Cartoon Drawing Decoder (Interactive & Guided)
And you don’t know what to draw to help you learn how to draw… so that you can draw cartoons!
You’re like a pendulum — back and forth you swing — between the two questions of how to draw vs. what to draw.
What you need is a clear, systematic process to get you going
Introducing: the Cartoon Drawing Decoder…
How to Decode any Cartoon to Draw Faster and More Instinctively
You also discover what makes something “a character” so that you can use that knowledge to develop your own future cartoon characters.
And throughout you’ll be using the inspiration of cartoons you know and love to build the foundations of your own personal cartooning style.
Finally, you’ll create and polish your very own cartoon character/s under Alison’s expert guidance.
You may think drawing is an inborn talent, but that’s not the case. “Talent” is skill and skill comes from knowing what to practice, and how. I give you detailed exercises and a system to build your drawing skill via classic cartoons.
Specific self-correction techniques that help you eyeball your own work to be able to fix it so that you keep your skills growing, step by step.
Using the right starting point and basic technique sounds simple, and it is. You’ll find it makes all the difference in the world.
A cartooning style soon becomes as unique as your handwriting, as long as you keep feeding it with inspiration and let it develop naturally. You’ll learn how to keep it evolving.
But what if you can’t draw at all?
Fear, not! This course was developed by an adult beginner, and designed to require ZERO drawing ability to succeed.
The exercises are designed to take you step-by-tiny-step from being unable to draw, to confidently tackling relatively complex cartoons… within a matter of weeks.
If you can hold a pencil, you can succeed with this course.
And what if you CAN draw already?
The process was very good and I liked the pacing
I think this is a course for people with more than a passing interest in cartooning. It is not a long course and you really need to be willing to carve out a little time each day. It is easy to feel like you are falling behind. It helps to make the decision at the beginning that you are not going to let that bother you when you do.
I thought the process was very good. Alison didn't try to stuff too much in and overload. And I liked the pacing. The first day of really doing nothing but reading what you should be doing for the week was a great way for me to start.
Doing this course has given me the confidence to tackle more complex cartoon characters
I didn't really know what I was buying, if I'm honest - the name of the course confused me at first! Now, I think it's a very accurate name ("decoding" really is what I have learned) and I know I can figure out any cartoon, given a bit of time and a few attempts to refine what I'm doing.
I used to dread art class at school and felt utterly hopeless with paint, pens, pencils or anything else arty. Doing this course has given me the confidence to tackle and even pose more complex cartoon characters than I imagined I'd be able to do.
I’d recommend this course to any beginner cartoonists.
I liked [learning] quite quickly how to draw resemblances of admired cartoons. And knowing this skill can be used on any cartoon illustration and eventually used in creative ways to explore coming up with your own stuff.
I'd recommend this course to any beginner cartoonists. A great way to get basic building blocks to see how cartoon characters are put together and to start making your own. I'd say to expect structure and method. No experience necessary.
A tiny insight into what you will learn
- The fastest way to get started so that you don’t get blocked when faced with a blank page
- How to deconstruct and reconstruct any cartoon character so that you can find and fix your own errors
- Which components to focus on first (so that you draw quickly and accurately)
- Targeted exercises that build hand-eye coordination for accurate work in future
- ‘Chunking-down’ so that you don’t just throw in the towel when things look complicated
- A soothingly-simple tool that by-passes your analytical brain to draw more instinctively (instead of overthinking every pencil mark)
- How to harness your inspirations to build your unique cartooning style
- Two simple things that add cartoony-ness to the most basic sketch
- How to tap into an endless stream of ideas and references that will keep your skills growing
- Workflow tips to help you cartoon even when you don’t have much time available
- How to build your visual vocabulary so that you have more and more memories to ‘draw’ from
- What makes a character “a character” so that your can create characters that are instantly recognisable
And in the Premium Bonus section of the Course
- The nuts and bolts of creating a new character
- Distilling the essentials of expressions so that your character shows mood and emotion
- Looking up, looking down – showing characters from different viewpoints
- Making your character look lively enough to jump off the page
- Hands; the 80/20 of drawing ’em so that your characters feel safe to take their hands out of their pockets!
