How to Draw 3D Cartoons

Drawing 3-D cartoons involves shading or drawing in the dark areas. If your back is toward the sun, your front will be shaded. Shading adds depth to your cartoons so they will look 3-D.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drawing paper
• Drawing pencils
• Colored drawing pencils

1. Decide what to draw. You could pick a stuffed animal, a tree or a car. Draw a line drawing of the object. Draw lighter at first. Correct your line drawing, if necessary. Darken the contour using a darker pencil like ebony.

2. Decide what color the body of the object will be. Color the object in.

3. Place the object in a lighted area and look for the shadows. Draw the shadows with a darker shade of the original color you used to color your character's body and head. Draw directional shadows with the side of your pencil. Make the edges darker, lightening the shadow as it moves toward the light source. Smear with your fingers to make the shadows smoother, if using a soft lead pencil.

4. If it is a human character, use a darker shade of the color used for his clothes and skin. An animal needs only one original color.

5. Create a portfolio of characters. Scan them into your computer. Print your comic characters.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a lamp and place it on different sides of your object to practice shading the front, back and sides. Draw objects outside to experience a natural lighting effect.

Resources

• Blog about comic and digital drawing at Lines and Colors