How to Draw Cartoon Characters Adding Arms

To beginning cartoonists, the arms and hands of their creations are often an afterthought. But experienced artists know that these appendages can tell a large part of the story. If you're serious about cartooning, it's worth it to learn how to draw cartoon characters, adding arms and hands in a way that enhances your comic strip. Read on to learn how to draw cartoon characters adding arms.

Instructions

1. Decide what positions that you want for the arms and hands. If they'll have a background, be sure to draw the arms completely before adding the backdrop. Always draw from foreground to background to keep the correct depth perception in your cartoon.

2. Start drawing the arms from the point they attach to the body. If your character is wearing a shirt, draw the shirt first and begin the arms just below the sleeves. Always work from a center point (the body) outward. Don't skip sections and try to match them up later; such as drawing a body, then disembodied hands and then trying to coordinate arms between the two.

3. Draw one side of the arm, add the hand and then finish the other side of the arm for basic cartooning with smooth lines. For more detailed cartoon characters, you can draw the complete arm and add the hand last.

4. Remember that fingers are traditionally different lengths. Keep in mind what side of the hand (pinkie or thumb) you're drawing. In addition, cartoon characters normally have four fingers and caricatures generally have five; but you can take whatever creative license you prefer.

5. Add details. Include elbows, small hairs, skin rolls or folds and tattoos to the arms; fingernails, knuckles and palm lines to the hands to give your characters more depth.