CHARACTER DESIGN: HUMOR AND APPEAL
In the Character Design: Humor And Appeal workshop at The Art Club, you’ll learn how to push the emotion, especially humor, in your character expressions and poses. We’ll be using techniques, approaches and philosophies used by Looney Tunes and Disney legends that have had people howling with laughter for over 100 years! Throughout the workshop, we’ll study examples of humorous, appealing character poses and practice applying those principles to your own drawings. You’ll learn how to push facial expressions, gestures, and overall performance to the max, all while keeping your characters solid, appealing, and professionally designed.
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Clearly communicate emotion, attitude, and comedic intent
Create expressive character poses with strong humor and appeal
Push gesture and expression while maintaining solid character structure
Design readable poses that tell a joke or story instantly
Apply classic animation principles used by Disney and Looney Tunes artists
What You’ll Make: A set of polished character poses (Happy, Sad, and Funny) showcasing humor, appeal, and performance. Ready for your portfolio or to add to your collection of personal work.
Participants may join as Active students, receiving drawovers and feedback, or as Viewers, with access to the live sessions and text chat interaction with other viewers.
Dates
Tuesdays - Feb 3 & Feb 10
Time
6:00pm - 9:00pm PST
Location
The Art Club - Discord: <https://discord.gg/TZb8wK292j> Green Classroom
FORMAT
Class meets on Discord
Homework must be uploaded to Google Drive folder before the next class begins
Active Student spots are limited to 15 participants, and Viewer access is limited to 50 seats.
THE FACULTY
Leonard Lee is a Los Angeles based Character Designer in the animation industry for more than 8 years, working with studios like Sony Pictures Animation, WB Animation, Nickelodeon and more. While instructing character design and animation teams on shows like ‘Tiny Toons: Looniversity’, Leonard found a love of sharing his passion for a classic approach to draftsmanship and comedy in character posing.
You can see more of his work at: https://www.leonardlee.art/
Prerequisites
This is an Intermediate to Advanced-level workshop. In order to have a productive learning experience for all, prospective students need to fulfill the following requirements:
Solid Draftsmanship
Basic understanding of anatomy and character posing
Drawing/Painting software (Adobe Photoshop preferred)
Computer with microphone (camera optional)
Access to Google Drive
Access to Discord
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In this session, we’ll observe and study humor and appeal in character poses. Together, we’ll look at strong examples of expressive poses and break down the elements that make them humorous and appealing. We’ll explore gesture drawing and learn how to capture a joke or emotion in the simplest, clearest way possible. As well as, how carry that essence and energy from gesture through to the final illustration. After the lecture, Len will demonstrate a character illustration, showing how to apply the concepts discussed.
Assignment: Active Students will draw 3 poses (Happy, Sad, Funny) from a provided model sheet.
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Active students will have their assignment work reviewed, with live draw-overs and direct feedback. We’ll revisit and reinforce the key concepts covered throughout the workshop, addressing common challenges and highlighting effective approaches. The session will conclude with a Q&A and final thoughts to help you continue developing your character design skills.
Who is this Workshop for?
The Character Design: Humor and Appeal workshop is designed for Intermediate to Advanced artists who want to push expression, emotion, and appeal in their character poses. While we’ll touch on drawing fundamentals, these lessons assume a basic understanding of figure drawing and are focused on elevating performance, clarity, and comedic storytelling in your work.
Current College Students – who want to strengthen their character acting, sharpen their sense of pose clarity, and develop more expressive, performance-driven drawings.
Professionals – in animation, illustration, comics, or related fields who are looking to enhance the humor, appeal, and emotional impact of their character work, especially for production environments that demand strong posing and clear storytelling.
Hobbyists & Developing Artists – who already have foundational drawing skills and are excited to push their characters further, explore comedic acting, and gain structured guidance that supports expressive growth and appeal-driven design.
Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Clearly communicate emotion, attitude, and comedic intent
Create expressive character poses with strong humor and appeal
Push gesture and expression while maintaining solid character structure
Design readable poses that tell a joke or story instantly
Apply classic animation principles used by Disney and Looney Tunes artists
What You’ll Make: A set of polished character poses (Happy, Sad, and Funny) showcasing humor, appeal, and performance. Ready for your portfolio or to add to your collection of personal work.
