The Drawing People course is a 10 week course designed to help anyone who wants to improve their ability to draw people, taught by TV & Film Storyboard Artist Ed Swales.
This will be a wide-ranging course covering head construction, facial features, anatomy, movement, hair and clothing. See the agenda below for session-by-session information.
Mixed media materials will be provided, though you are welcome to bring your own.
You can expect targeted in-session feedback on your work and a friendly, supportive environment of like-minded people.
About Ed Swales
Ed has over 10 years of experience as a storyboard artist across multiple productions including Casualty (BBC) and the Oscar shortlisted The One Note Man (Disney+). He currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer at BIMM University, where he gained his PG Cert in Teaching & Learning. He co-founded Storyline Arts in 2026 with Becky Warburton with the mission to provide South Yorkshire with high quality visual arts education.
Agenda
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 1 - 23/09/26 - Head construction
This session focuses on the head construction methods of artists Andrew Loomis and Steve Huston. You will learn how to drawn the head from different angles with its distinctive bilateral symmetry.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 2 - 30/09/26 - Facial features
In this sessions you will learn how to draw four facial features - the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the ears.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 3 - 07/10/26 - Body proportions
This session will provide a thorough introduction to the average proportions of the male and female human figure, including the shorthand ‘tricks’ to quickly find anatomical landmarks.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 4 - 14/10/26 - Gesture and form
If form is the structure of the human body, gesture is the life. Find out how the two interact and what our order of operations might be for drawing people.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 5 - 21/10/26 - The upper body
This session explores the basic anatomy of the front and back of the male and female torso & arms.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 6 - 28/10/26 - The lower body
This session explores the anatomy of the male and female pelvis, legs and feet.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 7 - 04/11/26 - Hands
Learn shorthand methods, tips and tricks for drawing hands.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 8 - 11/11/26 - Hair
In this sessions Ed will share with you his method for drawing hair, starting with a sculptural approach and layering detail selectively thereafter
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 9 - 18/11/26 - Expressions
The human face needn’t be blank - learn how to make your drawings emote in this session on facial expressions.
07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Week 10 - 25/11/26 - Clothing (drapery)
In this concluding session we will explore how the fabric of clothing drapes over the human form to create interesting volumes and folds.
