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Draw Expressive Characters

Draw Expressive Characters

Give your characters feelings, poses and personality, in five gentle lessons and a final check.

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Yuki Tanaka

October 16, 2026

6 lessons · 29 min

What you'll learn

  • Build characters from simple shapes
  • Draw clear feelings with just a few lines
  • Add movement and personality to every pose
  • Choose colors that fit a character
  • Earn a certificate when you finish

This course is for Studio members

Join to take every lesson. Preview lessons below are free to watch.

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Part 1: Shapes and faces

  1. Welcome: cute is simplePreview3 min
  2. Simple shapes, strong characters6 min
  3. Faces and feelings7 min

Part 2: Poses and color

  1. Poses with movement7 min
  2. Color and personality6 min
  3. Final check

About this course

Expressive characters aren't about perfect anatomy. They're about simple shapes, clear feelings and a little movement. In five gentle lessons you'll learn faces, poses, color and personality, with a practice exercise in each. Pencil and paper are enough. Lesson one is free to preview. Pass the final check to earn your certificate.

Instructor

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Yuki Tanaka

Illustrator in Tokyo. I design cute characters for stickers, books and brands, and I love teaching beginners to draw with confidence.