Male Noses
This “menu” of male noses is by no means complete, but it’s a good selection of popular styles and provides you with some good starting points. But feel free to add some nose designs of your own!
Female Noses
As a general rule, don’t make female noses as broad as male noses—unless your female character is very large or weird (like a witch or a kook). Attractive cartoon women are always drawn with subtle noses. Note how the eye types match the nose types—for example, if the nose is upturned and snobby, the eyes are disdainful, too.
THE EARS
When drawing cartoon characters’ ears, don’t aim for anatomical accuracy. Think of the ear as a design, and choose a design that complements your character or suits your own taste. There are two aspects of ear design: the outline (or exterior shape) and the interior design.
Cartoon Earrings
Large jewelry is a must for female cartoon characters. It’s flashy, trendy, and cheap. Hey, you can use as much jewelry as you want and never have to pay for it. Here are some basic earring designs.
THE MOUTH
Cartoon mouths are where we really have some fun. They run from big and extreme to dainty and demur. Mouths don’t necessarily have to mirror the expressions of the eyes. For example, a “surprised” look will always feature wide eyes with small pupils. But the mouth that accompanies a surprised look can be drawn small, with a stunned look. Or it can be drawn super wide, in amazement. The mouth is freed up from the rest of the expression to do as it pleases.
CLASSIC CARTOON-CHARACTER EXPRESSIONS
Too often, books on drawing describe facial expressions with simple adjectives like happy and sad. Such nondescript labels tell you very little about what a character is thinking or feeling. Although I draw many cheerful characters, I would rarely describe them as “happy,” because that’s just not specific enough. But I might well describe a character’s expression as “perky” or “jubilant.” The more specific you can get in your description of the emotion, the more personality you infuse into the image.
In this image of a dog, I was going for “perky,” because I wanted to show how alert and eager this pup is. Another character’s “happy” expression might look quite different—more calm and serene, for example.
Now, we’re going to create some very specific expressions, always going for the edge of the emotion. And we’ll keep using man’s best friend as our model. But it doesn’t really matter whether you’re drawing a person or an animal—the same principles apply. Get as specific as you can with the emotion you want your character to convey.
Our doggie model has a fairly straightforward head construction. Before you try your hand at any of the specific expressions, have a good look at the drawings below, which show how this cartoon canine is drawn from a few different angles.
THE FAMOUS “LIP QUIVER”
Puppy dog eyes are not enough to garner sympathy—you’ve also got to get the lip into the act. A big, pouty bottom lip, tugged to one side, turbocharges the expression. Big, wet eyes and a pouting lip are an irresistible combo!
SICK AS A DOG
Feeling under the weather? Not as bad as this guy. Note the “sickness bubbles” dancing over his head. The ears droop and the eyes are sunken, with eyelids at half-mast. Make sure the lower lip curves up in the middle, so that it doesn’t form a smile.
SNEAK-A-PEAK
He’s almost sleeping, but still keeping one eye on the lookout. The sleeping eye is shut; the “awake” eye is three-fourths closed. (If the “awake” eye were all the way open, he would look startled.) Note the eyebrow action. And blow a little whistle through his lips, to make it seem like he’s snoring.
SMOOCHIE POOCHIE
Our Casanova is puckering up for a kiss. Adding tiny motion lines near the lips make the expression funnier. Close the eyes and lift both eyebrows. Lean him forward and put a little strain in his neck.
SO SELF-CONFIDENT!
That single tooth poking up from the lower jaw gives his grin an extra degree of self-assuredness. But the real statement is made with those half-closed eyes, with the eyeballs tucked under heavy eyelids.
BOO HOO!
Despair never looked so funny! Do you know which part of this drawing makes the image work so well? All the elements are important, but one is most important—the way the lower lip curls back as it rises up into the mouth.
DAYDREAMER
His eyes are half-closed, but even more important is the way they look off into the distance. A long, goofy grin accompanies the expression.
RRRRUFF!
Angry eyes and a voluble mouth show that he’s mad about something! For an expression like this, pull the mouth down sharply at the corner and swing the ears to show the head’s movement.
GRUMPS
This is a “take” in which the character looks at the reader for a beat. It’s a funny pause in the action. The eyebrows go straight across both eyes.
EXTREME STRESS
Let’s have some liberal use of eye, mouth, and nose drool, if you please. Yuck!
DOUBLETHINK
Point the head in one direction, but have him suddenly look back in the other direction. Both ears perk up well over the head, showing alertness.
YUM!
