Unique and Appealing Character Design by SVS Learn

SVS Unique and Appealing Character Design is an online class from the School of Visual Storytelling, taught by children's book illustrator Anna Daviscourt. It gives you a framework for building characters from the ground up, working through shape, proportion, costuming and details, and ends with a draw-along project in which you design a lineup of five distinct characters. The class has 16 lessons with about an hour and a half of video, five assignments and six downloads, and it is included in the SVS Learn membership.

What makes the class useful is its focus on decisions: how to adapt classic source material, find balanced shapes, choose costumes that tell a story, add world-building details and know when a design is finished.

What You Will Learn

• Starting a character from a story and a setting
• Using shape to give characters a clear personality
• Proportion and how it changes the way a character reads
• Costuming, including designing from reference
• Adding details that build the world around a character
• Banking ideas while brainstorming
• Questions to ask to judge whether a design is finished

Who Is SVS Unique and Appealing Character Design For?

The class suits illustrators who can draw figures but find their characters generic or too similar to each other. It is especially relevant for picture book and middle-grade illustrators, and for anyone building a character-focused portfolio.

If you are new to drawing people, take Figure Drawing Fundamentals and Introduction to Gesture Drawing first.

What You Will Make

By the end of the class you will have a lineup of five characters from the same story, each with a distinct silhouette, proportion and costume. Seen side by side, a lineup shows art directors that you can design a cast, not just a single figure, which is exactly what picture book and animation work demand. Keep your brainstorming pages too: they show your thinking.

Course Structure

The class is organised in six parts:

1. Introduction, with Assignment 1 and story and setting reference
2. Shape, with a demonstration and Assignment 2
3. Proportion, with Assignment 3
4. Costuming, including costuming from reference, with Assignment 4
5. Details, with Assignment 5
6. Conclusion and final assignment: a lineup of five characters, plus a checklist of questions

Price and Access

The class is included in the SVS Learn membership. SVS lists its Studio membership at $29.95 a month, and class pages show an annual option at $300. A 14-day free trial is available with a card and becomes a paid subscription unless cancelled. Members get the class library, live events and a monthly art challenge with instructor feedback.

About the Instructor

Anna Daviscourt is a published children's book illustrator and full-time freelance artist from Portland, Oregon, known for a loose, whimsical style with rich textures and magical characters. She is represented by Shannon Associates.

How It Fits the SVS Curriculum

The class is part of Level 2 of SVS Essentials. After the figure and gesture classes, it shifts the focus from drawing bodies to designing personalities. It pairs well with Stylizing Human Characters, which looks at stylisation through shape and proportion, and Posing Characters, which teaches you to draw the same character consistently from different angles.

Things to Consider

• Time: an hour and a half of video, but the five-character lineup takes several sessions.
• Materials: pencil and paper are enough for the draw-along.
• Source material: pick a story or fairy tale you know well for the final project.
• Next steps: Stylizing Human Characters and Posing Characters.
• Feedback: share your lineup in the SVS community.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with SVS Learn?

Start Unique and Appealing Character Design

For the full curriculum and membership options, visit the official SVS Learn website.

Looking for more ways to learn? Browse all courses and learning resources on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 26, 2026