not Bag aD HOW TO ee Character Design Learn the art of cartooning step by step Designing different “types” = Conveying emotion Adding props and costumes = Developing a personal style BY SHERM COHEN4 Wg Sate Ine Ca 2818 30208 Was as ali A hited cau sos som Caen We otis np one ‘ek hn cn bid al Bean is eg oe say fn stim fot en er hmm ase th oton ommes ‘asia wh wns at pe ater ora ae sai re 79Character Design Cartooning is about communicating ideas and stories using pictures instead of words, and it's the cartoonist’s job to keep the audience interested by creating compelling and memorable characters. In this book, you'll learn how to design characters from start to finish through the use of shapes, lines, expressions, postures, props, and costumes. You'll discover how to create drawings that will tell a reader all he or she needs to know about a character— from personality and emotional state to age and occupation—without the use of words. And whether you draw cartoons as a hobby or as a career (or both!), the lessons in this book will give you a solid foundation in developing unique characters. So pick up a pencil or pen and let’s get started! —Sherm Cohen CONTENTS Getting Started 2 Give'Em Props 21 Shape Up, 4 Youve Got Males! 2 Head Over Heels 6 Ladies Night 23 Lets Facet 8 Kidding Around 4 Mood Swings 10 Grow Up 25 Body Building 12 Forget Me Not 26 You Know the Type 14 Opposites ateact 27 Measuring Up. 16 WeAlive 28 Lights, Camera, Action! 18 Get Graphic 20 Body Language 19 Find Your Own Style 3 Dress'Em Up 20GETTING STARTED You don't need much to start designing cartoon characters—just afew penis, a pad of paper a couple of erasers and a pen or marker will do, Chances are you have all you realy need right now, but there are afew additional tems that can help you make the most out of your cartooning experience. Check out some of the items that find helpful ere; then experiment to see what works for you! [PAPER TRAILC Thre are many types of paper salable, fom newspt a aristlan satan oars, af whieh ome wih fleet ees. sont surface wil give yout clan Ines; whereas ow sue wil es nate tect For basic raving an sec pickup 2 package plain white paper fom any fice spy sre CHAPPELING YOUR CKILLC Ananda ese sharpener seat wien youeon tego, 2 ang ou can fin ood place to dispose ofthe shavings ity have amore statorary work ea, ist ina i shrpeer—i ean ge your pen te perfect Point vik a eas. at pencis an han so you can reat ayn stokes Drawing pens are abel with nantes an eters to inst te Harnesses of leat aly rapa: "8" pres ae so," pci ae ta ne HO” pence righ in te mile. Te ihe te umber tat accompanies elt, he moe ne the cfs or badness ef the lead, or example, 248 Is see than 38 peter 2B peel rine deta ‘th and 228 for sor Ines \. igi ‘OETTIWG OUT THE LEAD gut ies =o Toto ae erambs); be ik rubber ane Vil erasers, which ar wstl for erasing lrg areas, Bd th knead eraser, wc can be tse and ‘Shaped gets reas abd dose eave ty rumbaTOUCHING UP You may nent ‘out afew fre pes faving inept 8 ry take sre to Kop te tish lean, and oevr phe wet pat ito in) Sy TRACMG YOUR ETEE Tac ppt einen wh ae Sanco ta et tg bees sac ene ot ‘eet eon prr od we oe ee é loa it ox ca el you produce clean COVERING UP Hyumates KING IT For eamat utes, Ne EEO THE LCT nes, Sheth your earcter n'a pleating paper and ten pe the fi histate, ty some caret fs —_ap he ip of» water trash ne ‘ring tb saace othe gt bx with alts tape The lcs pace ol Mevier often so daceet atmo one wl beable nk st be cae a tip Duper over th kate, tus one ight and wae he eawing wih Tod! Total were yuve mate a loop. any on your eawigs! COPYCAT good way to mprove your aig sls to coyote cartons that ach our een os magasines newspapers or comic boks Use thee age ae a eter and pra the tain then tht rach) There's thing wrong wh coping fr practice it about vey lens tat way! The es hing odo when oping arte mage ist uy chang the nage wo mak tour ow: Ae the paseo the exes, ‘of exageate the ac estes,SHAPE UP ‘Anyone can lear to design cartoon characters