DAVID PEREZ

David Perez is a husband, father, and artist with over a decade of experience in the animation industry. He has had the privilege of working at some of the most renowned studios, including Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Nickelodeon, Sony, and Netflix.

Teaching and giving back has been one of the most rewarding aspects of his career. David occasionally offers online workshops, and he also shares free insights on his YouTube channel (@dzine555) to help aspiring artists on their creative journey.

Character design isn’t about being “advanced.” It’s about mastering the basics at a deeper level. Over the years, He has learned that great design always comes back to simplicity and that’s the foundation of my teaching philosophy.

You’ll not only learn how things work but also why they work. More importantly, you’ll gain the tools to deconstruct and rebuild characters in your own unique way. His goal is to make learning accessible, easy to understand at any age, and use his courses as a resource you can return to no matter where you are in your artistic journey.

David has a 100-page how-to book designed to teach anyone the fundamentals of character design. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills.

If you would like to see more of his work you can check out. www.davidperezdzine.com

Colorful characters from the game 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' including a balloon-like creature with a cat face, a cute orange monster, and a small figure in a diaper. The image also shows various sketches of the same characters in different

Character design sketches from Animaniacs, including the Warner siblings, Dot, Yakko, and Wakko, their expressions, poses, and various animation concepts.

Character concept sketches and rough designs of characters from Disney's 'The Proud Family,' including family members, animals, and a monster, with a mix of black-and-white and colored illustrations.

Lineup of character turnaround sketches from Disney's Primos, including elderly man, woman with pigtails, boy, girl, large dog, and various dog breeds, shown from multiple angles.

A collection of black and white sketches of characters from the animated film 'Primos' by Disney, depicting various humorous and exaggerated facial expressions and actions.

Collection of black and white sketches of super hero girls, including characters from DC Super Hero Girls, in various action poses and expressions.

Colorful illustration of a female superhero with short hair partially covering one eye, wearing a purple and green suit with a lantern symbol, with six different sketch versions showing various poses and hairstyles on the right.

Split-screen image with Wonder Woman on the left and a cartoon dog on the right. Wonder Woman is standing confidently with her hands by her sides, wearing her iconic red, gold, and blue costume, with long dark hair. The dog is white with a brown coll

Various sketches of fish with fishermen in medieval or fantasy attire, some with exaggerated features like large eyes, prominent teeth, and fishing hooks, labeled "Dragon Palace" in green text.

Collection of black-and-white cartoon images of a goofy, exaggerated dog with large eyes, floppy ears, and a wagging tongue, displaying various humorous and expressive poses and facial expressions.

Collection of various monster sketches, including a bat-like creature with smoke, a fish with large teeth, a mermaid with a sinister face, a big fish with armor, a shark with wings, a spider-like creature spitting water, a grey fish with antennae, an

Collection of character sketches of a female fish from the animated film Teenager Kraken, showing various expressions and poses in grayscale.

Set of black and white sketches of a girl with long, wavy hair in various emotional expressions from the animated series Teenage Kraken by Ruby Gillman.

Group of DC Super Hero Girls characters in two sections: top section features five women in superhero costumes, bottom section has five women and one man with playful expressions; right section shows a group of girls and one boy against a brick wall,

David’s Credits

Poster for Animaniacs featuring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot in front of the Warner Bros. water tower, with the show's title at the top and the Warner siblings on a tower platform.

Colorful promotional poster for Disney's Big City Greens cartoon, featuring animated characters in a backyard. The poster includes photo strips, advertisements, a to-do list, and a date of September 23 at 8 PM.

The poster for Nickelodeon’s Big Nate featuring animated characters in a school hallway with lockers and bulletin boards.

Animated characters sitting on stadium bleachers, with some looking at phones and talking, promoting the show "Clone High" on Max with details about the new season streaming starting February 1.

