Learning How To Draw Cartoon Characters Takes Practice And Patience

By Krystal Branch


Nearly everybody wishes they knew how to draw cartoon characters, however those who cannot do it seem to think it is some kind of mystical art. They feel it is something that they needed to have learned in their school days, where they could either draw and paint, or they couldn't and would give up easily. Some of their friends could draw cartoons very easily, and they were very envious.

However, being able to draw cartoons is something that can be learned quite easily, whatever age you are. All you need is a bit of determination, and time to practice. It is not a mystical skill that you either have or have not, and within a few hours you will find that you can draw very simple characters quite easily. It should not take you too long to become quite expert at it either.

Take a close look at some of the cartoon characters you see on your television, you will see that they are quite simple. They are just a set of geometrical shapes with some strong features added. This shows that the drawings do not have to be very complicated, and that in fact less is actually more.

If you are a beginner, you have got to learn the skill step-by-step. There are a number of different strategies you can adopt to help you make drawing the characters easier. For example, when drawing the face of your character, you have got to decide whether they have a rounded face, a long face, or a square face. By using geometrical shapes, such as a circle, an oval or a square you could easily get the basics for this face drawn.

With this in mind, go and look at some well-known cartoons and you will see that the illustrator did base their faces on these geometrical shapes. Follow the same steps when drawing the eyes, ears and mouth. When you have finished drawing the head, go and do the same with the body. In no time at all you will have a sketch of a very basic cartoon character.

One basic rule you should try to follow in your drawings is to keep them as simple as possible. If you over-complicate your drawings you could easily run into problems, especially when you are starting out as a cartoonist. This could make the whole task very frustrating, and the enjoyment will be lost, and you will probably stop trying to draw.

Once you have your basic sketch on paper, made up of circles, squares, triangles etc, you can then start to add a bit of detail. If you are not sure how to progress at this point, take a look at other cartoon characters like those in Disney cartoons, and see how different shapes were used to highlight different features. Dissecting the way famous cartoonists have made their drawings can help you to develop your own style.

Following this procedure will teach you how to draw cartoon characters quickly. This method does mean you have to be patient, however, these strategies will result in your characters developing quite quickly. Just remember that it is important that you start with the sketched outline, and then build on this until you achieve the result that you want.




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