There’s nice body-action going on in this pose. The simplicity of the body construction—just two circles connected by two lines—helps us to draw what would otherwise be a challenging pose. Like most stylish female characters, she’s long legged and lanky. She’s just a wisp of a gal, which makes her body easy to stretch in any direction.
Get the Details Right
The exterior lines of the legs are rounded, but the interior lines are straight—a stylish effect.
For a dynamic pose, tilt the shoulder plane and the hip plane in opposite directions.
Beach Bum
Here’s a self-styled ladies’ man: the seaside crooner. You can find him serenading the ladies near the boardwalk. And you can see the ladies leaving in droves! With his Elvis-wanna-be hairdo, he thinks he’s irresistible. Give him a tank top, ragged cut-off shorts, and sandals. (These are his formal clothes!)
Tips and Options
The Beach Bum’s knee bumps out, like a little cup, for a humorous effect. Show his calf muscle—but no other muscles.
The sole of his foot can be arched, as in the previous drawing, or flat footed, as shown here.
Evil Henchman
Creating a character using an extreme graphic style like this is fun, and it’s a different kind of exercise in cartooning—almost like arranging shapes rather than drawing. But that’s the fun of it—trying to keep that extreme two-dimensional look. For this kind of figure, a super-thick pencil line is a must. It flattens out the entire form.
Good and Not So Good
If you like, you can sink the Henchman’s head below his shoulder line for an even more hunched—even more evil—look.
Or you can raise the head above the shoulder line. This works okay, but, well, it’s kinda bland. The other way is preferable.
Goofy Office Worker
Look at this guy’s zany proportions: His head is actually bigger than his body, and the pointing arm stretches to twice the length of the relaxed arm! But what really makes him look silly is the placement of his facial features. Let’s figure this out, or you might miss the subtlety of the construction—if you can call anything about this fella subtle!
Get the Details Right
When drawing “stretchy” limbs, don’t make the joint angles sharp. A continuous curve looks much funnier.
Eyes on either side of the center line—NO! Eyes on the same side of the center line—YES!
Harried Boss
He’s “in charge,” but not much seems to be going according to plan. Extra pounds—lots of ’em—are a good way to show that a character is stressed out and sublimating his anxiety with pizza and jumbo fries. But the fries have no trans-fats, so he’s not worried. Ahem.
This guy’s physique is built purely on carbs and coffee. Look at that back of his—it’s just screaming for a chiropractor. And he’s got an equally bulging tummy. There’s no muscle tone in those arms, either. The only iron he’s been pumping is the handle on the refrigerator door.
AMERICAN-STYLE MANGA
American-style manga blends Japanese manga and American cartoons. It’s found mainly on TV animation. I’m not talking about those fake-out shows that pretend to be real Japanese anime but that in fact are done by American studios. American-style manga cartoons are definitely American and don’t pretend to be anything else. But they do have a manga flair. They feature bouncy, attractive characters with some telltale similarities to their Japanese counterparts. Usually, they tell school stories or adventure stories. (Often the two are combined.)
American Manga Girl
The girl’s small nose and mouth are borrowed from manga style. The head is constructed with a pointed chin, like most manga heads. But we don’t need to add the giant eye shines that are typical of manga characters. We’re not mimicking manga, only using some of its stylistic elements.
American Manga Boy
Like the girl, he sports a pointy, manga style chin. Note his pointy nose and tight mouth—both reminiscent of Japanese manga.
5
Costuming a Character
Cartoon costumes instantly bring characters to life. Costumes perform five major functions that casual, everyday attire can’t do:
They place a character in time—especially important if the character is a historical figure, like a pirate.
They identify a character’s occupation.
They establish a character’s a rank.
They add glitz, glamour, and visual impact.
They can make a character representative of a group.
Costumes are also fun to draw. A good costume doesn’t have to be complicated to be appealing, but sometimes success lies in the details. The right accoutrement can be essential—whether it’s a pirate’s sword or a ray gun holstered at the side of a space commander’s suit.
Now we’re going to take the cartooning principles we’ve been practicing and extend them into the realm of cartoon costumes. I think you’ll like this section because this stage usually comes after the hard work of constructing the character has already been done. So enough talking about costumes—let’s get started drawing them!
Pirate Captain
Aaarrrgggh! Pirates—those gluttonous, swashbuckling, no-good adventurers of the high seas—are all the rage. They come in every shape and size, but I prefer to draw the ship’s captain, because he’s got the most personality and wears the coolest hat! Rations might be scarce on a long ocean voyage, but the captain makes sure he’s well fed—and it shows in his portly figure. Most off-ship pirate adventures involve treasure hunting, and, as you can see, our Pirate Captain is not really keen about the concept of “sharing.”
