Drawing Cartoon Animals

Drawing Cartoon Animals

If you want to learn drawing cartoon animals for pleasure or profit, sometimes, the first hurdle to overcome is the belief that drawing is difficult.

In school, we sometimes end up believing that drawing requires an artistic talent and only those ‘born’ with this highly specialized talent will succeed. Take my word for it, everyone CAN draw!

The thought of drawing for profit can be daunting and may even seem unachievable, but in truth, if you can put an idea across in a drawing, no matter how simple it is, then you are a cartoonist!

Animals can be great subjects for cartoons. Think of cartoon characters such as Snoopy, Garfield or even the legendary Mickey Mouse! They all have world-wide appeal and huge followings. Yet these characters are very simple constructs – once you have learned the techniques, it becomes very simple to create an animal character.

To be able to draw convincing cartoon animals, you need an understanding of how your subject moves and looks realistically. Drawing teaches you to observe the things around you, if you wish to draw you must first learn to see. Learn to recognise the relationships between different shapes and then draw them.

Cartoon animals are typically drawn from circles, ovals and cylinders. So when you start drawing your character as a cartoon, simplify it into modular parts. These are the basic components of the cartoon, and you can add movement and expression by the way you put the components together.

Copying is a good way to learn drawing cartoon animals, try turning the original upside down and then draw it. Use light lines when sketching shapes, they are much easier to correct.

Drawing can lead to inner satisfaction and relaxation and sometimes even self realization - no matter what level of perfection is attained.

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