Keep the bone in the front of the mouth, held by the front teeth. Curl the mouth and widen the cheeks to accommodate the smile. Remember to make the bone large—it’s the focus of the image.
OH NO!
A sudden bad thought! A few of the top teeth bite down on the lower lip. The lower lip creases, and the eyebrows show concern.
ANNOYANCE
Grit the teeth and ruffle the fur on the front of the lip. Make the eyebrows press down.
3
Drawing the Entire Figure
Now we move on to drawing the entire figure: head and body together. Remember that they work as a unit. To make it funny, we caricature the body just as we caricatured the face. Do you remember how we created cartoon characters’ heads by first drawing basic shapes? Well, that’s also how we create cartoon bodies. When you think of the torso as a basic shape, it becomes easier to draw.
In this chapter, we’re going to focus on the age categories to which most cartoon characters belong—the specific ages that are most popular among comic book readers and the audiences for animated TV programs. If you flip on the TV and have a look at the popular animated shows, you’ll see what I mean: There aren’t very many shows starring senior citizens, babies, or toddlers, but there are lots of kids, teens, moms, and dads. If you want to develop your own original comic strip, comic book, or animated show, you’ll have the best chance of success if you stick with characters in these age groups.
SMART KIDS
Let’s start with the kids who are generally smarter than their parents and wise beyond their years. Each is a “type”: the Genius, the Psycho, the Social Outcast, the Gossip, the Tattletale, and so on. Typically, they’re between eight and twelve years old. But if you think that characters like this are only for kids’ shows, you’re wrong. Many TV shows with cutting-edge humor—and some of the best writing on television—star kid characters. And, in fact, most of the kids’ shows are written on two levels so that they can be enjoyed by children but also by older audiences who get the more sophisticated humor that is always included. This is equally true of the design of the characters and backgrounds: It’s very witty and can be enjoyed at a simple level or appreciated with a more nuanced eye.
The Know-It-All Type
He’s smug. His hand pops up every time the teacher asks a tough question no one else can answer. We often give smart characters prominent eyeglasses and well-groomed hair. We also make them physically unassuming, or downright out of shape. We also make them look like mini-grownups: This guy is only one and a half heads tall, which is an impossibly short proportion! At that height, this character is truncated all over, which gives him plump, chunky proportions—a humorous look.
Tips
and Options
Seen in profile, his forehead curves in a noticeably convex manner.
His body is one succinct shape, with no waistline.
Here are two different ways of drawing the eyes within the eyeglasses.
He’s so chunky that he doesn’t even have knees to bend or a waistline to crease, so he has to lean his entire body and waddle to move a leg forward.
Chubby people’s arms look funnier if you draw them tapering from fat to thin.
Typical Schoolgirl
Schoolgirls usually fall into one of two categories: sadistic or perky. Here is the affable type. (The sadistic type has been done to death.)
She usually has a wiry build, and she’s usually taller than boys her age, as girls mature younger and faster. She looks a little like a matchstick—a big head on a small frame. Don’t dress her in anything too fashionable. She’s a young teen—just before fashion and shopping mania take hold of her and her father’s wallet! (The skirt and knee socks make for a good schoolgirl look.)
Tips and Options
Seen in profile, the bend in her back appears halfway down her body.
There’s no shoulder mass. Her shoulders just slope.
Two pigtails are a good alternative. You can float them completely off the head, for a stylized look.
Don’t draw the eyelashes connected to the eyes, as in the drawing on top. Draw them floating off the eyes, as you see in the drawing at the bottom, for a more humorous look.
TEENAGERS
Teens frequently star in animated comedy-adventures, where they have humorous faces but athletic bodies that can quickly leap into action. Other teen characters—nerds, slobs, goths—may not be so adventurous, but they are nonetheless entertaining.
Teenage Boy: The Cool Nerd
This character is a funny combination of hip and goofy, sort of a cool nerd. Unless they’re bullies or jocks, teenage guys have skinny, slight physical frames. Long arms and legs are key to their proportions. This older boy is many heads taller than the younger boy character we drew earlier—five and a half heads instead of just two.
Get the Details Right
Don’t make his legs perfectly straight, as on the left. It gets boring for the eye to follow a long straight line. Instead, add a little jag in the middle of the leg—something subtle, but just enough so add some life.
The collar—in this case, a turtleneck—is not drawn straight across, but is rounded, encircling the neck.
This side view of our teen guy shows how he leans back—a posture that emphasizes a concave chest wall. Pull his hair far forward for a cartoony style. And pop that collar for a preppy look!
