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Drawing a Female Character

with Meike Schneider
4.7 (199)
Meike guides you through her entire process for creating a female character and teaches you the exact steps to follow to create your own!
English, German English, German, 2 more French, Spanish [Auto]
1+
hours
8
lessons
Beginner
level
Meike Schneider

Your Instructor

Meike is a 3D Artist & Illustrator from Germany and well-known on Instagram and Tom Bancroft’s MerMayart challenge. She currently works as a freelancer for various animation studios and companies as well as teaching at the  School of Games in Cologne. 

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1+
hours
8
lessons
Beginner
level
English, German
English, German , 2 more
Subtitles
  • French
  • Spanish [Auto]

What you’ll learn

  • Where to find good references and planning ahead with color thumbnails
  • Navigate Procreate's Interface with ease
  • Learn effective sketching techniques
  • Create dynamic poses by simplifying a character's skeleton
  • Choose beautiful color schemes by understanding color theory
  • Block out the colors and add texture, detail, shadows and highlights
  • Master the use of Layers, AlphaLock and Clipping Masks to save time
  • Export your art correctly for web or print use
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Description

Meike goes into detail about the various steps involved in drawing a female character, teaching fundamental principles that will take your art to the next level. 

For example, being inspired is the one of the most important things when designing characters. Have you ever been uninspired and didn’t know what to draw? In this course, Meike shares tips on how she personally finds inspiration to create amazing, eye-catching characters.

Also, did you know that colors have different meanings which the observer can sense? When applied correctly, you can use color to create a particular emotion, mood or atmosphere with color. How? Dive into the vivid, bright world of color theory and master the art of creating beautiful color schemes that will dazzle the eye!

Meike shares this and many more methods and tips, accumulated over the years and packaged into one concise course, just for you.

Have fun learning!

If you would like to post your final illustration on social media, be sure to tag Meike! You can find her at:

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This course includes

  • 1+ Hours of on-demand videos
  • 7 Assignments
  • 10 Cheat sheets/guides
  • List of recommended brushes
  • Certificate of Completion
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Used in course

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What you'll need

  • Digital drawing software such as Procreate or similar (see examplesAffinity Photo, ArtRage, Artweaver, Astropad, Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter, Krita, Inkscape, IbisPaint, GIMP, Rebelle 4, Photoshop, Paintstorm Studio, Procreate, MediBang Paint, SketchPad, SketchBook, TwistedBrush, Vectr...)
  • No previous experience with Procreate required
  • Some previous art experience recommended
  • You'll learn more if you have a drawing tablet
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Lesson Plan

with Meike Schneider
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00

Introduction

01:46

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Get to know Meike, your instructor!

In this short intro, she summarizes the topics covered in this course as well as the new skills you will master by the end. There’s a lot of valuable insight packed in this course. Get ready! 🙂

01

Inspiration

04:25

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Meike discusses where she gets her inspiration from, how to find good references and how to pick poses, facial expressions and colors.

In this lesson, you have a special peek behind-the-scenes and find out how the pros come up with new ideas for their artwork creations. 

02

Setup

05:05

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Even if you’ve never used Procreate before, not to worry! Discover all the essential tools you’ll need to create artistic masterpieces and get comfortable with the interface in this video. You’ll know the ins and outs of  Procreate in no time. 🙂

03

Sketching

13:14

Watch as Meike demonstrates several methods for sketching quick character poses. She also teaches how to work with layers to create clean lines over the sketch. Along the way, you’ll discover other nifty tools and tips that you won’t want to miss.

04

Color Theory

11:17

Believe it or not, the color scheme is a major way to communicate the message behind the artwork; it’s so important for creating mood and emotion! Find out how to use it effectively in this tutorial, as Meike breaks down the fascinating theory of color and teaches the rules for creating gorgeous color schemes. 