by simply remembering the three most basic shapes: the crcl, the square, andthe tangle Al subjects can be broken dovin into variations of these three shapes—and once you give form, or dimension, to those shapes, you'l have ‘objects that seem to bounce right off the page. ry combining diferent shapes to see what new forms you can creat! AOU TAKING CHAPE The ange, te cick ‘eek of all eatan drawings Combine va an give our creations! he base ling shapes to dsin CREATING 3-D FORMC ‘he fs thing we ned to do wh the vee basi stapes to think of them as ems el jes inte dmersions with sly deh, ‘and weg you a thee shapes a forms pace, the daings you mae om ‘them il abo hae the appearance of being rea This abasic maple of sng pepe ‘eo te epresematon of bes in re Aires pce. nado to sng the aes af perspective, shading you objets th ang vlver—fom ise tough various as 1 weal ene the shape fom, he appearance of te resins nage he shpes ou daw as jets hata be td athe page and cated ay) A-£ CO Oh lanl sap ames oe frm hl sap became sre fom AppINe IT UP {vem reat umerous ims y combining two ‘mare shapes ere sere an mae bean, pear, ple or ag sage!PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER ‘The four mostused shapes in designing cartoon characters are the sphere (or ball or egg shape), the teardrop, the bean (or pear shape, and te cylinder. Create ahead, hands, and feet out ofa sphere; construc torso with the teardrop or the bean shape and fashion legs and arms using cylinders. Drawing ‘cartoon characters sa litle tke building your ov Frankenstein—you cn cllct ferent parts and build on them to make @ whol! TEP 1 todaw ‘ie ating, a wit ulshapea ead ad 2 ‘nan shape by se tapered eines for the arm and legs and create tal shapes or ‘Means ed fee. The {dts bap esbish ETE 2 once he base frm re drown athe a fac, clthing, anaes Notice ow ese fea- ‘ures ae wrapped around the fos of er boty. Fr ‘zample te waiting ober aes lows he ot er ean shaped bey, an he tops oer sacks {ow ha ounce eine eps TEP 1 Todiow is grumpy By, a-saped head an ah ‘xy shaped eo. Then aa bgger. shape forthe body. Cente 3 eng teardrop shape forthe sieeve and ball forthe hand, Use eyinges hat aera heen fr es at sideways teaap ‘shapes arta TEP 2 Draw ight uidlie own the mie of te face, and thn 2 sideways teardrop shape forte os. ough nthe rest of te fact and tat to the lating sound is ot frm. DO OU ‘STEP tec cnt erating your ‘tine with 2 knead eas, You fan lean op te sawing by ping over ‘henge you wat hep wih 2 pte STEP 4. oryoucan clea wp your ‘rowing within or 2 sik ish TEP 3. trae the gli, at Sate eta and he ead ave a rum dy Note te way ace seems to wap ay, aed the cette pi he ules! STEP 4 or sive brush. ae Ink ratmet te 2 mare impactHEAD OVER HEELS Where's the best place to begin? At the beginning, of course! And the beginning ofthe body isthe head. Think ofthe head as a rounded mass that can take on many different shapes: head can be shaped like bal, an egg, a teardrop, a pear a bean or even a tangle. Practice drawing different head shapes ina variety of poses and angles; then determine which one best sults your cartoon character! COP EGP BUILDING ON FOUNDATION The signer ead shapes the foun rhe sx nate ads above ball shag becaes 2 ie neg shape rod 2 set ol lady an ups dw tearkop shape rans ino snebed/s garda, a par shape mops ita sey oot, bean shape eats stoughguy Eve mperonatc and a ng shape mas» thd, PLAYING WITH CHAPES You can sth, squash and combine dent shapes to ete an ens ety of coon ea! Toke kat he had elon ad ey a "lok oth" ‘tem fed the ardehing bling lock shapes.CARTOON PROPORTIONS. fore you deelop the ys nos, a5 and math yu shoul ave abasic unestandng of an anrage cata’, FRONT VIEW The top ofthe nose is hata down the fae, he ees are ih abere te nase, ad te eyebrows are aout aay pte fread. Pat he ‘hs ah er ide fe Nea, an alg the top ns wih he jes. The tans of eas usual tl law the Botan fe nose aod he mouth hava ‘own be lor lt he bad. facia popoticse sz reatnsip among the pars) CIDE VIEW The side