses three important principles of drawing good, clear poses, covering each one in a separate lesson and giving lots of examples of each:
– Weight: giving substance to a form, making objects and characters appear light or heavy
– Balance: ensuring that a pose adheres to gravity’s pull, so it’s not off balance or likely to topple over
– Silhouettes: creating clarity in a pose, making it easy to identify, avoiding confusion
3 Cheat Sheet Guides Included
So this is it! You’ll get to use ALL the new skills you just learned and apply them to a character, infusing it with energy and a life of its own! Excited yet?
You’ll also learn how Tony creates multiple thumbnails, playing with various poses and narrowing them down until he lands on the option that best communicates a character’s personality.
Follow along with a fun assignment, to consolidate everything you’ve learned so far.
2 Cheat Sheet Guides Included
Bid farewell to your instructor in this conclusion video. Hope you enjoyed this course!
Course rating
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2 courses
Tony Bancroft is a 2D animator with over 30 years of experience in the animation industry. He has worked with companies such as Disney, Sony and Warner Brothers. During his 12-year career with Disney Studios, Bancroft helped create and animate Pumbaa, from The Lion King; Kronk, from The Emperor’s New Groove; Cogsworth, from Beauty and the Beast; and Iago, from Aladdin. Bancroft’s most notable accomplishments include being the co-director of Walt Disney’s animated film, Mulan; and animation supervisor of Sony’s Stuart Little 2.
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Each class includes 10-20 video lessons that are 7 minutes long on average. Most classes include exercise sheets, assignments, and layered PSD or PNG files.
Some classes include the ability to chat with the instructor in a public forum, e.g. if you want feedback on your artwork.
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