05

Blocking

12:11

Now it’s time to use the color scheme Meike picked in the last video to block in the character. You will learn helpful guidelines to separate color blocks making it easier to adjust them and add details later on and … to save you a ton of time!

06

Adding Details

16:26

Now that blocking is all done, let’s start with the shading, texture and details to make the illustration pop! Discover the magic of AlphaLock, the convenient tool which makes painting so much faster. You’ll also learn about the StreamLine tool, to create smooth curves if you have a shaky hand (happens to the best of us!)

07

Exporting

02:18

The last stage of the illustration process: getting it all ready to show off on social media!! 😉 

Learn how to export your art so that it looks the best it possibly can and how to even quickly create a time-lapse video. You’re done!

Student Feedback

199 customer reviews & ratings

4.7

Course rating

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5 star
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4 star
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3 star
6 %
2 star
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Best Suited for
Beginner
The level is determined by a majority opinion of students who have reviewed this class. The teacher's recommendation is shown until at least 5 student responses are collected.

(Based on 199 reviews)

Most Liked
Great step-by-step process 144
Clarity of Instruction 143
Helpful Examples 122
Showing 10 reviews of
199
reviews & ratings
A
Anna

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
Really good course for beginners. Meike teaches you how to use procreate, find inspiration, outlining, and color theory. I knew most of the stuff mentioned but still learned a few things. I would say it is perfect for beginners since it has a little bit of everything. Meike is sweet and very good a
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t explaining. She makes everything seem simple and easy.
I recommend it for Beginner
6 people found this helpful
N
Natalie

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
I bought the access to the whole site because of this course. I was so excited to do it & it didn't disappoint. I've followed along drawing my own character and did the lessons in just 1 day. I think the resources that support it are brilliant too! Thank you!
I recommend it for All levels
6 people found this helpful
SG
Sara G.

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
Meike has been one of my fav artist ever, so everything I can say from his course is that I loved it! I strongly recommend it to see how she creates her beautiful illustrations.
5 people found this helpful
GA
Gary A.

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
Another great course. I love how she teaches.
I recommend it for All levels
5 people found this helpful
C
Chrystal

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
I'm new to using procreate and found this course extremely helpful. So excited to apply what I learned and get more efficient with the way I illustrate digitally.
I recommend it for Intermediate
2 people found this helpful
JW
Jessica W.

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
I was hooked! I spent hours working on my drawing! It came to life right before my eyes. The guidance was so helpful and easy to follow. I am so thankful and want to try more characters!!
I recommend it for Beginner
1 person found this helpful
DE
Don E.

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
Very progressive in improving drawing skills
I recommend it for Advanced
1 person found this helpful
C
Cathy

4 years ago

Verified Purchase
Very well explained. Love the short videos and the quality of understanding. Thank you!
I recommend it for Beginner
1 person found this helpful
M
Mariana

3 years ago

Verified Purchase
It was a great course for beginners in procreate, but not beginners in general. You have to know the basics of drawing characters. I really like some tips of brush and some ways to make texture. Thanks 😊
I recommend it for Beginner
1 person found this helpful
AH
Antonia H.

2 years ago

Verified Purchase
I really like Meike's approach to creating her artworks. She explains it in a clear and understandable way and doesn't use any individual tools like purchased brushes. This is really helpful for beginners, since you usually first want to get comfortable with using procreate before buying brushes and
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such. Thank you Meike for this great course, I did learn a lot
I recommend it for Beginner
2 people found this helpful
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About the Instructor

Meike Schneider
3D Artist and Illustrator 1 course

Meike is a 3D Artist & Illustrator, with a strong focus on characters, based in Cologne, Germany. She is probably best known through Instagram and Tom Bancroft’s ‘MerMay’. Her work includes projects such as Children’s Book Illustration, Character Design, Visual Development, 3D Character & Environment Modeling as well as Look Development. She is currently working as a freelancer for various animation studios and companies as well as teaching as an instructor at the  School of Games in Cologne.


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