view of he had eal called ‘be "ptl" Noe atthe ropes of te fac ay ‘be same no mater wie dein he ea sed By ght ewig gullies 0 every Deas you draw, oo an make sr tat he ees of ee sy in ame place tom ving weaving See “ating Facial, Feat low fr mos on tong piss g between he ot view andthe rfl, an is the mast ‘rete view lt mos cartoon come tharacter ae ram a he Bree qutr view because anos fart ok sig th ewer, ut the Ble view ets feo much afte ae. Mos te ‘ample inthe book wl be tee-ante va. PLACING FACIAL FEATURES Using the fur common hed shapes elon caw giles rently and ell Tes ulin wil ip you corey and consent lant the features on he ‘ac The vert ine shoud alnas go ght down the center fhe os but the zara gue an be laced any au war the rae tb. The pt hich he wo ies inteet ithe “ome be” Fo wich al the fal ates ener. Hee van he exact sare fetes op ou lent ace hes, eatig fur emi diferent os! Note haw al te aes fe but up rand the seceding 6 CHIFTING FEATURES ‘ou can move feature sud an the head ache dren ets OC WORRIED Tis eow's eyes and nase ar ple hgh on is ead He TOUGH Ts guy sions 2 anal feahea, out es gt ig, meaty ace ‘i. These conbied fares five im te ooo auch poy tho ae more brown than ba Siem or professor, [BRAWY Tis euhead ype she ‘act oppose of he tough ey sting reat to im is exe fread hd weak cin give A he ok fa Yo =H ‘CUTE Tis ite gt nas a age ores Ia an very age esi propetion {oe nase a ou, Tl gest ‘ambition wen ou want eapare ‘hatte Iie Wi oak,LETC FACE IT thin lps and fat ips, bulbo broken noses And don't forgeta he nnn N Q steed soy cme . a IAIX AND MATCH The eyo atoun faces combining the gh fal estas to acct porta the type of hace You want dpi. Te ees, remota shad ach conte othe vel eft yo ying to achieve. Ard the mare exagerted the estes, the ber! ves! THE TOUGH TYPE Tis des nce ur tat b's alba. fing nls roe rohan nose ple ear ora case ane nts ay from htop) to, er ears aes aay he oes tom bar wie eyes and prety sie THE GOOFY TYPE This 29) as wl nol eyes, ike shaped sae, ana sly moh These fetes foal Bui his ees an nse ae fess exaggerated an smaller, eases ome of tat lownish alyMOOD SWINGS To draw believable expressions and attitudes, ty studying your own face in a miror to see how your features change as you portray a vatety of moods—then record what you see. The sc faces below ae the foundation for crating every expression you could ever imaginel The face inthe middle i the flat” face—blank and expressionless it acts as the canvas upon which all other emotions ate created. Circling this face are the five most common expressions that canbe created simply by making adjustments to the foundation HAPPY Aste tom te obvious ei one ANGRY Th ky fates of his ang” face ae ‘he eyorows that ress downward and iar, he ‘eased freeae adhe ting eth. For an ex 2s O } Son et stam osing et he The oe te wider than thre of “ate, Sd he peroneal 3 we 00 CF Y This face has no apparant motor itis the ‘Coan a oe ears Us sce 29 reference wien drawing eer estes tse how ie 35) BORED The hatsitdes ees ae he main lament loca pae, an oop te mouth as st company 2 "ord ae, Surin, ace strtng ott for many sch a “un an “impatnt. WOPPIED The mat important part ess down aginst the eye, causing he bow a reas wih won nes" The wore ace oten under he oes, ah tron to bot {CAD This expression can lok 2 ot ke “wor bette main stn Is te lng own. Te perows ‘eased a it nerd bt hy on prose gan the eye a thy oan 9 "ware face. Keep mid "Be ppl are rer an lng on 3s face has bags or a sual pateVARIATIONS ON A THEME2 BODY BUILDING "Now that you've perfected the at of making your cartoon characters laugh ry, and take a snooze, you can start designing the rest ofthe body. Ate al,your head needs a trso—not to mention arms, legs feet, and hands! A good character drawing should look like a ving, breathing person—not just a bunch of ines ona pice of paper. So take what you've leamed about using basic shapes to build bodies and heads and put them together to create the perect cartoon character © ({) a" us simpy the