Before we draw his costume, we still have to create the foundation—and that means constructing the head and body, just as we’ve been doing all along.
Confused King
It’s fun to go against type. That’s why I like to draw kings as weak and confused characters—feckless, but dressed in elaborate, incredibly self-important costumes. I’ve purposely made the King skinny, so that he looks overpowered by that oversized robe. The robe goes all the way down to the ground, so that we don’t even see his feet. The robe’s collar and cuffs are made of ermine—a prized fur that is white with black flecks in it. Traditionally, it was worn by royalty. (Note that the base of the crown also has a band of ermine.)
Kid Jungle
Hey, with no television in the jungle, you gotta figure out something to do with your time! So why not juggle a few coconuts? This wild-child is short and skinny but has long limbs. The long hair helps give him a feral look—as if he hasn’t seen a barber in … well, not ever. His minimal costume features animal-skin spots. (By the way, you always need to match up characters’ hairstyles with their costumes.)
Hula Girl
This Polynesian beauty has a little body language going for her—the hip action in her native dance. Her grass skirt is worn low on the hips, below the navel. Ankle jewelry is a nice accent. Her top is designed to be reminiscent of seashells. Be bold with the earrings—large hoops instead of small studs. And a flower in the hair adds the quintessential Polynesian touch.
If you can get this drawing right, you’re really raising your skill level! It’s no easy feat to draw a character so that it really looks like she’s dancing. One important hint: Draw the head slightly off to one side so that the neck is drawn on a diagonal.
Gigantic Genie
When you’re creating a costume, what you leave out can be as important as what you put in. Gigantic Genie is a perfect example of this: He wears minimal clothing—nothing more than a loincloth, a turban of sorts, earrings, and thick bracelets. (Some genies also wear vests.) The beard is so essential to this genie’s character that I consider it to be part of his costume. Some genies have mustaches as well as beards, but to make him unique, I’ve left the mustache out.
Take special note of the symmetrical pose. Comic poses are typically symmetrical, whereas dramatic poses are asymmetrical. That’s why this totally symmet
rical pose is funny, and you could never take this genie character seriously.
Lovable Viking
Historically, the Vikings were fierce and strong. When it comes to cartoon Vikings, though, you can toss those adjectives aside in favor of fat and slow! These terrible warriors of the past have been transformed by into lovable cuddle bears through the magic of the cartoonist’s pencil—to the point where, today, most cartoon fans don’t even know how brutal the Vikings really were.
If there is any costume element that’s more iconic than a Viking’s horned helmet, I don’t know it. Instead of the kite-shaped shields typically used by knights of olde, Vikings used circular shields. They also wore animals skins and armor. I prefer to leave out the armor when drawing a Viking, however, since it tends to confuse readers. (Armor makes them think the character might be a knight.)
Rugged Roman
Here’s a slightly different style—a look you’d be likelier to see in feature film animation than on TV. Our Roman soldier is a rugged, semi-realistic looking character rather than one of the more rubbery characters we’ve been drawing. It’s good practice to try your hand at a few different styles.
Without the costume, the Roman soldier could be Joe Anybody—a modern newspaper reporter or even a suburban dad. But when he’s outfitted with a battle helmet, chain mail, cape, and chest protector, his identity becomes crystallized.
Add some finishing touches: a little bit of hair peeking out from under the helmet, some crosshatching to indicate the chain mail, and a few rivets on the helmet and chin guard. I also like to shade the feathered top, so that you can tell it’s made out of different material from the rest of the helmet. Add a lion—or your own emblem—to the front of the helmet. That space is good “real estate,” so use it to create a logo for your character.
Comic Cowpoke
This guy’s wearing the “official cowboy uniform.” Remember that costumes can help create comedy in a scene. If you were to give your sheriff a hat that’s slightly wider than his head, it might always be sliding down over his face when he’s threatening bad guys. The bad guys would just look at the camera, impatiently, while the sheriff struggled to pull the hat back up so that he could see.
You can also add little stars at his heels to indicate spurs, although you want to be careful that the picture doesn’t start to look too busy. Leaving off the gun doesn’t hurt the character any, and, besides, it’s more politically correct!
Allow your Comic Cowpoke some sideburns and a little chin stubble, as he’s been riding for days without a shave. As for the horse, think of it as one of the cowboy’s props; wherever the cowboy goes, the horse goes too.
Now let’s put all of the basic elements together.
Super Villain
Now we move from past to future—and to some super-ridiculous heroes and villains. Let’s start with the bad guys.
Some of the funniest villains of all time are little squirts. Imagine all that greed, ruthlessness, and ambition bundled up in a miniature package. These tiny fanatics make great characters, with their outsized personalities so completely at odds with their lack of physical prowess. Part of his “costume,” we can fairly state, is his shadow. It acts as his alter ego, portraying an enlarged version of himself. It’s just the way he envisions himself to be—incredibly impressive and important!
