"Dynamic Character Design" by Fernanda Soares de Carvalho offers a comprehensive guide to creating captivating characters through various mediums. Carvalho's expertise shines through as she navigates readers through the intricacies of drawing faces and figures, utilizing a range of tools from traditional pencils to digital software.

What sets this book apart is its emphasis on charisma. Carvalho doesn't just teach you how to draw characters; she teaches you how to imbue them with life and personality. From facial expressions to body language, each chapter delves into the nuances that breathe realism into character design.

Whether you're a beginner looking to grasp the fundamentals or an experienced artist seeking to refine your techniques, "Dynamic Character Design" provides valuable insights and practical exercises. Carvalho's clear instructions and insightful tips make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the art of character creation. Overall, it's a must-have for artists seeking to elevate their character design skills to the next level.

Considero que si estas empezando a dibujar y quieres crear personajes el libro es perfecto para ti, sobretodo si quieres llegar a tener un estilo comic o cartoon, como el de la autora de este libro ya que al inicio da consejos muy básicos sobre dibujo y en su propio estilo para la creación de personajes claro que también nos habla de los materiales que podemos utilizar , como darle expresiones a nuestros personajes entre otras cosas, sin embargo si ya tienes algo de tiempo diseñando personajes puede que no te aporte mucho, ya que como libro inicial te da varios consejos y te acompaña en el inicio del proceso, así que en definitiva lo recomiendo si buscas algo como lo dije anteriormente, es muy sencillo de entender y claro el estilo de la autora es muy bonito y dinámico.

This is a very thorough book on drawing digital portraits, especially faces. There are so many illustrations. I personally am not a fan of this particular style but the tutorials are great.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

I've recently gotten interested in digital art, so I am at a very early beginner level. This book was full of step by step drawings with explanations. The author did a great job of explaining the importance of each step and how it impacted the overall work. There were also good explanations for how an artist can find their own style. I did have difficulty following some of the steps from time to time, because it felt like some skipped from sketch to complete fairly quickly. That could just be because I am such a beginner. Even with this occasional difficulty, there was lots of information that I could apply as I continue to practice. I would recommend this for all skill levels, as I think there is plenty of information that could be helpful for each level of expertise.

I'm a terrible artist, so I had hoped that this book would somehow miraculously change that. Alas, it did not. What this book does do, however, is break down drawing into simple, manageable tasks that I practice on regular paper and in margins of other papers. Where most drawing tutorials give instructions through several steps per frame, Dynamic Character Design shows the whole process in short chunks with several options for variety. So while I'm still a terrible artist, my hand drawn people are far superior to sick figures.

Dynamic Character Design is exactly what it tells you. As someone who has a little drawing background - my vice being writing - this was perfect. I had so much fun turning on a good audiobook and grabbing a piece of paper drawing with it. I couldn't recommend this more especially for beginners, but I'm sure even experienced drawers can find a thing or two inside.

Amazing book! Can't thank netgalley enough! Hopefully my art gets better with help of this book!
Thanks Netgalley for the book!

This is such a beautifully illustrated book, with such clear technical instruction given in a very engaging and interesting way.
I love everything about this book and can’t wait to get a hardcopy for my daughters who love to draw.
Thank you author/artist Fernanda Soares de Carvalho, Walter Foster publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Charlene 📚🌸🤗 @lastnownext

“When creating a character, you must choose what personality traits and characteristics you want them to express.”

This book will take you on the journey of the creation of your own characters.
I loved the book’s design and colours, it was a very pleasing read. The author’s style is really beautiful, and it transpires in the pages’ design. That book however wasn’t for the beginner (which I am). You need to have some basic skills in art before you use it, explanations are pretty superficial and jump from very basic to finish (I don’t say that in a bad way, just to explain that you have to know where to look for more-in-deep information, especially for the “in-between” steps), you need to have a pre-existent understanding of some things to completely enjoy (because when you can’t “try different things” can be a little too vague and overwhelming). If you have these skills (light, basic perspectives, volumes or colouring), however, I believe the book will be an interesting one for you to dip into a new style, as all features are listed here. That’s definitely a book I’ll want to dig in later, when I’ll have more drawing experience.
The timelapses via some QR codes are a nice addition to make the book lively if you are into videos.

