#Cartoon characters to draw how to#

Learning to capture emotion and expression does take practice, but it isn’t as hard as it might sound. Facial ExpressionsĮxpressions are what bring cartoons to life – and expressing emotion is what makes cartoon drawings human, and relatable for people to look at. If they are lazy and don’t care about their appearance, draw them with a lopsided hairdo, or add in some whacky flyaways. If they are professional, maybe have a slicked back, clean, and short hairstyle. When drawing hair, make sure to switch it up and make it different for each character, and pick a style that reflects who they are and what role they play. Hair is incredibly important in helping define your cartoon character – it’s part of how you establish their individuality, as well as visually represent their personality. If you want a more in-depth, unique look, add more details such as eyelids and lashes. If you want a simple cartoon, go for a minimal eye design with a simple circle and dot. The nose is simply a half-triangle with a dot for the nostrils.īut overall, your character’s features will depend on what you want your style to be. For eyes, it’s just the outline, and the pupil. As you can see in the images above, cartoon features often only encompass the basic elements. Keep in mind that when drawing things like eyes and other facial features they are usually a lot more exaggerated in size, and simpler than real, human features. To get better at it, simply look at different types of cartoon eyes, noses and mouths, and, try replicating them again and again. Once you have your head shape and guidelines for your features, it’s time to give your character a face! While features can be difficult to draw, it’s simply about practicing. By layering shapes, you can vary up the looks and complexity of your cartoon faces, and it allows you to better differentiate your characters.

It could be another circle to create a pear or peanut shape, or a square for a more defined, rigid look. Draw your basic circle with your guidelines, and then add a different shape that builds off of the bottom to create a jaw. If you want to create a more complex shape for the head, you can also layer and combine different shapes on top of each other. And although we’re creating a ball-shaped head for this exercise, no matter what shape you use, the center line and eye lines will want to follow the curve of that shape. On the horizontal line, you’ll place both of your characters eyes at the same distance from the vertical line to keep them proportionate. These lines will help you create accurate proportions for your character’s face. Once you have your base shape of the head, draw your guiding lines – one vertical line down the center, and then a horizontal one. Start by lightly sketching out a circle – and make sure to sketch gently with small strokes, rather than committing to a solid shape right away. To begin creating your cartoon character, you’re going to want to create the head. Grab a pen and some paper and let’s get started! 1. It’s a skill that can be learned by anyone, and with this step-by-step guide, you’ll be drawing better cartoons in no time. There’s a lot less pressure, work, and you aren’t confined to following exactly what you see. They are a simple impression of what you see, and are a general idea that’s been dumbed down into a less-serious version of reality – they are not a copy.Īnd this is what makes cartoon drawing so creative, unique, and engaging.

Unlike learning to draw with realism, simple cartoon characters don’t require as much detail, precision, and shading.

#Cartoon characters to draw how to#

Learning how to draw cartoon characters isn’t actually as hard as you might think, it’s simply about dumbing down reality to its most basic form, and adding our own creative touch. Many of us are born into believing that drawing cartoons is only for the Walt Disneys of the world – but that’s far from the truth.