Adding facial hair
Facial hair is an element that can be character-specific and help define a character in a certain stereotype. Facial hair can come in many styles and shapes, ranging from full beards to goatees to sideburns. A mustache is another element that can change the entire look of a character. To draw a mustache or other dominating facial hair, determine how it will affect the character's look. To draw a mustache, begin at the corners of the outer nose, about level with each left and right nostril. Draw...
Telling the story in shadow
A four-panel comic layout can be boring and repetitive if each panel looks the same. One way to add a little variety is to have the images or characters in one of the panels appear in shadow or silhouette. Using shadows and silhouettes in the course of comic storytelling can be a powerful way to communicate mood or tone. For example, if the first two panels of your cartoon are action-oriented and then you pull back to show the characters in shadow or silhouette in panel three, the art and punch...
Tightening up your sketch
After you make a rough sketch and like the idea and are ready to move on, the next step is to tighten up your sketch. Tightening up a sketch means to define the lines so that the characters, word balloons, background, and overall composition are clearer and more defined. This is the stage when the final composition comes into focus and you can see how the line art will look prior to beginning the inking process see Figure 4-7 . When you tighten up your sketch, you simply go over your first...
The girl next door
Everyone loves the girl next door, and you can always tell who she is she's pretty but not seductive, her makeup is understated, and she's kind to small children and animals, not to mention her parents. She's the all-American cheerleader type with a bubbly personality. The following are a few traits or patterns that the girl next door possesses The looks of an active cheerleader type She's thin but looks athletic. Very little makeup She doesn't need it When drawing the girl next door, keep the...
Looking at ear shapes and sizes
You can create all kinds of shapes and sizes for ears. When drawing your character's ears, their look and shape can say a lot about the character. Big ears make your character look goofy, while pointed ears can make your character look sinister or even otherworldly, like a vampire or a Vulcan Ears are a very noticeable feature if you draw them too big or oddly, they may be the dominating feature that readers see. Figure 6-20 shows an assortment of ear shapes and sizes for you to consider when...
Focusing on the fridge
The refrigerator's nice rectangular shape is similar to the boxy or square shape of many other household items, such as TVs, beds, radios, microwave ovens, toasters, and so on. Chapter 9 shows you how to draw different household appliances. To draw your fridge in two-point perspective, you need to line up two different angles so that they meet two different vanishing points on the same horizon line, if you were to draw a ruler out as far as the line goes. However, most of the time, the...
Drawing onepoint perspective
A one-point perspective drawing is a drawing with a single vanishing point on the horizon line. This is the standard receding railroad tracks phenomenon demonstrated in Figure 12-2. You typically use one-point perspective for objects that have lines either directly parallel with the viewer's line of sight or directly perpendicular such as railroad slats . So you can use one-point perspective for roads, railroad tracks, or buildings with the front directly facing the viewer. Figure 12-3 shows an...
Making Lettering Part of the Art
Lettering communicates directly to readers by conveying the story or punch line, just as text from a book does. However, cartoon lettering differs from the text of a book or newspaper because it's actually part of the art. Lettering is a crucial part of the overall composition. Good cartoonists make sure that their lettering complements their style and doesn't fight against it. Lettering should be easy to read but also organic it should flow with the rest of the art. Certain types of lettering...
Considering Various sizes and shapes
Like most things in the world of cartooning, you won't find fast or firm rules when it comes to creating a nose. Choosing a shape and size is up to you, but the nose should be appropriate to the character and his personality and should be in keeping with your own cartooning style. As in the real world, nose shapes and sizes are often specific to men and women, the young and the old, and the fat and the thin. Males tend to have large noses the older a man gets, the bigger his nose can become, in...
Starting on the right foot
To draw legs, start by deciding if your character is going to have small legs or bulky ones. Remember, classic cartoon characters tend to have simplistic body types and body parts. The legs are often very simple in structure, so the key is not to overdo it. To draw this type of legs and feet, refer to Figure 7-22 and follow these steps Start your legs with two straight lines and then fill in the details. Start your legs with two straight lines and then fill in the details. 1. From the bottom of...