Thank you NetGalley, Fernanda Soares de Carvalho and Walter Foster Publishing for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lovely informative book that takes you through all the steps of designing your characters. The author provides easy-to-follow steps that even I - a person who never draws - could probably copy quite easily.
Lovely illustrations throughout and the autor builds upon the knowledge she has provided in previous chapters, giving a nice progression to the book

As an aspiring doodler of cartoon people, I've flipped through many, many books over the years that offer to teach me "how to draw faces/bodies/people in comic/cartoon/manga styles". Many offer little more than step-by-step walkthroughs of how the artist goes from blank page to sketch, i.e. showing which lines are placed in what order. While not unhelpful, that only goes so far. I was pleased to discover that this book has much more thought, including quite a few graphics showing how the skull and jawbone are placed next to one another as two geometric shapes, and how to keep that in mind as the head rotates through various perspectives. My only complaint with this book was that I really wish it had been longer. I would happily pay twice the price for a book twice as long with twice as much info (and yes, I do plan on buying this book). But I can't in all fairness remove a star for the length of a book if I'm happy with what is contained with the book itself, so it remains at 5 stars. Highly recommended for other aspiring doodlers of cartoon people. ^_^

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

Wow! This is a very well illustrated instructional book on character design and and line less painting. Definitely a valuable resource for any beginner or experienced artists who are looking to draw in a more stylized way. I love the little tips that the author has included in here and it was very insightful to look at her workflow. The art is gorgeous.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I really liked ‘Dynamic character design’ it was easy to follow and it looks nice

Rating 4 1/2 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a cute book that helps you with character design and I liked it! I definitely have to say that practice makes perfect since I'm a beginner and I definitely have some work to do but I liked that the book gave you something to work with! I like the explanations and the pictures. The instructions were written well and "easy" (depending on your drawing level, sometimes you have to start over) to follow. It gives you some inspiration which I love!

A pretty solid all-rounder starter book for those interested in drawing character-based art, especially in cartoonish styles -- would have loved to get my hands on this when I had just started drawing fanart, years ago! The explanations are accessible, and I bookmarked a few tips and tricks around simplifying anatomical shapes into geometrical ones to try the next time I'm drawing.

Thank you to Netgally for an ARC.

Everyone told me I had an artistic streak when I was a kid. I became a writer, but shortly after finishing university, I started drawing again, this time digitally, with Procreate. This book is excellent for beginners and has everything you need to learn the basics and feel inspired to explore. It's divided into chapters and has step-by-step tutorials, with images and drawings, so it's easy to learn. It comprises a brief introduction, then five chapters covering, in order, tools, tutorials, sketching, drawing digitally, and tips. Besides, Fernanda has an artistic style that I love, and I like the way she encourages readers to find their style. What I would have liked to have seen was a little more depth. The drawings centred a lot on faces and less on poses and achieving movement in the drawing, despite the book's title suggesting dynamics. Despite this, I was very satisfied, I learnt a lot, I will recommend the book and I can't wait for an even more in-depth drawing guide.

I loved this book.
It was the best I've read in this genre.
I've had a bitter-sweet relationship with drawing, but this book made me want to return to something that I love and that has been present in my life.
The writing of the book is always accompanied by visual explanations, which help us understand the process. The author explains lots of ways to draw characters so that we can build them in our own way.
This book is not tips on how to draw, it is something that makes us understand how to draw and how to create a base of steps that leads us to what we want to draw.
And it's as easy as she explains, and you'll see results quickly by using the steps.
I'm super glad I had the opportunity to read this book.

From a simple circle to a final artwork, Dynamic Character Design takes you step by step through the process. It takes almost 100 pages to reach the coloring phase. The book is that detailed. There is absolutely no knowledge, or even artistic skill, necessary to use this book.

The book contains directions for both digital and traditional art media. For digital art, she uses Procreate. Though she does try to generalize her instructions, it is much easier to follow her when using Procreate too.

I believe following this book’s guidelines will make everyone a better artist. Plus, the author is both fun and enthusiastic. Overall, I really enjoyed reading Dynamic Character Design. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Walter Foster Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

My 10 year old is busy working through this book.

There is lots of info, guides and illustrations for you to learn how to draw characters.

Faces at different angles, different hair textures and body shapes are covered.

We also liked that there was a section on drawing with a pencil or creating images using digital platforms. We use the free app sketch book and this is a good companion to the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Dynamic Character Design by Fernanda Soares de Carvalho.

The book is comprised of a short introduction, then five chapters covering, in order, tools, tutorials, sketching, drawing digitally, and tips.

I really liked this book. The art style is quite lovely, and the book is laid out very nicely. I found the tutorials very helpful, the illustrations and explanatory text clearly explaining things in nice easy to digest chunks. I would have loved if the tutorial and sketching sections were longer.

The digital drawing chapter is mostly software agnostic and is more about concepts applicable to process of drawing digitally rather than how to use the digital tools available. That being said, the author uses the Procreate app, and has a couple of software specific tips that can be very helpful to beginners.

In summary, this book will not teach you how to draw photorealistic people, but does a nice job of guiding you through the process of creating stylised characters.

As I embarked on a drawing everyday challenge this year, and struggle terribly with people and faces, I really hope a few months of studying this book will get me closer to where I want to be. I'm definitely buying this book on publication.