How To Draw Mickey

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An Introduction to Animation
INTRODUCTION
Animation is the tool that brings your favorite characters to life on the big screen. In
traditional animation, artists draw multiple sketches of characters in different positions on
transparent (see-through) slides called cells. These cells are all placed against the same
background and photographed. When the photographs are shown in sequence very
quickly, it looks like the character is moving! To make a shot sequence that is only a few
seconds long, you would need hundreds of drawings! In fact, Disney's first full length film
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs included over 1.5 million cells! Can you imagine?

Because animation is such a tedious process, animation artists usually create a way to draw
their characters quickly and repeatedly, so that Snow White looks the same on cell one as
she does on cell one thousand. This guide is going to teach you about the animation process
by showing you step-by-step how to draw one of Disney's most lOved and iconic characters,
Mickey Mouse!

Finished Drawing

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BEFORE YOU GET STARTED ...

WHAT YOU NEED
Here's a list of everything you need before you can start drawing Mickey Mouse!
./ Clean sheet of paper
./ Pencil
./ Black pen
./ Eraser
./ Red colored pencil
./ Peach colored pencil
./ Black colored pencil

DRAWING TIPS

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Keep these tips in mind as you are following the step-by-step guide.

Draw lightly. You may decide to redraw some of your lines. Once your sketch is
complete, you can make dark lines where you want them.

Do not erase. Especially in the initial phases, most of the lines and shapes you will
draw are there just to guide the rest of your drawing. Just keep moving through the
steps. Once your sketch is finished, you will use your eraser to clean it up.

LOGAN RENNINGER

I ENGL 202C

TIME TO DRAW!
STEP 1: Lightly sketch a large circle in the center of the page using your pencil.

This will be an outline for Mickey's head. It will also be referred to as the "main circle."
NOTE: Continue to use your pencil in the following steps and remember to draw lightly.

STEP 2: Draw a pair of intersecting lines inside the circle.

These lines are called construction lines. You will use these lines to draw some of Mickey's
features like his eyes, mouth, and nose.

1. Draw a horizontal line with a downward curve crossing through the middle of the
circle.
2. Draw a curved vertical line crossing through the left quarter of the circle.

STEP 3: Draw Mickey's snout.

1. Begin at the intersection of the guidelines.

2. Circle up and to the left crossing through the large circle.

3. Round the line back across the larger circle once more and reconnect the line to
where you started.

STEP 4: Draw Mickey's ears.

1. Draw a circle outside the right intersection of the horizontal construction line and
the main circle.

2. Draw a second circle of equal size slightly higher up on the outside of the main
circle.
NOTE: Mickey's ears should be about 1/3 of the size of his head. If the ratio is

slightly off, Mickey may look a little funny to you. Try different sizes for the ears
until you get a feel for the correct size.

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LOGAN RENNINGER

I ENGL 202C

STEP 5: Draw Mickey's nose.

1. Begin at the left intersection of the horizontal guideline and the main circle.

2. Draw a lop-sided oval going up out of his snout and bending left, down, and back
around to where you started.

STEP 6: Draw Mickey's face.

1. Near the top of the vertical construction line, draw a line that curves up to the left
and intersects with the main circle.

2. Draw another line from the same starting point that curves up near the main circle
but doe not quite reach it.
3. Continue the line down around Mickey's right eye and stop near the center of the
main circle.
4. To form Mickey's cheek, redirect the line from the center curving up and out to the
right.
5. Round the line to meet the bottom of the main circle.

LOGAN RENNINGER

I ENGL 202C

STEP 7: Draw Mickey's mouth.

1. Draw a wide "U" shaped curve connecting Mickey's snout to the inside of his cheek
to form his upper lip.

2. Beginning at the intersection of the main circle and the curve you just drew, make a
smaller curve for his lower lip.

STEP 8: Draw Mickey's tongue.

1. Beginning at the intersection of Mickey's upper lip and the vertical construction line,
draw a sweeping curve down to just above the lower lip and back up to the right end
of the lower lip.

2. Inside the shape you just created, place a bean like shape that borders the lower
edge.
3. Add a line halfway down the middle of the bean shape to accent Mickey's tongue.

STEP 9: Draw Mickey's eyes.

1. Draw ovals on both sides of the vertical construction line above the horizontal
construction line. Make sure that the right oval is larger than the left one.
The left eye should be smaller because Mickey is facing off to the side.

2. Draw smaller circles in the lower right hand corners of the ovals.
This will help make it look like Mickey is looking back at you!

You now have a rough sketch of Mickey! Now it is time for you to fill in the details.

STEP 10: Use your pen to darken Mickey's features.

NOTE: Do NOT trace the construction lines with your pen.

LOGAN RENNINGER

I ENGL 202C

STEP 11: Wait for the ink to dry, and then use your eraser to get rid of the
construction lines.
NOTE: If you do not wait for the ink to dry, your erases may smudge it and ruin your
drawing!

STEP 12: Color in your finished drawing!

1. Use black for Mickey's pupils, nose, ears, and mouth.

2. Use peach for Mickey's face.

3. Use red for Mickey's tongue.

CONGRADULATIONS!
You now know how to draw Mickey Mouse! If you are not satisfied with how your drawing
turned out, try it again and experiment with different shapes and size ratios. Looking at a
picture of Mickey Mouse can also be helpful.
Continue to practice and soon enough you will be able to draw Mickey all on your own!