Designing the Figure: From Mannequin to Character

One of the most common questions I hear is:
“Do I really need to learn all the anatomy to draw the figure well?”

The short answer? No—and that’s exactly what this course is here to address.

This course is designed for artists who want to draw the human figure with confidence, without getting buried in anatomical memorization. Instead of naming every muscle and bone, we’ll focus on a shape-based mannequin system that simplifies complex forms into readable, dynamic structures.

You’ll learn how to assess body types, apply design principles, and suggest believable anatomy through gesture and shape, rather than anatomical precision. This approach offers a naturalistic feel while keeping your drawing direct and efficient.

Whether you're a beginner or looking to sharpen your figure drawing, this course gives you a clear path to building solid, expressive figures without the stress of medical textbooks.

What you'll learn

   1. A shape-based method to draw the figures and exercises for communicating a wide variety of types.

   2. An exploration of body type and anatomy as it pertains to character design.

   3. A study of American illustrators, stereotypes, and their cultural meanings.

   4. An overview of subcutaneous and structural fat and an approach to drawing fuller figures. 

   5. A meditation on my childhood artwork, methods of self criticality, and keeping a healthy perspective on artistic development.

What's included

   1. 6+ hours of lecture.

   2. Step by step demonstrations.

   3. Model reference pack.

   4. A Collection of Lessons on Structure and Form (Instructional PDF)

   5. Access to course discord.

What this course is

This course is an overview of an approach to the figure introduced in my recent book, "Gesture Drawing: Dynamic Movement and Form." As such this course provides an alternative approach centered around shape language, proportion systems, and stylized design.

This material represents what I teach at private universities and workshops around the world, and I’ve chosen to gather it here as designing anatomy represents one of the more challenging stages for students. For this reason, I go into the details of drawing shape and design to provide as much support to students working through this stage.

The benefits of having these lectures recorded is that they can be reviewed and worked through at your own pace. The 3 live lectures are offered as a way to supplement the course content with your direct input. These live lectures will be driven by student suggestion and recorded to be added into the existing course.

Unfortunately, this is not a replacement for a figure drawing workshop, or a magic course that will make you draw exactly like me. However, I have described a road map and set of steps that if practiced often and understood will get you on your way to inventing figures in space.

Who am I?

My name is Steven Michael Hampton and I've been teaching figure drawing and anatomy for the past 25 years. I've taught at places like Art Center, Anatomy Tools, LCAD, Blizzard Entertainment, and Lucas Film to name a few.

I've been passionate about drawing my entire life studying it as a technician/illustrator, a fine artist, and as an art historian. I remain fascinated with how the technical “how to” of drawing facilitates conceptual practices (in both an entertainment and a fine art sense), and ultimately how drawing, always considered a “lesser” genre, has been historicized. To this end, I have pursued degrees in each field (illustration, fine art, and art history), completing my PhD in Art History in 2024. For me drawing is an infinitely malleable language which allows one to access any number of conceptual outcomes if a foundation is embraced.

I published a book titled Figure Drawing: Design and Invention, going through a step-by-step process for figure drawing, which has now been translated into Japanese and Korean. My second titled Gesture Drawing: Dynamic Movement and Form was released in late 2024. 

FAQ

Do I need photoshop?

No, this course can be done using any drawing materials. In this course, I use the default round brush and a Wacom tablet.

Is this for beginners?

This is meant for everyone! The concepts I cover can be applied at both basic and advanced levels and are always good to brush up on.

Do you recommend I follow along?

If you are a beginner, I recommend going through the entire course from start to finish once. From there, you should review lessons as needed for things you're struggling with.

How do I get the most out of this?

Take your time! Learning this stuff doesn't happen overnight. Be patient and kind to yourself. This can be challenging! These are still things I'm practicing.