In super-characters’ uniforms, the gloves and boots are often the same color—or have the same shaded tone—to tie them together visually. You’ll notice this on many other cartoon characters in this book and in cartoons in general. Note how the black and white areas of the costume alternate, which makes it easy to read. Try this “checkerboarding” technique in your costume design.
Super Kid
When not busy saying stupid stuff to girls in school or dozing off in the middle of math class, this kid is fighting crime and saving the human race from mutants from outer space. Since he’s decidedly goofy, we’re going to dress him in a sloppy super outfit, which should appear a little oversized. Forget about showing any shoulder muscles! Instead, we’ll slide the lines of his neck directly down to form the lines of his torso. But just a few seconds under the Zentron 190 Atomic Incrediblizer, and our Super Kid’s powers will be up to maximal capacity!
Spaceship Commander
Here are the commander and his sidekick dog, who is still only an ensign.
Streamlined is the keyword for sci-fi costumes. They usually feature one-piece body suits. In the future, everyone wears uniforms, which generally look a little like … dare I say it? Pajamas! These non-wrinkling, non-creasing materials (you need never show a fold or a crease mark on them) are almost always form fitting, meaning that they hug the body and reveal the outline of the figure. It’s a nice, clean look. Boots and gloves are important, but leave off the cuffs—that’s old school.
Aqua Gal
Pretty mutants of the deep require only a few adaptations to their basic anatomy. But these adaptations must have an aquatic theme. Anatomically, Aqua Gal has been given external fins and elf-like ears.
In addition, we have the shell motif: Her upper body is covered in a shell-themed piece of clothing. And the skirt’s hemline is reminiscent of the scalloped edges of a shell. The necklace she wears has a scallop pendant. The earrings are starfish. The miniskirt and high boots give the costume a trendy look.
Before going on to the steps for creating this character, take a look at the background. What’s the one element that’s absolutely essential for underwater scenes, to make them look like they’re underwater? A few fish swimming about? Well, that might help, but the fish aren’t essential. It’s the bubbles. Yep, simple bubbles. Without those, the surrounding environment will look like air. Add a few bubbles, though, and the atmosphere is suddenly transformed into water.
Conveying Body Language
Cartoon characters have many ways of expressing themselves: Animated characters use spoken dialogue; comic strip characters use speech balloons. But all cartoon characters communicate through gestures and poses. As the next step in our progress, we are going to take our ability to draw characters—which you’re now probably having some success with—and raise it to the next level, applying body language to make our characters convey specific thoughts, attitudes, and emotions.
Posture
Posture can either energize a character or rob it of its energy. If a character’s posture is drawn with feeling, the reader will be able to tell something about that character’s personality—even without seeing the facial expression. Posture is the most basic component of body language—the pillar upon which a pose is based. As the drawings show, there are four basic postures, which correlate with four basic types of characters:
Leg Placement—Standing Characters
When you first begin cartooning, you probably don’t think too much about the placement of the legs in a pose. It may not seem as if there are a lot of options available to you, so you just draw the legs together each time. That’s good enough to start with, but as you progress you’ll want to add variety to your poses to increase visual interest. Fortunately, there are a host of standing leg positions to choose from. Here are five.
PUTTING PERSONALITY IN POSES
Have your character perform a little gesture to one side, show some shoulder action on the other side, and pretty soon you’ve constructed a pose that is absolutely adorable. Readers don’t know why it’s so darn appealing—they don’t know the techniques and can’t see the hard work that went into the drawing, but it’s all there.
As cartoonists, we have to bring personality into poses. An expression never stops at the face; it continues through the entire body. There’s one commonality to all the poses you’re about to practice: They all have energy and vitality, even when the pose is glum instead of ebullient. It’s essential that you infuse your characters with energy—that will make them pop off the page and grab the reader’s attention. And you do that by focusing not so much on the task the character is performing (walking or runnin
g, say) but rather on the character’s state of mind behind it (determined, frightened). That’s because someone who is frightened will run in a very different manner than will someone who is determined.
Here are some important tools to use when creating personality in poses:
Posture
Shoulder Action
Head Tilt
Wrist Bends
Tummy Sticking Out or Sinking In
Proud or Sunken Chest
Bend in the Knees
Arching or Bent Back
Hand Gestures
Arm Gestures (Folded, Arms Akimbo, etc.)
Stiff or Relaxed Body
Foot Placement
Now, let’s look at some specific examples.
I’m Extremely Confident.
Brilliant Idea!
I Just Remembered!
Now Where Was I?
Humongous Book of Cartooning Page 3