Animated cartoon characters from 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' standing on a wooden dock under a cloudy sky. The main character is holding an umbrella, accompanied by a girl with glasses and a small animated animal wearing a feathered headband.

Poster for the Netflix series 'The Cuphead Show!' featuring two animated characters standing in a snowy landscape, with one character holding a wooden stick, and text indicating the release date November 18.

Colorful promotional poster of DC Super Hero Girls featuring animated female superheroes including Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Green Lantern, Bumblebee, and others, with the title in the center.

Image of animated cats, one white with a beard and one gray with horns, sitting next to a gold food bowl and a trail of pet food spelled out as a pentagram, promoting the Netflix series 'Exploding Kittens' premiering in July 2024.

Illustration of an animated girl with large, determined eyes and spiky black hair, surrounded by glowing green energy, with a group of four serious and intimidating characters behind her, and the text "Invincible Fight Girl" at the bottom.

Animated characters from Disney's 'Legend of the Three Caballeros,' featuring Donald Duck in the foreground, and other characters including a toucan, a rooster, and a bat, with a mystical, superhero-themed backdrop.

Animated poster for Disney's 'The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder' featuring diverse characters with energetic poses against a blue background. Text promotes new season premiere on Feb 1 on Disney Plus, with the slogan 'Legacy is Power'.

Colorful cartoon image of characters from the animated series "IDLE MOOSE POST" with a rainbow-colored title at the bottom. The characters are holding cardboard boxes, flying, and smiling in a sky filled with clouds and some buildings in the backgrou

Cover of Monster High scare master collection featuring six illustrated monster girls with diverse styles and colorful outfits on a dark background with skull motifs.

A hand-drawn colored sketch of a girl with dark hair, sitting on a large tiger, holding onto its back. The girl is wearing colorful clothing and has a serious expression. The tiger has orange fur with black stripes and green eyes. The poster has a qu

Illustration of characters from Disney's 'Rimos' riding on a rainbow, with a cityscape and Hollywood sign in the background, vibrant colors, stars, and clouds.

Animated promotional poster for the final season of 'Solar Opposites' featuring cartoon characters including a large yellow creature with wide eyes in the center, surrounded by various alien and human characters in a cityscape with neon lights and UF

Lecture schedule with dates, titles, and times in a table format, featuring a green header labeled "LECTURES" on the right side.

Character Design: Simple Rules For Any Styles

Book cover titled "Character Design: Simple Rules for Any Style Part 1" with a comic-style illustration of a man with glasses and a beard, and a woman with an afro hairstyle, both outlined with colored lines indicating design principles. Price is $25.

OUT NOW!

If you’ve studied character design fundamentals before, Character Design: Simple Rules for Any Style focuses on how to actually apply them. Instead of looking at individual aspects of character design, the lecture breaks down complete character designs and analyzes how the different pieces work together.

You’ll see what makes a design appealing and learn what works, what doesn’t, and why. You’ll also see how small adjustments can dramatically improve a character.

Worksheets are included so you can follow along and apply the same ideas to your own designs.

Learn More

A digital graphic depicting a schedule for a series of workshops titled "WORKSHOPS." The schedule is organized in a table format with time slots from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the corresponding workshop topics and presenters. The title is at the top, and there are pink accents around the headings and borders.

Character Design: Folklore & Cryptids

An illustration of a creature with a skeletal face, large yellow eyes, and a long purple tongue. It has spiky, gray and green features, with claws on its arms and a tail. The creature has a monstrous, cartoonish appearance.

The Character Design: Creatures & Cryptids 5-week course at The Art Club is all levels workshop and built around play, creativity, and exploration. We will be designing characters inspired by folklore, cryptids, paranormal ideas, and the unknown. The goal is to stop overthinking and start designing freely. Students will push ideas, experiment with shapes, and tap into their imagination to create unexpected character designs. This class is collaborative, fun, and focused on helping artists think like designers while enjoying the process.

Apr 28 - May 26

Learn More