selon int very shapes hat inate tei age, ‘he pi, ne sie. A chaacers smut is ata on the Shelton that spas the ete boty. But we dont edo tart ot wit any ‘hing 3 competed ass GQ SIMPLIFYING THE eTRUCTUPE Tis haseal player iss eoking tees aim sete were Then simpli the skeleton eer futher by conning the ibs and te pis, in on beanie shape! BEAN ME UP, SCOTTY Tesame bean shape tatyou sow eae shen constucing heads can ao be used when reat bods. Ant can ake on many feet forms Ty ung upside down, king wider onthe Bota a naroner ‘athe op er rnin a FLT BOTTOM NO NECK some '5y making yor bean Tis simp ite guy has ‘rates heads un Spa bay wer at 2 abot e is ean Ino ther ny shapes. ‘hetop you can create Shaped ono. Ply around Ty sig te bea shape 2 ery eharaete wih wh bess shapes {or bt the bea a te uc. rene new forms tas ge vertically ‘hallenged” aoYOU KNOW THE TYPE Just as there are ferent types of peopl, there ae certainly diferent ypes of cartoon characters! There's the “cute” tye. the “tough” type ‘the “dump” type, the “goo” type, and soon, And each character ype fs made up of certain elements that suggest a specfcpersonality—for example, the "dumpy" type has rounded, bulbous body, and te “tough” type takes ona top-heavy bean shape. Think about what personality you want your character to have, and then create a body type that goes with it. Minimize te deta o ae 'em cute Dicke-staped verte sat foot Tom vey heavy pearsape bodies ow ight ir sal heads. Natice the way is characte bly ang out of is sit because he cr in shi in is see. 14MEASURING UP characters measure up—tterally—you need to figure out the correct propor oonin ‘body is sized in ‘dan head hh 6 estan ty whi chsce oe nese Choe aces yan tye 3 a ewe os tal, Conversely a character that is more than 5 heads tal looks grown up and more mature. The average adult characteris 5 of 6 heads tal, tut exaggerated characters like superheroes and glamorous fashion models can be 8 or more heads talATTACK OF THE ‘BABYLIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! Cartoon characters come to lif through acting —and acing, at its core, means movement. This is why the line of action (an imaginary line that etends through a figure and indicates the curve of ts moverent) i one ofthe mast important factors in bringing your characters to lie on paper. Alling things move around in one way or another, and even plants and animals tend to havea bend or curve to their movement. In mast Gheou dlncoionsota Wea aes oma tote abe oer sacra seven rece sono coecoe, | aac copii Sorted eo es | ESS Soemee! “ Wy ton of movemest vresucever te tat The ine of acto pe Denil tothe rundBODY LANGUAGE You've already seen the way te face can express a multitude of dtferent emotions and attitudes but the rest of a character's body canbe jst as expressive. To gve your characte a bold attitude, apply what you've leamed about line of action, fail expression, and proportion to the entre bod When trying to convey a certain emotion or attitude in your characters, remember to exaggerate—you have the freedom to-make your characters as zany as you want, so et creative and ham it up! No // AN No 4 ‘Wiss caning waka const is ingame much Te gai epson vet” ow i avai oy ‘cin wana ml beteciog ate cai, hve esis. bt su aga rt lar ain ea lo at i ‘opt ono semi sip) st or is or ein e mh behaving ye ‘nit Som be ms. tes a tele penan ono Herb) ashes stg stating te Smee get o_o ne of scan te each Salgh andere so sense of moon, jus got big promaion at werk! ‘ure dese comnunieat his aude. oppose of happy young wom’ ting he whale Bey in en facing trowhock head aed ‘ata cn pushed ow wit gaping mou and erouenes Tog, lok ike he ot sean 3 ‘hos! Hs whole hay i camuneatog Set petup ad ac othe emotion in front ot 3 miro 19DRESS ‘EM UP Costume sa very important pat of character design—clothing helps define and identiy your character and tli story, Costume includes not only clothing, but accessories and hair styles as well. Costume can help identify a character's occypation—police