Dynamic Character Design: Draw Faces and Figures with Pencil, Markers, Digital Tools, and More

by Fernanda Soares de Carvalho

Learn to draw perfect portraits with this primer from Fernanda Soares de Carvalho, the artist behind @creativenanda.

Fernanda is a self-taught artist with a passion for creating semi-realistic portraits that are almost cartoonlike in nature and inspired by manga, anime, and fantasy art. In Dynamic Character Design , she shows you how to work with digital or traditional drawing tools to create faces, facial features, poses, characters, and more in her signature animated style. This easy-to-follow book
 
QR codes that link to Fernanda’s online instructional videos created exclusively for this book provide additional guidance as you learn and are featured in the book.

Perfect your portrait-drawing techniques with Dynamic Character Design .

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[Bea (beansbookshelves) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley.

This is a very detailed book, full of useful information on how to draw characters. The author gibes the reader good examples, tips, techniques and tutorials, both regarding digital and traditional art. The book explains how to draw facial features, as well as how to convey emotions. It also displays information on anatomy and body types. A must read for anyone interest in improving their sketching skills.

[73pctGeek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Dynamic Character Design by Fernanda Soares de Carvalho.

The book is comprised of a short introduction, then five chapters covering, in order, tools, tutorials, sketching, drawing digitally, and tips.

I really liked this book. The art style is quite lovely, and the book is laid out very nicely. I found the tutorials very helpful, the illustrations and explanatory text clearly explaining things in nice easy to digest chunks. I would have loved if the tutorial and sketching sections were longer.

The digital drawing chapter is mostly software agnostic and is more about concepts applicable to process of drawing digitally rather than how to use the digital tools available. That being said, the author uses the Procreate app, and has a couple of software specific tips that can be very helpful to beginners.

In summary, this book will not teach you how to draw photorealistic people, but does a nice job of guiding you through the process of creating stylised characters.

As I embarked on a drawing everyday challenge this year, and struggle terribly with people and faces, I really hope a few months of studying this book will get me closer to where I want to be. I'm definitely buying this book on publication.

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

So…confession time: I do have some artistic talent. However, since I grew up before digital art was much of a thing, I learned all the old school art methods. I’ve always wanted to learn how to draw and color digitally, though, and there’s a chapter in this book that covers how the author uses the Procreate app to do that. I plan on trying out her techniques in the app after I finish this review.

This is a great little book that will help you to elevate your art, whether you want to take reference photos and make them your own, or draw from your imagination. Nanda, the author, has a bunch of tips and tricks on how to do either, and she breaks each step down so that beginners won’t feel overwhelmed. I love how she accentuates certain features of people’s faces to give them unique personalities. Also, her shading is phenomenal.

I highly recommend this if you’re looking how to make your own characters! It’s easy to read and will have you drawing in no time.

I received a copy from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Walter Foster (thank you!). All opinions are mine alone.

[Mandy Kool · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Dynamic Character Design” is a wonderful introduction into character design, especially for those who have a bit of a background in sketching.

It’s always interesting to see how other artists have interpreted ways to teach and this is no exception. Fernanda has a concise step by step on characters with different shape designs along with both mediums. Many of these are accessible to even a beginner.

What I would have liked to see more is a little further depth. For being called dynamic, the designs focused heavily on faces and less on poses and getting movement in the design.

Where it’s nice that it had both traditional and digital tutorials, the book would have been better suited to cut one of those sections and made it a follow up book to focus more on anatomy.

But that’s just a small critique of what it was missing for me. This is still a great book for character design and basics to creating them.

I will definitely recommend this one and can’t wait for it to come out so I can snag a physical copy for my shelf.

Thank you Quarto and Netgalley for offering this fantastic advanced ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

[Charlene Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautifully illustrated book, with such clear technical instruction given in a very engaging and interesting way.
I love everything about this book and can’t wait to get a hardcopy for my daughters who love to draw.
Thank you author/artist Fernanda Soares de Carvalho, Walter Foster publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Charlene 📚🌸🤗 @lastnownext

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this character design tutorial. As someone who used to use the "how to draw" books as a kid, seeing an updated version that incorporates digital art was fantastic! I will definitely be putting the tips and tricks in this book to practice designing my own characters for D&D and other character creation games. There were several varied examples for each body shape, face shape, and hair type, but I would have loved a little further development into adding additional features such as glasses or different hair styles. I think anyone interested in drawing or character sketching will enjoy this book and find the tutorials useful, no matter their preferred medium.

[SketchyNewEngland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I learned so much about proportion and shape and color! This book was great for beginners and intermediate learners as well! I really loved how the author explained the concepts using both physical and digital media. Artists today really need to be versed in both. Some basic knowledge of Procreate is probably good to know going into it so you can understand the terminology but that can be acquired on YouTube in a couple videos first and you should be good to go. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to make fun, realistic cartoon portraits.
Thank you for the eARC!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the PDF copy of Dynamic Character Design by Fernanda Soares de Carvalho!

It's been ages since I've seen a drawing tutorial book of an artist with a style I resonate with.

Really loved it, thank you!

[The Bookish Chimera - Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When creating a character, you must choose what personality traits and characteristics you want them to express.”

