Designing Your Own Oni
Like Duolingo, but for Designing Your Own Oni. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
54 levels across 4 sections, about 108 minutes end to end, roughly 22 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Make Your First Monster, Adding Personality and Power, Setting the Scene, and The Legends Behind the Mask. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Designing Your Own Oni
- Triangles mimic sharp objects like teeth or claws found in nature
- Fill the character design with solid black to remove detail
- Angular shapes create visual tension and discomfort for the viewer
- Evaluate if the character's personality and threat level are clear from the outline alone
- The correct sequence of the silhouette test in character design
- Top-heavy proportions signal a character that can crush opponents
- Sharp angles are universally associated with piercing or cutting
- A strong silhouette ensures a character is recognizable at a distance
- Monster design relies on 'readability' before facial details are added
- Mapping specific proportions to their psychological impact
- The importance of the silhouette in monster recognition
- Exaggerating the trapezius and shoulder width creates a sense of mass
- Tapering the waist down from a massive chest emphasizes upper-body power
- Identifying 'top-heavy' design choices that make an Oni look unstoppable
- Single central horns suggest primitive beastliness
- Symmetrical horns suggest discipline or status
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Designing Your Own Oni the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When starting a 'silhouette test,' what is the first thing you should do to your character drawing?
Get it right to open this lesson and 53 more in the app.
Where Designing Your Own Oni takes you
Learn to create a terrifying and authentic Japanese demon character. From choosing the right horns to mastering a menacing pose, you will build a legendary monster from the ground up.
- 1
Make Your First Monster
- The Basic Shape of Fear
- Picking Your Signature Horns
- Giving Your Oni a Scary Face
- Choosing the Right Skin Color
- Drawing the Classic Iron Club
- 2
Adding Personality and Power
- Muscles and Body Types
- Designing Fierce Eyes
- Adding Fangs and Claws
- The Tiger-Skin Wardrobe
- 3
Setting the Scene
- Dynamic Poses for Battle
- Using Shadows for Drama
- Adding Smoke and Fire Effects
- Creating a Spooky Background
- Showing Scale Against Humans
- Expressing Different Emotions
- 4
The Legends Behind the Mask
- Where Oni Stories Come From
- The Meaning of Different Colors
- Famous Oni in Folklore
4 sections · 18 units · 54 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Designing Your Own Oni is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Arts on Tomo
Writing Villains That Haunt
Stop making your villains just 'mean' and start making them truly terrifying. Learn the psychological tricks that turn a basic bad guy into a character your readers will never forget.
Write Your First Book
Stop dreaming about your book and start writing it. Learn how to build unforgettable characters, craft gripping plots, and develop a daily writing habit that sticks.
Writing Stories People Can't Put Down
Stop staring at the blank page and start building worlds. Learn how to hook readers with unforgettable characters, sharp dialogue, and plots that keep them guessing until the very last page.
The Art of the Doodle
Turn your random scribbles into expressive art. Learn how to use simple shapes and lines to capture ideas, relax your mind, and communicate visually without needing to be a 'pro'.
Fashion Design: From Sketch to Stitch
Learn to translate your creative visions into wearable art. This course covers everything from the fundamentals of fashion sketching to the structural logic of garment construction.
Design and Sew Your Own Prom Tuxedo
Stop renting and start creating. Learn how to design, cut, and sew a custom tuxedo that fits perfectly and stands out on the dance floor.
Start Designing Your Own Oni today.
Download Tomo, search Designing Your Own Oni, and play your first lesson in under a minute.