uniforms, chefs hats, football helmets, and farmers overalls are some obvious choices. Accessories, suchas a movie stars oversized sunglasses ora she's starshaped badge, can also indicate a characte’ identity and personality ata glance CHANGING APPAPEL These or sawigs all share be same boy and ace, teach costume rats anew characte, Areater wil react te afer t 2 ‘rater eset 4 pleenon han oe arsed as eoc! Fin those elements ‘Ya eal ent you character (or example, he paiemans be, apa ‘nd emphasize oe laments lhe character ale rea lat and canbe Instat iene. IDENTIFYING A CHARACTER — FOLLOWINIG THE LINEC be FLATTENING THE LINES ypu Remenber at costume goes have sure hale lines ae cestume low dor roundout he ems of the ease, ‘ning he roundness nd constuction te unig of eva; snag tat the shape ana fhe bd) endt- youl et at, uneasiness te ancrijig forms, such she defen a haar canbe acstume, nea. The slight bulge i the stmach___Charal sean eode int the ‘xg shaped tse and heat andthe fh asthe man isting ei, dinky” aun ou he character's frm hing paper ater th “pop of th page ‘nial os seen ere. i and he, conve msc. Nim a sof ude lok 20GIVE ‘EM PROPS ‘A prop is anything that a cartoon character uses to perform an action ik a salt shaker, a hammer, or a baseball bat, Unlike accessories, props ‘are generally objects that the character holds rather than wears, The use of props helps futher define your character as well as communicate the ‘action being performed. For instance, f your characteris bullying another character, you might adda hammer or an anil othe bully’ hand, When rawing props alvays use some sot of reference. Don't just try to draw a prop from memory: if you gett wrong it can ook petty funky! SIMPLIFY AND EXAGGERATE es more inprtant or yous props to communicate el than iets ob mae dts ‘The wo ge princi of "snp nd exaggerate apples to props as wel so cars! “he sl sater on ny fara eke ‘bs but woul aw ‘ie example is more Thee clase eat Shaka, sometig hat Few people have st ‘hha at ok ke tis, buen” as a yuu props ned to be ‘al be set simply them even mere PREPARING TO DRAW you a aw any pop, mak 2 sattshakr Tie hsm evryone can recognize sal'shaker rit way Fearon what teks I 2 carcon—it jst oes ight away. But stil has been reduced to ts send examples of tee you Teeiy as 2s shaker needs tobe sinpiieg simples elements, and ‘eed at home, he 3 Boo, 3 hanes, leary gikiy {nd evapgerate! ‘tose deve eae, ra ato af ik tous HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE ars can ever fit to au butte ook ete fred wl be esr ra) youth Simple The cartoon and cn be down with ite tre four fing pu» thumb. your caaceriinor ate he Bee ge hand wl proto gett fa character more on thelist bo he seal YOu LU 8) 864 ‘Shape jst 5 och 35 dso, The FRONT VIEW ii hands sat wit a single cle fea shape fete pan, wih) BACK“HANDED an on te lt prey average fans he hand in ‘an aco inate a spend of hegre. Te gers ad thambracate ou ram the Th tase ca be 88 he wile wool wel on 3a shiny cataces ‘tate pl alm ha 9 erase where the bat oh tht ans be aim. one ack of the han. [EIDE VIEW Ad her's te sito the patn ina more conmen view. ‘he tis fhe gers ays align ina ar air han na Sai ie. TAPS HOLDING Ay HANDS: en races deg se sy ty es seen e petra tan ne "sa goed ide tdram When a hand gigs a_i puting to mach When a had lds a at ajc thea boo, you on. hd Soep the hos Jeera etree had, anda try to wrap the detail on tha hand. reed te und onthe a sie. When he simple an fucfons|__ arte pops roghed hand aroun he bc. nd index ga ar olin small object sta by Inorderto fee the iinet th an wi rauping in simple low shape Tuck he we ger cenphass onthe rp. 2 snp tal {nd pin in the pan tee simpYOU'VE GOT MALES! ‘As you probably know by now, there are many diferences between men and women. And these diferences in facial and body constuction also translate into cartooning! Generally men have broader shoulders and ticker necks than women do; thei wast are about the same thickness as their hips; and ther fet are usualy fay large. Men also