Choosing grayscale
Sometimes you may want to scan in your original line art as a grayscale image. Grayscale means exactly what it sounds like, an image absent of color done in a range of gray shades. Most of the time this is best suited for photographs and not line art. However, in some situations you may choose to first scan in your work in grayscale. For example, if you draw your cartoons using an old-fashioned shading material like Zip-a-tone or Duoshade, you want to scan in your art as a grayscale. If you...
Shading
area you're shading so that it's totally black. This can create a dramatic light dark effect. Don't do this, however, if you need some tonal gradation in the area you're shading, because it will be uniformly dark. Inking in one side of a square-shaped object works better see Figure 4-11a than inking in a side of a round-shaped object. On a round object, a solid black area can lack the gradient quality needed to convey an accurate three-dimensional form see Figure 4-11b . To address this...
Drawing threepoint perspective
Another option you have for adding perspective to your cartoons is to use the three-point perspective. You can use three-point perspective for things like buildings seen from above. In addition to the two vanishing points from the two-point perspective one for each wall a three-point perspective drawing has another vanishing point where those walls recede into the ground the third vanishing point is actually below the ground . Another common use of three-point perspective is a drawing that...
Happy or laughing face
A happy, smiling, or laughing face is a pleasant face and one your readers will enjoy. A smile can be a simple line you draw all the way across your character's face or a short line right under his nose. A smile can be as big and wide as you want to make it. However, always make sure it turns up at the ends otherwise it may be a frown Happy, smiling, and laughing faces are contagious facial expressions. If you want to show your character with a happy or smiling face, as in Figure 6-28, remember...
Drawing the head from all angles
Drawing a head from different angles is an important element of layout and also impacts the way characters visually communicate with one another. For example, having a character in the foreground talk with a character drawn in the background requires that the character in the foreground turn around and face the background character. Visually, you draw the back of the head of the characters in the foreground. Figure 6-9 demonstrates an example. In this cartoon the character is looking out a...
Mad or angry face
Your characters are bound to get mad or angry sometimes. In fact, one of the most common stereotypes in the cartoon world is the wife who's mad usually with good reason at her husband. Where the writers come up with that, no one will ever know . . . right, guys If you want to show your character being mad or angry check out Figure 6-26 , incorporate these important facial traits Eyebrows are turned sharply down. Mouth is open and teeth are exposed like a growling dog. Cheeks are tight and...
The modern mom
Many family cartoons have the modern mom at the center of the action. Today's modern mom is really the boss of the family. You only have to glance at every classic cartoon mom to know who wears the pants in the family The key to capturing the modern mom in your cartoons is to capture her unique body type. The following are a few traits or patterns that the all-American mom possesses Appealing but not sexy She has definite mom hips. Perky and happy-looking Unless she's yelling at someone Stylish...
Juggling multiple elements in perspective
Most of the time, you won't be drawing cartoons with just a single element chances are you'll be drawing objects in relation to other objects around them. Consequently, it's important to demonstrate how multiple objects work in connection to one another in two- and three-point perspectives. For example, if you draw a chair, you'll probably draw the objects that sit near the chair, such as a table and a lamp. To make sure these items are in two-point perspective, the lines of all the objects...
Putting a Face on an Inanimate Object
The great thing about the world of cartooning is that you can give personality to anything. The key is to add human characteristics to objects, including the way the object moves and how you make the object express itself. You can humanize any object by giving it eyes, ears, and a big mouth. By humanizing inanimate objects, you can create offbeat and unique cartoon characters to give your comic a life of its own. The next sections look at a few examples of how to draw and humanize inanimate...
Buggin out eyes
Saturday morning cartoons we watched as kids wouldn't be the same without someone's eyes bugging out This is a trait usually reserved for characters who see something they can't believe they're seeing, like a ghost or monster, or a picture of a really pretty girl. You can see this technique in Bugs Bunny cartoons from the 1940s as well as the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoons of today. It's a classic technique and one that's just plain fun to watch. To draw this effect, you need to exaggerate your...