On lanky cartoon characters, exaggerate the length of the arms so that the tips of the fingers reach to just a few inches above the knees. (On a real person, the fingertips would fall midway between the hips and the knees.)
Pretty Teenage Girl
The teen girl has an attractive figure, featuring a short torso and long legs. Keep the hips wide but the waist narrow. And look at her face: a simple, perfect oval, which makes a pretty character and is easy to draw, too. Don’t overcomplicate it. Her extra-long hair is a teenage thing.
Get the Details Right
Draw female hands differently from male hands. Fingernails are not necessary (unless she’s a witchy old character), but the fingers must taper. The knuckles should not be apparent.
The height of the hair and the length of her neck are the same.
To give the stance some movement, draw one foot poised on its toe, the other flat on the ground (and foreshortened).
Note how the hips bump out quite suddenly. Don’t soften the angle.
PARENTS
In cartoonland, parents are generally portrayed as happy idiots, blissfully unaware that their kids are in the basement working with their science kit and hatching a diabolical plot to take over the world.
Clueless Dad
The cartoon dad is a nice guy, but he’s generally clueless, which is why he’s so often drawn with his eyes closed or hidden behind big, thick glasses. The refrain, “How was school today, Butch?” could be answered with, “I set the teacher on fire,” and the response from Dad would still be, “Well that sounds fine. Come in for dinner. Mom made your favorite: crunchy liver casserole!”
With kooky characters like this, we can have fun stretching out the basic shape, posture, and proportions. Note Dad’s simple head shape and how it melds into the neck without making a distinct break. That’s because he’s a “weak-chinned” character. Weak-chinned characters are, by definition, funny. Let’s have a look.
Get the Details Right
Any which way Dad’s head faces, it always bends backwards. Also note the stiff hair—a humorous look! Float the tie.
Dad’s posture is really poor! His back curves forward … and his head curves back, to counterbalance.
Here’s where the belt line should really go. To be funny, we’ve raised it to just below chest level!
“With It” Mom
Like the cartoon Dad, the cartoon mom has a chipper personality. But she’s much more “with it”—or at least she tries to be. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. Listening to your mom use the latest teenage slang is enough to make you want to barf.
Having children, getting older, and the effects of gravity have done a lot to alter her physique over the past sixteen years—in ways that going to aerobics classes twice a week can’t fix. She’s grown a bit of a tummy and put on a few pounds in the caboose, too. But, despite it all, she remains bright eyed.
Tips on Hips
When drawing a front view of Mom, leave lots of room for the hips. Her plump thighs taper in at the knees, and then her legs round out again at the calves. But keep her arms long and thin.
Note the “mom hips”—also known as “mips”! Make ’em wide and the waistline thin, for a big contrast.
4
Designing a Character
Head shapes? Check. Eyes, nose, ears? Check, check, check. Bodies and proportions? Check, check. Okay. Now that we’re armed with a solid background in cartooning basics, we sally forth into the really fun area of coming up with our own original characters. This is where we put it all together. Each character we create will have a different age, family role, occupation, or personality. As we go, take note of how we exaggerate specific physical traits to highlight those differences.
As we build our characters, we’ll continue to take gradual, easy-as-you-go steps. And I’ll include lots of tips and options along the way. If you get stuck at any point, slow down and try to isolate the problem. But don’t get bogged down. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
That said, these steps have been designed to be simple and concise, so that none of them should be beyond your ability.
Little Toughie
Bullies are fun characters to draw, and popular foils on animated TV shows. Football is just his excuse for being able to get away with crushing his classmates on the field. We can tell his attitude by a few simple characteristics: the upturned, punky nose; the heavy eyebrows; and the blockhead with the razor-cut hairdo. A bully character’s body is mostly torso, with very small legs. I’ve also given him long arms, to make him look a little apelike.
As you can see from this series of drawings—which go from the initial sketch, through an intermediary stage, to the final version—Little Toughie looked a little different when I was first playing around with the character. Often, characters require a few tweaks and adjustments along the way to their finished form.
Pajama Girl
If you want to elicit that synchronized “Awwww!” response in your audience, simply draw a little girl in a pair of pajamas and stick a teddy bear in her arm.
Very young, very cute characters like our Pajama Girl always look more coy with long hair. Most of her features—the small mouth and nose—are petite, but the eyes must be large. They’re the focus of the face. And make sure you place the features low on the face.
Bears v
s. Teddy Bears
Cartoon-character bears’ eyes are close together, but teddy bears’ eyes are drawn wide apart—which indicates that they are dolls and not “living” animals.
Stylish Woman
Humongous Book of Cartooning Page 2