often sport mustaches, beards, o "five-o'cock shadows.” MENG BODY CONSTRUCTION MENG FEATUREE ton os ADDING MALE ATTRIBUTE nant sea, at aly 8 wil Work js ie instant ebviws at is is PUTTING OW THE PoUNDE ‘When 3m ine weigh be tnd fo ace ton in he tsa fe ips Sn es This gus scrawny los look Tk thy are stugting spp is ge bel THIUUING OW TOP Most nes sta ose some hai ter 30s. Some te le hair rom the ont oes tat 1m gobald athe op of ead ee 3 ceo : back on can sl owLADIEC’ NIGHT Women wear many of the same clothes as men do, but they can aso wear dresses and sks in many diferent styles, Women are fun to draw because you have the freedom to accessorize—add some elegant jel, subtle makeup, prety hair ribbons, funky shoes, or fashionable handbags. Also remember that women’s lgs are drawn more realistically than men's are—use a simplified cinder that narrows atthe ankle WOMEN'E BODY CONSTRUCTION eLAMuNe ouT romans ie an be pent exgzrated when epasig tion an (famous wom’, fags are about tice 2 lang 2 hy sou. women FEATURES ‘hover and lim eck |Awomars waists uually VARYING HATE omens hit styles ean vary mae tan me's de. Ty sing your female sort cut locks. BATTING EVEC Long, cuted elses ean very ingen wom’ makep rite, a BD s GETTING OLDER More mare ‘omental have sor cose}KIDDING AROUND From cryabies and spoiled brats to bullies an sulky teens, kids offer an endless aray of fun personalities to draw. Fo younger kids, raw big heads, wide eyes, small bodies, and puday limbs—and keep everything simple and round. or teens, elongate the bodies and limbs bit, but keep the features round and youthful. You can also add dothing and accessories that indicate youthfulness ike ribbons and bows, toys, ice ‘ream canes, and more! Kids are more relaxed and uninibited in thir actions and expressions, so let go of your own inhibitions wen drawing them. [BABY FACE fabes dn tave very much at, at yaa have pian fread! Tee pps ‘ews very lage a wel and hel eyes ate )) ADDING EXTPAC Lie gis an tave onal, Piel, sd wares els ané bows a he ha Stes hl young age. Ty aig traces and afew issn eto mah Your characte lok younger. GROWING UP Ae sil ens, his bernie ign leer ana age The nec a0 exjorr sm Steer Sie jumpers, and equip: ( props cn ftps sted sal AWKWARD PHACE foe eon beeiee ideo games fe peat or hing ident a teenager BIGOER Ic BETTER ‘When sing rps w heh tas, aw em ger tan you mally woul. owing te prop keh ee ream cone bigger than he eid mata the i omGROW UP! ‘As adults et older—or long inthe tooth, as some say-—many physical changes take place Ther clothing and accessories change, as well— try giving your older character a pair of tick glasses a cane or walker, or some kiting needles. ‘em yon let, Props ike hese sat fo tecome igang imo the ody stuctre the slouhed posure hed ess alo blpsenphaie the age les, bal of yarn, 8 eck playing ea THE AGING PROCECC ANpDLE AE wines ah ei pe OLDER AGE As people continue ecome are ponies Ae spt the temples ané on he hans. lasses rhein ais become more common 3s eyesight and hearing Wein o 2526 FORGET ME NOT ‘When it comes tothe main characters of a cartoon, i's important to make them distinct, noticeable, and memorable, You can do this by exaggerating the features and by adding distinguishable clothing accessories, and hal tyes. Try drawing your character in sthouette—if you can tela lt about a character without any deta, you know you'te geting it ight! STANDING OUT WW A CROWD Use what youve lara abut ‘raaeaing features ad aden stint clobig ana aecezares fo tmnt your mln character sick st ease mb Ast maine Wt Yur character woul ao he in sibauee, and ‘not hi her mos cepa This ey pays guitar in 0 ‘pant coming Bae, bat You's ever guess by looking at is ets ‘oo eno an singe, hy doe us ay thing about is karate The ‘eaters ees wil ot move ‘onto ind someting Bete This ati pace wart ie sayin waste pote Meta pity eas and an nsualy spy het, ba ath of hese teat ar weakly down tat yoo may nat ten ice tem tet. Hie ostin fo sil, ae it Now our rocker ira tit the sage is phy heats