The matronly grandmother
Grandma is unlikely to be the star of the strip, but she often shows up in family cartoons. You'll know grandma's here because she's no fly on the wall. Remember that grandma's other job title is mother-in-law, and they're always fun The following are a few traits or patterns that grandma possesses A squatty, round body that's fun to hug. A short, tight hairstyle that's usually tinted blue. Multilayered clothing like sweaters and long dresses. When drawing grandma, keep the preceding traits in...
The World Is a Zoo
The cartoon animal world extends far beyond dogs, cats, and goldfish. Family pets aren't the only animals in comic strips any animal, insect, or creature from your imagination can be the star of the show. If drawing common household pets isn't your thing, branch out into other animal cartoon characters. Certain well-known stereotypes can be a big part of your cartoon humor, such as the elephant that never forgets anything. You can also play against that stereotype, though, with an elephant that...
TV news anchor or used car salesman
The TV news anchor or used car salesman is a staple personality in the cartoon world. He's often big, loud, and annoying nearly everyone can recognize this character. You can also make lots of variations within the stereotype he's often cast as the obnoxious next-door neighbor. The TV anchor salesman is a top-heavy character with a large upper body. He starts out with many of the same body-shape characteristics as the tough guy character that I describe in detail in Chapter 7. The following are...
Creating basic head shapes
Designing a head shape requires a familiarity with basic shapes and how to draw them. Though you've probably been drawing circles and squares since grade school, you may not know how to relate them to certain head shapes and the stereotypes associated with each. All you have to do is draw the basic head shape and then add the facial features you want to match your character's personality check out the sections later in this chapter for clear directions on drawing eyes, ears, a nose, and so on ....
Looking down A birdseye view
Understanding perspective is very important if you want to create height or depth in your drawing. The term used to describe a scene viewed from above is called a bird's-eye view. The term comes from the fact that the viewer's angle and perspective is the same as a bird's if it were flying high up in the air over the object. That doesn't mean you have to draw the scene as if you're a half mile up in the sky it just means that you're looking down at the objects you're drawing. The chair, table,...
Dear old dad
Dear old dad is the cornerstone of any character cast with the family at the core. His body type can be one of many, but the classic body type is best described as the middle-aged guy look. This guy is perhaps slightly balding on top and a little wide through the middle. All you have to do is look at Homer Simpson, Fred Flintstone, Peter Griffin from Family Guy, or perhaps your own dear old dad to see what I mean. The following are a few traits or patterns that dear old dad possesses A slightly...
What constitutes a good joke Timing is everything
When writing your cartoons, make sure you use timing to your advantage. Comic timing is the use of rhythm and tempo to enhance the humor aspects of a joke or story. Ask anyone who practices comedic writing including stand-up comedians and writers of TV monologues and variety sketch shows and they'll say that the pacing of a joke's delivery can make or break the joke. The same is true for cartoons. Writing a good joke is something that takes a lot of practice, so don't get frustrated if you have...
Cartoon Designs Assembling the Parts
Have you iigured. out what the powers o that new superhero will be Uovt about the power to meet Leadlines That -would, be a good power. X ou may have good ideas, and you may be able to JL draw well, but how do you put the two together to create viable cartoons In this part, I tell you how to bring it all together, from assembling the cartoon background to using the right type of lettering. I also discuss how to maintain the proper perspective and how to lay out a scene that adds depth and...
Drawing stick figures Cartooning shorthand
When sketching or doodling your ideas, you can draw the simplest and roughest kind of sketch just to remind yourself later of what you were thinking at that moment. These stick figure sketches act as a handy reminder so that you can reference that filing cabinet between your ears later on. The point is just to get something down quickly. For example, say you have an idea for an editorial cartoon about rising oil prices. You want to express the desire for the U.S. to become more reliant on...
Giving Inanimate Objects Personality
Exaggerating your characters and backgrounds Making furniture and appliances stand out Drawing different types of cartoon cars Giving inanimate objects a face and a voice hat better way to add depth and personality to your cartoons than to include inanimate objects as characters Face it A cartoon that contains nothing but people can be kind of dull. The world is so full of interesting objects both man-made and natural that leaving inanimate objects out of your cartoons would be a shame. In...