This book will take you on the journey of the creation of your own characters.
I loved the book’s design and colours, it was a very pleasing read. The author’s style is really beautiful, and it transpires in the pages’ design. That book however wasn’t for the beginner (which I am). You need to have some basic skills in art before you use it, explanations are pretty superficial and jump from very basic to finish (I don’t say that in a bad way, just to explain that you have to know where to look for more-in-deep information, especially for the “in-between” steps), you need to have a pre-existent understanding of some things to completely enjoy (because when you can’t “try different things” can be a little too vague and overwhelming). If you have these skills (light, basic perspectives, volumes or colouring), however, I believe the book will be an interesting one for you to dip into a new style, as all features are listed here. That’s definitely a book I’ll want to dig in later, when I’ll have more drawing experience.
The timelapses via some QR codes are a nice addition to make the book lively if you are into videos.

Thank you NetGalley, Fernanda Soares de Carvalho and Walter Foster Publishing for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone told me I had an artistic streak when I was a kid. I became a writer, but shortly after finishing university, I started drawing again, this time digitally, with Procreate. This book is excellent for beginners and has everything you need to learn the basics and feel inspired to explore. It's divided into chapters and has step-by-step tutorials, with images and drawings, so it's easy to learn. It comprises a brief introduction, then five chapters covering, in order, tools, tutorials, sketching, drawing digitally, and tips. Besides, Fernanda has an artistic style that I love, and I like the way she encourages readers to find their style. What I would have liked to have seen was a little more depth. The drawings centred a lot on faces and less on poses and achieving movement in the drawing, despite the book's title suggesting dynamics. Despite this, I was very satisfied, I learnt a lot, I will recommend the book and I can't wait for an even more in-depth drawing guide.

[Joana Flauzino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.
It was the best I've read in this genre.
I've had a bitter-sweet relationship with drawing, but this book made me want to return to something that I love and that has been present in my life.
The writing of the book is always accompanied by visual explanations, which help us understand the process. The author explains lots of ways to draw characters so that we can build them in our own way.
This book is not tips on how to draw, it is something that makes us understand how to draw and how to create a base of steps that leads us to what we want to draw.
And it's as easy as she explains, and you'll see results quickly by using the steps.
I'm super glad I had the opportunity to read this book.

A HUGE THANKS for the ARC of the Book to
the author Fernanda Soares de Carvalho
the publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster, Walter Foster Publishing
and to Netgalley

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a simple circle to a final artwork, Dynamic Character Design takes you step by step through the process. It takes almost 100 pages to reach the coloring phase. The book is that detailed. There is absolutely no knowledge, or even artistic skill, necessary to use this book.

The book contains directions for both digital and traditional art media. For digital art, she uses Procreate. Though she does try to generalize her instructions, it is much easier to follow her when using Procreate too.

I believe following this book’s guidelines will make everyone a better artist. Plus, the author is both fun and enthusiastic. Overall, I really enjoyed reading Dynamic Character Design. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Walter Foster Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

[Andrea Escamilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considero que si estas empezando a dibujar y quieres crear personajes el libro es perfecto para ti, sobretodo si quieres llegar a tener un estilo comic o cartoon, como el de la autora de este libro ya que al inicio da consejos muy básicos sobre dibujo y en su propio estilo para la creación de personajes claro que también nos habla de los materiales que podemos utilizar , como darle expresiones a nuestros personajes entre otras cosas, sin embargo si ya tienes algo de tiempo diseñando personajes puede que no te aporte mucho, ya que como libro inicial te da varios consejos y te acompaña en el inicio del proceso, así que en definitiva lo recomiendo si buscas algo como lo dije anteriormente, es muy sencillo de entender y claro el estilo de la autora es muy bonito y dinámico.

[Ricky Oak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very beautiful and well written book for anyone who wants to learn how to draw. From sketches to digital art, it makes me wait for the next extended edition or even a book two with some specific extra techniques involving more about shadows, details like hands and advanced anatomy.
The author uses its own techniques (she is self-taught) and this is great. She incentives readers to use their own “artistic view of the reality”, not to only produce copies.
I also liked “Nanda’s tips”, an easy explanations that helps the reader to better understand techniques and get them closer to the author.
Finally, there are lots of additional information about using Ipad’s Procreate and other drawing softwares.
I definetely recomend it.

[fridge_brilliance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty solid all-rounder starter book for those interested in drawing character-based art, especially in cartoonish styles -- would have loved to get my hands on this when I had just started drawing fanart, years ago! The explanations are accessible, and I bookmarked a few tips and tricks around simplifying anatomical shapes into geometrical ones to try the next time I'm drawing.

Thank you to Netgally for an ARC.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dynamic Character Design is exactly what it tells you. As someone who has a little drawing background - my vice being writing - this was perfect. I had so much fun turning on a good audiobook and grabbing a piece of paper drawing with it. I couldn't recommend this more especially for beginners, but I'm sure even experienced drawers can find a thing or two inside.

[Arizona Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book and easy for both beginners and more adept artists alike! I have been drawing for years - since Middle School - and STILL found myself learning new things in this book. : ) The author's art style is personally inspiring to me, and now I find myself really wanting to try a lineless art style despite being HEAVILY dependent on lines, LOL...

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very thorough book on drawing digital portraits, especially faces. There are so many illustrations. I personally am not a fan of this particular style but the tutorials are great.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great guide to character drawing both digitally and traditionally. With tips on facial structure and body shapes, this has you covered for character drawings.