Christopher Hart - Humongous Book of Cartooning

Copyright 2009 by Christopher Hart
All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Watson-Guptill Publications, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com | www.watsonguptill.com

WATSON-GUPTILL is a registered trademark and the WG and Horse designs are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data: 2009927070

eISBN: 978-0-8230-8558-3

v3.1

Lauren Shakely
Candace Raney
Victoria Craven
James Waller
Brian Phair
Autumn Kindelspire
And, of course,
YOU, THE READER!

Chris

Do you enjoy drawing, but are frustrated that you arent getting to the next level? Would you like to improve your drawing skills? Thats exactly what this book is designed to help you do. It will give you practical insights into cartooning that you can apply immediately to your drawings, so that you can see results right away.

Humongous Book of Cartooning is more than your average tutorial. Its like having a personal mentor by your side while you draw. In this book, I cover professional techniques that I have personally distilled over my years in cartooning into easy-to-grasp lessons. I have filled the book from beginning to end with scores of tips, which will give you a clear understanding of the techniques I use. As a result, youll find that you can begin drawing with a professional flair from the very first chapter. What a thrill it will be to see your cartoons spring to life and surpass even your own expectations! I think youll get a real kick out of it.

Theres a great deal value in being able to successfully recreate the images in this book. After all, many cartoonists make a handsome living drawing characters that have been designed by other people. Whether they work on comic books, animated TV shows, or animated films, virtually all cartoonists begin their professional careers by drawing other peoples characters. If, however, your goal is to create something totally original, learning to draw the characters in this book will teach you all the principles you need to get started on the right track.

This book covers the widest spectrum of subjects, from cartoon people to cartoon animals, funny robots, costumes, layout, backgrounds, fantasy creatures, expressions, drawing action, and more.

Everyone needs a little encouragement. I got it when I was still a high school student, by attending some life drawing classes taught by animators at the Cartoonists Union in North Hollywood, California. I was well situated, living in the film capital of the world, but I was also ambitious. I sought out mentors in the form of animation directors and producers who looked over my portfolio and gave me advice along the way. You may not live in Los Angeles or have any contacts in the cartooning and animation world. Not to worrybecause were about to level the playing field, or actually tilt it in your favor. In these pages, youll get all the information that I had when I was starting outand more. Its my way of giving something back, and Im grateful to have had the opportunity to do so.

Im delighted to have you on board.

Onward!

The basis for drawing a cartoon characters head isnt the eyes, or the mouth, or any particular facial feature. Its the shape of the head itselfthe outline. A circle is the most basic head shape, but its only one of many. The head can be stretched, adjusted, or cut off to create funny forms. Thats why cartoonists begin by drawing the basic head shape first. It dictates where the features should go.

Give the head shape some thought. Put as much creative juice into drawing the shape of the head as you would, for instance, into drawing of the characters eyes. Too often, beginning artists focus exclusively on the features. This is a mistakebut not one that youre going to make!

By using and modifying nine simple shapes, you can draw just about any type of cartoon characters head. Were going to see how each shape can be turned into a lively character in only a few steps. Here are the nine basic shapes.

Circles work equally well for people and animals, but notice how a round shape makes a characterhuman or animallook young, cute, or retro (or a combination of all three). Place the features on a circular face symmetrically. The lower you move the features on the circle, the cuter the character will be. (A tiny muzzle is necessary for cuteness.)

The bump-out shape greatly exaggerates the prominence of the cheek and can therefore make a cute character even cuter. It also widens the face, giving the character greater presence. Its mainly used for human characters but can also be applied to animals, as with this bear cub. The bump-out should always appear low on the face, and it always occurs on the cheek on the far side of the face.