How to Draw Easy Cartoon Police
It is easy to draw cartoon police using simplified drawing techniques. Many famous cartoonists, such as Charles Schultz with his "Peanuts" strip, use a few simple lines and shapes to create instantly recognizable characters. You will start with reference pictures or photos of police officers. The image can be broken down into simple shapes and easily reconstructed as a cartoon police officer. You will finish your drawing by adding a few details as seen in your reference image.
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Things You'll Need
- reference image or photo
- camera, optional
- pen
- pencil
- eraser
- drawing paper
- drawing pens or markers
Instructions
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1
Collect reference images of police. They could be photos or drawings. Search books, magazines and the Internet for images. Keep a camera at the ready to photograph police in person, but be sure to ask permission first. Have fun choosing your reference image. It could be anything from a SWAT team police officer to a chubby officer in a double-breasted jacket from New York City in the 1940s.
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Take your favorite reference images and break down the police officer image into a series of shapes, starting with the biggest and working to the smallest. Trace each shape on the reference photo with a pen. The torso could be a square or rectangle. The arms and legs can be traced as long rectangles or ovals. The head may be a circle or oval. The hips, where the torso joins the legs, could be an inverted triangle. Hands and feet can be traced using small ovals and rectangles.
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3
Get some drawing paper and a pencil. Decide what pose to draw your police officer in and do a few stick figure drawings of it. Try some easy cartoon drawing tricks with your stick figures, such as really long legs, a really big tummy or an oversized head. Pick your favorite stick figure drawing to turn into a finished drawing.
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Draw the shapes of the police officer over your stick figure, starting with the biggest shape and working to the smallest. Check your reference images to see which shapes go where. This is an easy cartoon drawing, so do not worry about accurately copying the reference image.
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Draw lines to connect the shapes together. Smooth over any bumpy parts of the figure and simplify them.
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Check your reference image for details to add. You may want to give your police officer a badge, night stick or revolver. Other details include handcuffs on the belt and a shoulder patch. Other details will depend on the reference image you use. Use your shapes to construct these images.
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Use circles, triangles, lines or dots for the nose, ears, eyes and mouth. Use some easy cartoonist tricks, such as giving your figure a big nose or ears.
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Trace the important lines of your pencil drawing with a black ink marker or drawing pen. Do not trace over the remaining lines from the stick figure or shapes. Once the ink is dry, erase any remaining pencil lines.
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Tips & Warnings
A police hat can start as an elongated oval. Draw a horizontal line through the center, then another parallel line just below that. Add a badge above the center line if you like.
Resources
- Photo Credit Siri Stafford/Lifesize/Getty Images