- Poses and more poses.
What’s Inside?
Short, draw-along videos
Clearly-defined exercises
Peer examples
Detailed FAQs
A private forum environment
Direct, personal feedback from Alison on your work
Frequently Asked Questions
It is safe to say that you will need none of that basic art class skill! I couldn’t draw a thing when I started cartooning at the age of forty 😀
Q: I want to draw a “me”. And I want to draw a “critter” interacting with “me”. Will the course give me this skill, assuming I show up and do the work?
The Decoder course will give you the tools to get you well on your way; there’s no way forward without a foundation. It’s offers the kickstart and ability to copy almost any existing cartoon with relative confidence, which then enables you to take what you love from any cartoon and splice everything together to keep evolving.
Q: I intend to use my iPad to draw, is that OK?
Excellent, I couldn’t be happier. Procreate is the best iPad drawing app out there for the sort of cartooning we do here. It does have a learning curve… I can give you the pointers that will get you off on the right foot.
Q: How much time do people usually put into the cartoon drawing course?
You’ll need to carve out 30-60 minutes for cartooning, 3 days a week. If you can add 15-30 minutes to doodle around another 2 days in the week, you will be flying.
Mondays to watch your videos and get your head in the game for the week. Tues, Wed, Thur to draw along with specific videos and submit your work, Friday p’raps a little less — time to write your learning reflections (about 10 minutes) and then check out at least 3 other people’s work in the forum so that you get to see where they did things well (or made interesting mistakes!) that you can learn from.
Q: How long is the course?
12 weeks of learning time, interspersed with week-long self-study breaks The first part starts August 1 – Sept 23 (a week getting settled, then 6 weeks of coursework at a gentle pace, with a self-study week in the middle). Then you get a further week self-study before doing the next 6 week stretch).
Q: Can I see the syllabus?
Here you go: Drawing Decoder 1 & 2 : Syllabus 2022
Q: Do I get any support or feedback?
Yes! This is the interactive, guided version of this course. It’s a forum-based course with specific dates.
You will get personal feedback on your work direct from Alison in the forum (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week)
Q: Do I need to be on Zoom? Do I need to be bound by specific times? Will materials be available to watch/ re-use again in own time?
The materials are online notes and videos that you can watch (over and over) in your own time, you just need to submit the work on the set days I mention.
The videos are short — usually 5-8 minutes, very occasionally 10 minutes — and they are draw-along tutorials. 3-5 videos maximum per week.
Q: What is the forum like? Do I need to be on social media at all?
No social media is involved. The forum is on a private server, your work will be seen only by me and the others on the course. You’ll upload your images direct to the forum (I help with the learning curve if there is one — the only small hurdle is that images have to be under 500Kb but that’s not a big challenge)
Q: What is the price?
The current price is stated below
Q: What if I buy, but then for some reason, can’t start the course?
I can offer you a refund if someone on my waiting list is willing to take your place on the course at short notice, before the start date. Once the course is underway there are no refunds.
I had a secret, unspoken fear that I’d be terrible, that it would become clear to me that I had no ability to draw whatsoever.
Instead, I learned valuable skills, and I've increased my confidence that I will learn to draw to a level that pleases me. (I'm not there yet, but I've made great progress).
The feature I liked best about the course
I liked the "decoding" aspect, how Alison taught us how to see circles and other shapes in familiar images (and in negative space as well).
I liked the specific homework assignments, though I sometimes struggled to do them daily.
About other benefits of the course:
- The videos allowed me to see [Alison] do the work [she] was asking me to attempt.
- Having both written and video instructions was helpful.
