Drawing your own cartoon face can be fun and easy.
The challenge of cartooning is often underestimated by individuals until they decide to try to create a cartoon face themselves. Often a beginning artist feels overwhelmed by the task of simplifying the human body and exaggerating facial features. Without proper guidance, making your own cartoon face can seem impossible. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to break down the process using the principles of figure drawing. Once you master these fundamentals, you can create cartoon faces with ease.
Instructions
Study Cartooning
1. Review your reference picture of a cartoon character. (You can find a reference picture by following a link in the resource section below.) Use a picture that employs a drawing style that appeals to you. Note how the artist simplifies the character's body, such as the eyes, facial outline and clothing. Also note where the style exaggerates body features such as eye size, nose shape and facial expression.
2. Using your reference picture as a guide, practice drawing the outlines of faces. Do not try to create a finished picture. Instead, focus on becoming comfortable drawing in a simplified cartoon style. Work quickly and do not erase any mistakes you make.
3. Sketch facial details individually, such as the eyes, nose and mouth. Practice simplifying each detail in different ways to develop your cartoon style. Work quickly and continue to practice until you feel ready to create your own cartoon face.
Make Your Cartoon Face
4. Create the rough draft of your character's face. Draw a circle to create the basic shape of the head. Using a pencil, draw a vertical line down the center of the circle to map out the facial features. Draw a line extending from the bottom of the head to create the neck. Map the placement of the eyes by sketching a horizontal line across the vertical guideline.
5. Draw the basic outline of the face using your rough draft as a guide. Start by developing the shape of the character's chin and skull. Extend the shape of the chin away from your circle. Draw the chin large and long for a traditional cartoon look, or small and more simplified for a modern look. Draw the shape of the character's neck. Lightly sketch the outline of the character's hair, keeping the strands thick and simple.
6. Sketch the facial features of your character. Draw the eyes along the horizontal line you created earlier. Keep the shape and detail of the eyes as simple as possible. Sketch a small U-shaped line below the eyes to create the nose. Draw the character's mouth, making it large for a cartoon effect. Add ears on the sides of the character's head if visible.
7. Erase the markings of your rough draft. Shade in the pupils of the eyes with a pencil. If the mouth is open, shade it as well, omitting the basic shape of the tongue. Add some detail into the character's hair using curved lines along the bangs. Review your drawing and correct any mistakes you find.
8. Ink your drawing by tracing over the lines with a black pen. Keep the outline of the character's face thicker than the lines used for inner details. Work slowly and correct any other mistakes you find before inking. Erase all your pencil markings for a clean look. Add shading to your drawing using a cross-hatching method with the pen.
