Meanwhile, in your sketchbook…

Draw the heroes you've always imagined.

You can see the character in your head. Getting it onto the page is another story. Pro comic artist Mike Van Orden (Marvel · Upper Deck · Aspen Comics) shows you exactly what to build first, so you stop guessing, stop restarting, and start drawing with confidence.

Get all 4 courses · $79 Watch a hero get built
  • 4,000+artists coached
  • 46K+follow his pencils
  • 0%AI. Ever.
Rob Liefeld
“Mike is a helluva art coach. He's your guy, he's my guy.”
Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool
Pencils by Mike Van Orden Graphite on Bristol. No AI.
MarvelUpper DeckAspen ComicsConvention guest artistLive workshops, Bangkok4,000+ studentsRob Liefeld approved100% hand-drawn

The part nobody tells you

Your art isn't the problem.
Your system is.

The anatomy feels off. The pose turns stiff. The face looks… emotionally unavailable. So you erase, restart, and wonder if you just don't have “it.”

You do. What you don't have yet is a repeatable process: what to build first, what to look for, and how to get from a rough idea to a drawing you're proud to post.

Clunk.

The pose turns stiff.

Huh?!

The anatomy feels off.

Meh.

The face goes blank.

Skritch! Skritch!

So you erase. Again.

The Pattern-Based Drawing System

Every hero is four drawings deep.

  1. 01 · Frame

    Find the pose with simple shapes: a line of action, a ribcage egg, a pelvis bowl. Proportions first. Details later.

  2. 02 · Structure

    Hang it on the bones. Know what's under the skin and your poses stop collapsing.

  3. 03 · Form

    Wrap the muscle in simple, memorable patterns, without drawing every fiber “like you're prepping for surgery.”

  4. 04 · Finish

    Now commit: costume, line weight, rendering, attitude. That's a hero.

  5. = One hero

    Learn the pattern once and use it on every character you ever draw. That's the system.

Step 1: loose construction mannequin
01 Frame
Step 2: skeleton structure
02 Structure
Step 3: muscle forms in blue pencil
03 Form
Step 4: the finished superhero
04 Finish

Keep scrolling ↓

A sheet of Mike Van Orden's quick gesture sketches in white pencil on navy line of action twist! weight shift

Course 02 · Gestures & dynamic poses

If anatomy is the engine,
gesture is the fuel.

Good poses don't just stand there. They leap off the page. Mike's gesture drills break the stiff, mannequin look so your figures twist, balance, and move like they mean it.

Course 04 · Expressive faces

Same-face syndrome? Begone.

Every face Mike draws starts as construction: a skull, a center line, an eye line. Then it gets personality. Move over the drawing. That's the light table, showing you the underdrawing Mike will teach you to build.

Six finished head drawings in blue pencil by Mike Van Orden, including a skull and Spider-Man

The roadmap

Four courses.
One clear path.

What's holding your drawing back?

Pick one. Mike will point you to your starting point.

Simplified Superhero Anatomy course box
01Start here

Simplified Superhero Anatomy

Structure, proportion, and power, without drawing every muscle fiber like you're prepping for surgery.

  • Superhero proportions (that don't look ridiculous)
  • Pattern-based sketching, your new secret weapon
  • Common anatomy mistakes and how to fix them

Bonus: Superhero costume design 101

$139 valueJust this course
Gestures and Dynamic Poses course box
02Start here

Gestures & Dynamic Poses

Movement, personality, and storytelling in your lines. Poses that leap off the page.

  • The 3 keys to dynamic posing
  • Flow and rhythm in gesture drawing
  • Fixing stiffness with storytelling poses

Bonus: Drawing from imagination like a pro

$129 valueJust this course
Draw Females Like a Comic Book Pro course box
03Start here

Drawing Comic-Style Females

Grace, power, and flow, without falling into the “same face, different wig” trap.

  • Stylized female proportions
  • Dynamic feminine posing
  • Dodging the common anatomy pitfalls

Bonus: Female poses that flow, not flop

$129 valueJust this course
How to Draw Faces for Comics course box
04Start here

Drawing Expressive Faces

If your characters look emotionally unavailable, this one's for you. One brow raise at a time.

  • The emotion formula: brows + eyes + mouth
  • Exaggerating without going off the rails
  • Facial proportions for any style

Bonus: Monsters, ghouls & expressive weirdos

$99 valueJust this course

Or skip the guessing: get all four for $79 in the Crash Course.

See the Crash Course

Straight off Mike's drawing table

No prompts.
Just pencils.

Everything here came off Mike's drawing table: graphite, paper, eraser crumbs, and the same hand you'll watch work through every lesson.

