Christopher Hart - The Cartoonists Big Book of Drawing Animals

Copyright 2008 Art Studio LLC

First published in 2008 by Watson-Guptill Publications,
Nielsen Business Media, a division of The Nielsen Company
770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
www.watsonguptill.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any meansgraphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information-storage-and-retrieval systemswithout written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hart, Christopher.
The cartoonists big book of drawing animals / Christopher Hart.
p. cm.
Includes index.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8230-0829-2
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8230-1421-5
1. Animals in art. 2. CartooningTechnique. 3. DrawingTechnique. I. Title.
NC1764.8.A54H378 2008
741.5362dc22
2007029102

Executive Editor: Candace Raney
Senior Development Editor: Michelle Bredeson
Designer: Jay Anning/Thumb Print
Production Manager: Salvatore Destro

Cover design by Jay Anning/Thumb Print
Cover art by Christopher Hart
Color by Richard and Tanya Horie

v3.1

This book is dedicated to my Welsh Springer Spaniel, Rusty, who is so clever that he races out the door each morning and retrieves the paper. Unfortunately, he tears it to bits before bringing it back into the house!

The Cartoonists Big Book of Drawing Animals is simply the most complete guide to drawing cartoon animals that has ever been available. It is the follow-up to my best-selling book How to Draw Cartoon Animals and features even more cute and wacky animals, plus some edgier styles, including retro characters. There are bigger sections devoted to each of the most popular cartoon animals, such as bears, penguins, dogs, horses, cats, elephants, lions, tigers, and more. It also explores individual species. For example, in addition to the classic cartoon bear, youll learn to draw grizzlies, brown bears, black bears, pandas, and polar bears. Youll also be introduced to the different breeds of cartoon dogs and cats and their corresponding personalities. And theres an entire chapter devoted to humorous sidekick animals, including cows, turtles, hippos, kangaroos, and more.

The Cartoonists Big Book of Drawing Animals covers all aspects of cartoon animal expressions, poses, and actions. It shows you how to turn any animal into a classic cartoon type, such as the loveable buddy, schemer, bully, or evil genius. Yes, theyre all herethe kinds of wildly successful characters that star in computer-animated movies and create todays box office sensations.

I break the drawings down into lots of steps and include tons of side hints to illuminate the step-by-step drawings and make them that much easier to master. And the steps are gradual, so that every artist of any level can do it.

Cartoon animals are a must-know for anyone whos ever wanted to draw cartoons, and this book contains everything you need to know to draw them successfully. Whether youre a novice or a seasoned pro, if you like to draw cartoons, youll find something of value in this book.

Theyre some of the all-time favorite characters of the cartoon world: loveable, cuddlybut sometimes grouchybears. Theyre funny as adults and irresistibly cute as cubs. Im starting off the book with bears because theyre some of the most popular cartoon critters around and because theyre round, which makes them easy to draw. Theyre also loaded with personality. And thats what I want you to go for in your drawings.

The cartoon bear should look like hes never pushed a dessert tray away from the table in his life. Everything hes ever eaten has gone straight to his hips and stayed there! All cartoon bears are drawn to appear bottom-heavy, which is a funny look. The head should be small in comparison to the body.

The knees bend outward in the front view. Sketch a light, horizontal line across both knees to make sure that they are at the same level. The knees bend forward in the side view.

To draw a bear in this position, you can make the bottom half one big circle. The chest is small, but the rump is big and round. There should be very little room between the tummy and the ground; thats because the legs are so comically short.

By using large shapes for the outline and keeping it simple and uncluttered, the bear is easy to draw.

The back is not parallel to the ground but slopes down.

This drawing shows the areas where the fur ruffles are placed on the cartoon bear.

Sometimes I shade in the far legs to prevent people from confusing them with the near ones.

STYLE: STRAIGHT LINES & CURVED LINES

You can make a cartoon character look more stylish if you counterpose straight lines with curved lines. This much I know. Why its true, I have no idea. But they dont pay me to figure out the underlying causes of weighty issues like this, only to show you the techniques! And this one works quite nicely, so lets give it a try. Notice how the curved back of the bear is juxtaposed against the straighter line of the front (stomach). The effect is to give this bear a slicker, flatter, and more stylish feeling, as opposed to making him look like a giant cuddle-toy.