Cartoon drawings can be created by applying, and expanding on, principles from realism.
Cartoons can be seen everywhere: on television, in newspapers and on the Internet, just to name a few places. People of all ages may have a desire to draw cartoons, which anybody can do even if they are not skilled in graphic arts. Cartoons can be created by using principles from life-drawing, and by bending the rules of traditional, realistic drawing.
Instructions
1. Decide what kind of cartoon to draw. You may want to draw a character, an animal or something completely from your imagination. Look for references from photographs and other real-life sources. Choose references that are somewhat similar to the type cartoon that you would like to draw. For example, if you are drawing a cartoon of a basketball player, find a photograph of a real basketball player.
2. Draw some simple guidelines. Imagine your character as a stick person and draw the lines to form it. Another method of creating guidelines is to imagine you are drawing the skeleton of your character. Draw simple shapes, such as circles or squares, for the body and head. Use the reference images for an idea of the size and shape of each body part.
3. Distort the body parts. Most cartoon characters do not look very realistic; however, their proportions and shapes are determined by realistic principles. Look at your references and determine which shapes you could distort to achieve a "cartoony" look, while still retaining the rest of the character. Try enlarging the head or hands, or using an uncommon shape for a body part, such as the shape of a bean.
4. Give your character form. Connect the shapes you have drawn, using them as an outline of your character's body. Draw the arms, legs, neck, hands, feet, fingers and head. Draw the fingers by using the same method; start with simple lines, then draw basic shapes to get the proportions correct, and reform them to depict fingers. Draw the feet by starting with a 3-dimensional wedge-shape, then drawing the outline of shoes around that shape.
5. Draw clothing. Clothing does not have to be complicated; it can be something as simple as adding sleeves and a neck to make a shirt. Look at your references for an idea of what kind of clothing you want your character to wear. Simplify the details so they fit with the style you are drawing. Include details such as pockets, buttons, a shirt collar, seams around the sleeves and a zipper for pants.
6. Draw the hair, facial features and fingernails. Draw only the outline of the hair. You can incorporate details into the hair if it fits with your style; however, this is not necessary. Draw simple shapes for the facial features, such as circles for eyes, lines for the mouth and nose and thicker lines for the eyebrows. Draw the outline of the ears, and only use one or two lines to show inside of the ears. Draw a single curved line to show each fingernail.