- The circley-circle pigs assignment created early success. And early success can be a big factor in helping people stay motivated, so that was terrific.
I'd recommend the course for anyone who'd like to improve their cartooning skills
The skills build upon each other, so you'll keep applying the insights from earlier lessons as you learn new concepts, but the guidelines are specific and clear so it doesn't feel like you have a million things you need to remember for every assignment.
What this cartoon drawing course is NOT about
Cartooning styles are as unique as handwriting, everyone draws slightly differently even when drawing the same thing. This course is about helping you draw well enough to develop your own cartoon style over time.
2) It’s not about “gag” cartoons and side-splitting humour
Yes, cartoons are meant to be entertaining, but figuring out humour is a skill for further down the line. This course is about enabling you to draw well enough to create scenes for your humorous future stories
3) It’s not about drawing accurate anatomy
If you want to draw Manga characters or superheroes with hyper-realistic human anatomy, this is not the place for that.
4) It’s not about mastering cartooning software
While you will see me using digital tools (and you are also welcome to do so) the course doesn’t cover Procreate or anything similar. It is focused 100% on the nitty-gritty of drawing skills and character decoding which can then be applied in any medium, digital or analogue.
What’s unique about this cartooning drawing course?
This course is focused on giving you skills that offer payback by the end of every week. It’s fun and you will be doodling little pigs from the first moment (and giggling out loud because what comes out of the pencil will be far better than you expected).
It will show you through concrete progress that you can tackle far more complex cartoon characters than you imagined you’d be able to, and then move on to create your very own unique characters, too.
Does this course have a guarantee?
The course is intensive and builds on momentum within a a tight-knit learning group. Participants get exceptional results because Alison is committed to their success.
Alison has been teaching adult beginners to cartoon since 2014 (having been an adult beginner herself). Her past clients’ testimonials speak loudly on almost every page of this site. Check them out for yourself 🤓
I had total trust in the course and in Alison
After doing the great stickman course, I had totally trust in the course and in Alison.
I learned a lot. Things like this:
- "In cartoonland is everything possible"
- Out of mess you get the most beautiful drawings. When I not think before what I wanna draw exact, it just coming out of your pencil.
- Directly drawing on the iPad.
What I liked best about the course
The last week, I was so surprised about the things coming out of my pencil. Before I would look to my white paper, look again… and take a lot of time before starting. Now, all over the day, idea’s popping up in my head and sometimes just sitting on the bank with the iPad or with a piece of paper, [ideas] just coming out of my pencil.
I would recommend the course for ...
...everybody who wants to build up more drawing skills.
Cartoon Drawing Decoder
| Drawing Decoder Cartooning Course | Regular | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||
| Short draw-along videos (6 weeks’ worth) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Notes & precise exercises (6 weeks’ worth) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Peer examples | ✓ | ✓ |
| Detailed, collated tips each week | ✓ | ✓ |
| Direct input from Alison on YOUR work | ✓ | ✓ |
| Private forum environment | ✓ | ✓ |
| BIG Bonus | ||
|
Part 2: Character Work – a further 6 weeks’ instruction, developing your character/s with Alison’s direct help
|
✓ | |
| Option 1: Single Payment (save $35) |
$735
|
$755
|
| Option 2: 2 monthly installments |
$385 x 2
|
395 x 2
|
What happens after you click “Pay Now”?
Payment is via Paypal; you will be able to pay with a credit/debit card even if you do not have a Paypal account.
Once you have paid, you’ll be asked to take one more step – to add your name to the participant list. That’ll set you up to receive a few bite-sized emails that will get you all set to start cartooning on 1 August 2022.
If you’ve ever wanted to create your own cartoons for your website, blog, Powerpoint presentations or wherever, now’s the moment to “let the [cartoon] times roll”. There’s even an instalment plan to make it more affordable.
If you have questions, please email me directly using the link below at the bottom of the page, and let me know how I can help.