Library Lady

Odd bodies

As part of my ongoing illustration practice, I love to take online classes to continue to improve my skills. Recently, I took Odd Bodies: Illustrating Expressive, Stylized People by illustrator Tom Froese — a Skillshare class focused on breaking free from literal, realistic figure drawing and instead embracing quirky, stylized, and expressive characters. The class encouraged drawing from intuition, leaning into imperfections, and finding a personal way of capturing the human form.

Working through each of the exercises, I experimented with proportion, gesture, and shape until I landed on a character I really enjoyed: a whimsical lady holding a book. I then took her from sketch to final illustration, layering in bold shapes, playful details, and bright colors.

To take the project further, I incorporated the illustration into a poster design for a fictional library, blending my newfound character with graphic design principles like layout, typography, and composition. The result is a piece that celebrates both illustration and design, showing how even the quirkiest hand-drawn figure can live harmoniously in a polished design setting.

I truly had a wonderful time working through the exercises in this class, developing my observational drawing skills and then learning how to work from memory and imagination to exaggerate and really play with forms. This project not only helped me expand my illustration style but also sparked new ideas about how to integrate hand-drawn characters into branding and editorial design.