Student spotlight · Brian

From “something's off” to finished pages.

Scroll through one of Brian's pieces as it goes from pencils to inks to full color. Then look at where he started.

  1. Pencils
  2. Inks
  3. Color
Brian's earlier artwork, before the course
Brian · earlier work
Brian's pencil drawing of a hulking villain looming over a red-suited hero Brian's inked version of the same drawing Brian's finished color version

Student work shown as a creative progression. Every artist's pace and results are different.

This course finally made everything click. My poses, anatomy, and confidence leveled up fast.
Jordan R.
I went from lost and stuck to drawing every day. This course gave me real momentum.
Marco L.
Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool
Rob LiefeldCreator of Deadpool · Co-founder of Image Comics

If you're serious about learning how to draw superheroes, then this course is a must-take. Mike is a helluva art coach. He's your guy, he's my guy.

Mike Van Orden is a crazy talented dude and a hell of an art coach!

Mike Van Orden at his drawing desk, pencil in hand
Mike Van Orden standing beside a wall of his comic pencil drawings
Mike and a wall of his pencils

Meet your art coach

Hi, I'm Mike.
I got stuck too.

“No matter how much I learned and practiced, there was always something in my art that just seemed a bit off. I was frustrated… almost to the point of giving up.”

Self-taught, Mike spent over a decade of relentless practice before it finally clicked. He went on to draw professionally for Marvel, Upper Deck and Aspen Comics, then turned what actually worked into the Pattern-Based Drawing System.

Today he teaches from Bangkok: live workshops, guest spots at comic conventions, and a global community of 4,000+ students. His pull list of influences includes Michael Turner, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, John Buscema and J. Scott Campbell, plus anime, classic cartoons and film.

  • 10+years in pro comics
  • 4,000+students coached
  • 46K+Instagram followers
  • 0AI-generated lines

“Comic books changed my life. They made me believe I could be something more. Now I'm here to pass that gift forward, one student, one sketch, one story at a time.”

Mike Van Orden

The Comic Creator's Crash Course

All four courses.
One price. Yours for life.

Simplified Superhero Anatomy Gestures and Dynamic Poses Drawing Comic-Style Females Drawing Expressive Faces
Wolverine sketched on iPad with the CAM Procreate brushes

Pencil or iPad? Both. The bundle's bonus lessons include Mike's digital sketch brush set for Procreate.

Combined value $499 Save 84%
$79

One-time payment · Lifetime access · Learn at your own pace

  • Simplified Superhero Anatomy
  • Gestures & Dynamic Poses
  • Drawing Comic-Style Females
  • Drawing Expressive Faces
  • 25+ hours · 65+ step-by-step video lessons
  • Downloadable templates & references
  • Free: the Comic Art Companion Checklist, 20 tips to keep beside your sketchpad
Plus the bonus lessons inside
  • The Blank Page Killer, start guide
  • Rendering & Details for Comics (5 lessons)
  • From the Art Vault: hair, thumbnails, character design 101, real-time rendering (7 lessons)
  • How to turn a bad sketch into a great idea
  • Comic Art digital sketch brush set for Procreate
Get instant access · $79

Secure checkout by Comic Art Mastery. Access on the web and the CAM app (iOS & Android).

Try it for 30 days, risk-free. Go through the lessons and practice the methods. If it's not for you, email within 30 days for a full refund.

Before you sharpen your pencil

Good
questions.

Is this right for me?+

Yes, if you want a clearer way to build comic characters. The lessons work for beginners, returning artists, and intermediate artists who feel stuck with anatomy, poses, faces, or drawing from imagination.

Can't I just learn this on YouTube?+

YouTube has plenty of useful information, scattered across hundreds of unrelated videos. The Crash Course gives you one structured path, in the order you need it, with repeatable methods you can return to whenever a drawing goes wrong. You're not paying for more random information. You're paying to stop piecing the roadmap together yourself.

Is it only for comic book artists?+

No. It's built around comic art, but the fundamentals transfer directly to character design, storyboarding, animation, concept art, game art and illustration.

What do I need to start?+

Pencil and paper are enough. You can also work digitally with any tablet or app you like. The real requirement is a willingness to practice the methods as you learn them.

How long do I have access?+

For life. Learn at your own pace, revisit any lesson whenever you need it, and come back as your skills grow, on the web or in the Comic Art Mastery app.

What if it's not for me?+

You're covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not satisfied, email within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

Your next character starts with your next drawing.

Pick up the pencil. Mike will show you what to build first.

Get all 4 courses · $79

Lifetime access · 30-day money-back guarantee

$79 · all 4 coursesGet access