crany monerale, ad his ‘and ope mouth make ioe catching! is ear are aed ose hit Wis Seve pase an is spike Tis in net dor cule tar oa to bean neretng aay, bt bers non sot er ace, ha sf, o¢ ehing hat woul make you Stop ake a second lok Wer siouet ants sahing more than 3 8, Wis conboys dul fetes Ino tthe ewer ‘Menon Hs at pale nd somatic, and hs face sape an smal fa fess ar tof, mang Wit anu face, rageated eyes (clog Tongass an rises ‘bron snd 9 ih thing nti gt wil wm 3 eclace and ening a 1a her eww appeal Now sis one ough comboy Hishatis evan alr ane hat more characte, an Hs nse od ee are age These leads about how tough he nd check out at ezy anditar mastche!OPPOSITES ATTRACT ‘There's no such thing asa one-man show in cartooning —al stores ned atleast two characters (or two sides to one character) to ceate conflict, which arises from dieing goals or clashing personalities And because you'etling a story with pictures, you should make these differences in your characters clear through their physical appearances and actions. Make sure that your audience never gets confused by characters that look too much alike! ‘he actions and expressions aa all say. The iets erawod brow a tt otis tate ape fs er aes NATURE CALLC Anater Persona ee aig» prods wih Jonette ty eicken bulying be mien larger ox. Te terences in thei xprsson leave mo quesion a fer hase er tin e FLYING HIGH Evon when your characters ha ilar interests or personalities, fect gcingin ny cone rn oe mrs ew pei TEAM PLAVERC ‘hen your sty ines ‘aver tye aks ke might atin a quel 8 Biche et ones ie teensy Sat gi inanoversied Fa28 ITC ALIVE! From grizly bears that dive cars and brush their teeth to sports cars that have a life of thet own, cartoonists have been giving human qualities to animes and objects—clled “anthropomorphisn*—since the fist cartoon was penned. To give human characteristics 10 non-human thing, fist imagine how the object or animal would look as a real person. Next identify the unique attributes ofthat animal or ‘objec, and imagine what the human would lok ike with those traits Then combine the two, and you'll havea living, breathing cartoon character PICK A HUMAN, ANY HUMAN Tocreste CHOOSE CHARACTEICTICC Decide wat 2 eavtown anal stat with an ea of vopuor Kin of animal yu het create ‘aan person "abi. len be ates at make compare PICKING POCEE Drawing your TUPUING THE TABLEC any CONTRUCTION animals in poss tat human would nial (such a insects ad jl ‘moshing eur anal te more kf theses 2 is fort share te basi man conse ‘toons hans frocole's upg stance wi i ‘ona all Rater angen aim ‘rr because many hang on is nperets a more ‘alist a humanthe nial ave the sme realistcaly aman characte fan appy human ehoracterstis trie conection a ina human setone—eoeh (kath eyeases ans), humane do 3 head tthe ving oath ‘oe ainal thers wit tw eet wih ain jot shy are wh nama. estan dog lok ‘e's ean ut on the roa or some ars {raving ad the at. and sngases vet ‘humane personaly uring mane ithe aces tthe owing Aang 4 cron as stows te tataOBJECT-TION! Inaninate objets cas, ees eases an iting uesls—ao make gat caton characters especialy fr sen adetsg (verses ove canoons because so wll When aninatng nist oes maine the cect 2 hur ge, a then fects on th parc tats othe beet a te hk ences andthe way they can ck sib magne the bs of tea ees Fo onthe Boy ges rand lg can bead late need BLAZING TRAILE fvenatame car becomes EXPREGE YOURCELF Inape ihe this planet, aie ig ete so ar conn the bai body 2 tents the ads estrng, bat et re wnece sary Hecase ths peels standing o ti. BRUCHING UP Hes Snaing you night see on Spartr inthe conta fice ‘The Boom of eta ed ep ei the CAPTOONG Many otectsateaty THIWK ABOUT IT this ainates Took ke pope sa here ae very piece of wod ot inae roma nesy ‘may ateratons naka For example for tat Tk of ber ams tat re the Reals a mst as lok ie asad wih your bjt an incorpo jes, and many ils ao ke mouths. Fae tom it yor dowing—the amr [est afd a nse and some ase ye Sn ais hre ae pop ts ep he ‘rows make your er come ‘arate read" a wood 29GET GRAPHIC "Now that we've spent much of this book talking about the construction and roundness of forms it's ime to brea all those rules! Graphic cartoon design (often refered to as flat” style) puts more emphasis on interesting shapes than on roundness and depth. Although this style fist emerged inthe 1950s i’ stil considered very modern. Infact, many of today’s popular animated cartoons are based on these design principles. This approach is often the total opposite of the way we've been working sofa; remember that one style i never “better” than the other—it's merely @ matter of preference and using the best style forthe specifi projet. PECULAP GUY ‘erapniic euy Tis guy is made wp of yu dnt conceuate lato vet spaced, somuch oa he udering ‘vraping Forms he he ferme—and insted fate S&S 7) As a = FWWDING THE FLOW whan dosing COMBINING UNEE tote poi’ chrc ok ne ak ‘ate ne seep rh de Se! rnd toh acer ‘emir or Sa nes bese tiene Caving he, wo 6 Opt coved ins creas dame har eet ates be ee Cechnpe sone ‘yma, soap I oks somewhat Nat PLAYING AROUND There ae 3 many varies gaahecanaon cnr: Ss You can erent, Experiment ‘eins se and havent 30FIND YOUR OWN STYLE Every cartoonist has his or her own style that sas personal and unique as a fingerprint ora snowflake. It’s @ good idea to expose yourself to many different styles of cartooning so you can see how many dtferent ways there ae to design character. The best thing todo is jst keep drawing ‘What you like—your style will develop naturally Alva remember that there is no “right” or "wrong" way to draw if it loks good, draw it EXPERIMENTING WITH STYLE To state the wide variety of sys there ato work wth, stat by daiog a ‘character of yur on choosing: then pray ha same character ina range of teen ses Think of Some popular haces drawn by your ovate canons ‘and tt ese your characters uring throng jes This Util hep You ome up with your oun inate se; and maybe someday someone wil use willl you get stare, GTAPTIVG POINT draw a earcter yur choice, he this pudgy guy, anda ome aisingishingacesstes, uch as spenders nd a at VERCION 2 thie chaactris yao 1950 magaing tote the at, raphe se! VERCION 1 Tae the same bse {arate a dap inant se, VERCION 2 ep charging the characte, ting same of our favre sls a9 ie Now bis character bas 9 more modes, "arave caro” design Theoret hae een elaced, but the Bat reales. VERSION 6 tees he same character ‘town in a poplar eatening se ae Z VERCION 7 What woud your ove VERCION 4 This serthy tins version version oft ctrarte ‘oS ost how mich ou ca push This example employs he "aber Took ike? Why not gab {ashoned animaton, wher cha. ‘peel aa some pager dv anatomy. O anitins owe 3About the Artist Sherm Cohen grew upin Los Angeles California, where he pent his childhood drawing cartoons inthe margins of his schoolwork. After study ing cartooning atthe Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Artin Dover, New Jersey, erm drew cartoons and other illustrations for Los Angeles Pierce College's weekly newspaper and for many national and local magazines. These experiences helped Sherm get his first ob inthe animation industry asa char- acter layout artist on The Rew & Stimpy Show”: Sherm went om to writ, direct, and draw storyboards for many television shows, including Hey Arnold” and SpongeBob SquarePants’, at Nickelodeon Animation Studios. He has also cre- ated storyboards for Warner Bros. Feature Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. Sherm's work reached the big screen when he served as the lea story board artist and character designer for Nickelodeon’s 2004 hit feature film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. In addition to writing and drawing comics and children’s books, Sherm has illustrated several comic stories that have appeared in Nickelodeon Magazine. In 2008 and 2008, Sherm created storyboards for Disney's Phineas and Ferb, and he is currently working on its new Sunday ‘morning cartoon, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil,