How to Draw a Cartoon
Drawing a cartoon is a fairly simple process that involves discrete steps. With the basic methods outlined here, you will learn to draw your favorite cartoon characters. If you're serious about drawing cartoons, it's best to get some quality materials. However, if you're just dabbling in cartooning, regular materials that you have lying around the house will be fine. Be sure to work on a flat, smooth surface for best results.
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Things You'll Need
- Quality drawing paper
- Graphite pencil
- Fine tip black permanent marker
- Colored pencils
Instructions
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1
Draw a light diagonal line in graphite pencil. Then draw two curved lines to the left of this. Connect the three lines along the top edge and draw two large circles for eyes and a small triangle for a nose. Keep a copy of the original cartoon by your drawing paper and refer to it frequently. Erase your mistakes and redraw them as often as necessary.
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2
Draw the hair, outer shape of the ear, eyeballs, arms, legs and torso. Don't worry about clothing just yet, and don't worry if your lines overlap. Just make sure that you draw them lightly enough that they can be erased later.
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3
Draw in the eyebrows, mouth, hair details and a basic shape for the hands and feet.
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4
Draw in any final details, such as eye lashes, fingers, clothing, lips, curves inside the ear and the belly button. Again, just overlap these with the lines you have drawn previously.
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5
Go over the outermost outline of the cartoon with a fine tip black permanent marker. Take care not to darken any lines which are not meant to be part of the finished drawing. Completely darken any features, such as eye lashes, which are black in the original. Darken any features and details which will be in your finished cartoon.
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6
Wait for the permanent marker to dry. Then erase any pencil lines which are still visible within the drawing.
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Color in the cartoon with colored pencils. Use a smooth, even stroke with a fairly light touch. Go over the area repeatedly as opposed to bearing down hard with the pencil. If you don't have the right color, try building up colors in layers to get the right effect. For example, combining red-orange, orange, Tuscan red and burnt ocher will create an excellent color of auburn for the hair. Look at your example and mimic the colors you see as closely as possible.
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Tips & Warnings
Using a drafting table will keep your paper at a more natural angle to your body, and can save your back from a lot of distress.
