Drawing Animal Characters with Human Personalities

A course by Florian Satzinger , Character Designer

Character Designer. Graz, Austria.
Joined November 2021

Explore anatomy, perspective, volume, light, and shadow to bring human-like animal characters to life on the page

94% positive reviews (49)
1,871 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Explore anatomy, perspective, volume, light, and shadow to bring human-like animal characters to life on the page

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Scooby—some of the most iconic characters in the history of entertainment have one thing in common: they look like animals but behave like humans. This duality makes for relatable and eternally memorable animated stars. Award-winning character designer Florian Satzinger has harnessed the power of this dynamic to create universally recognized cartoon personalities, collaborating with household names like Warner Bros. and Disney.

In this online course, learn to draw human-like animals, from the first pencil sketch to the finished artwork in Photoshop. Florian walks you through his entire process, exploring depth, perspective, form, movement, lighting, and color. Design the characters that define your viewers’ childhoods and live on in their memories forever.

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What will you learn in this online course?

19 lessons & 13 downloads

Materials: Analog and Digital
5 minutes, 39 seconds
Lines and Layers
10 minutes, 25 seconds
Understanding the Canvas
8 minutes, 49 seconds
The Perspective Stage
5 minutes, 5 seconds
The Anatomy Laboratory
12 minutes, 33 seconds
  • 94% positive reviews (49)
  • 1,871 students
  • 19 lessons (3h 20m)
  • 13 additional resources (4 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Illustrate a scene with two anthropomorphic characters interacting with each other.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone who wants to draw captivating animal characters with human personalities.

Requirements and materials

No prior knowledge is required.

As for materials, you need a sketchbook, graphite and colored pencils, and a light table, as well as a graphics tablet with Photoshop if you prefer to work digitally.


Reviews

1,871 Students
49 Reviews
94% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Florian Satzinger

A course by Florian Satzinger

Teacher Plus
Character Designer

Florian Satzinger is an Austria-based character designer and visual development artist. Inspired by the classic, hand-drawn Disney films of his childhood, he went on to study fine arts and animation before launching his freelance career. After building a portfolio of advertising projects, he ventured into the animation industry, creating poster and cover art for Looney Tunes Magazine. Impressed by his illustrations, the Vice President of Walt Disney International contacted him and invited him to join the development team.

During his time at Warner Bros. and Disney, Florian collaborated on some of the most iconic cartoon characters in history, including Donald and Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Sylvester. He has also worked for businesses like The Zanuck Company, ReelFX, Space Age Films, Psyop, Ravensburger North America, Facebook, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and Snapchat. In addition to the art he’s created for the animation and comic-book industry, he illustrates satirical cartoon caricatures that are regularly displayed in galleries like the Caricature Museum in Krems, Austria.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    Preparation

    • Materials: Analog and Digital
    • Lines and Layers
    • Understanding the Canvas
    • The Reference Laboratory
    • The Perspective Stage
  • U3

    Designing the Characters

    • The Anatomy Laboratory
    • The Loose Lines and Line of Action
    • Adding Costumes and Props
    • Key Colors
  • U4

    Developing the Scene

    • Finding Positions
    • Creating the Lines
    • Adding Final Colors 1
    • Adding Final Colors 2
    • Creating the Scenery
    • Lighting and Shading
  • U5

    Final Details

    • Final Color and Clean-up Work
    • Closing Edits
  • FP

    Final project

    • Drawing Animal Characters with Human Personalities

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Drawing Animal Characters with Human Personalities. Illustration course by Florian Satzinger

Drawing Animal Characters with Human Personalities

A course by Florian Satzinger
Character Designer. Graz, Austria.
Joined November 2021
  • 94% positive reviews (49)
  • 1,871 students