How to Add Ears to Cartoon Characters

Cartoonists and animators put a lot of time into designing creative, interesting characters for the page or screen. Working one feature at a time, an artist can put together lovable characters that viewers will enjoy for years. When you have the face drawn out, it's time to add the character's ears. From pointy ears on elves and Boston terriers to long, floppy ears for rabbits and hounds, here's are some considerations for adding this feature to a drawing.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Find your ear level on the face. Estimates vary and some cartoonists like to put ears about halfway down the face, others prefer a 2/3 ratio. Make sure the ears match on either side. One should not be lower than the other.

2. Match ears to the character. With some cartoons, as in the case of Eeyore (the donkey, originally an A. A. Milne creation), the ears are a very expressive part of the character. Create whimsical, oversized ears that flop around or otherwise distinguish the character.

3. Color the inner ear. For characters that appear in color, animators and cartoonists find it useful to add color by splashing a bright hue into the character's inner ear. Create markings for the inner ear and add your color inside.

4. Add any other distinctive features, like ear-rings or glasses.

5. Work for consistency. Whether you are drawing the character several times over a panel, or many times for flash-frame animation, you'll need to make sure the ears don't move to different spots on the face or change size, shape or color. Consistency is a must for good-looking cartoons.