Board Thread:Off-Topic Discussion/@comment-24609882-20140318064016/@comment-5051846-20140504092112

Misteryeevee wrote: I can't find my sketchbook..... ;A;  Just when I feel like drawing ;_;

Can anyone draw cartoon styled? Because that's what I want to try doing. Any tips? By 'Can anyone draw cartoon styled' do you mean: 'Is it only suitable for certain art jobs?', or 'Do I need some special talent to draw cartoon styled?'

The latter of course isn't true. :D But your own cartoon style does take a while to develop.However, you don't necessarily need to do anything specific to develop a style, it will just emerge naturally over time even if you don't think about it especially – by experimenting and messing with different aspects or just doodling without thinking you'll eventually find something that is a culmination of all the styles you like and that you feel comfortable drawing.

I think the best tip I've been told for drawing in a cartoon style is to often start from the base of real life. Looking at a photo and trying to exaggerate it into a cartoon style is one of the best exercises you can do, although a challenge. All the aspects of a cartoon style were inspired in some way by real life. By looking at reality it helps you to understand where a cartoon style came from (e.g 'how did they look at the eye and get this particular shape?' Or 'why are the legs curved in this way?') and thus reveal how it works, and enable you to draw something that looks real even when the proportions are exaggerated. You may have heard this before, but I can't stress how important it is to be familiar with realistic anatomy when creating a cartoon style. It's all about suspension of disbelief; the key word to remember in making a cartoon style is 'exaggeration' rather than 'change'.

You can change the body in any way you want, so long as you're exaggerating something – that way it has its basis in real life and it won't look alien in any way. Unless you want to draw an alien, that is. c;

It also allows you to take inspiration and choose which parts of the body to exaggerate or change yourself, and thus develop a style that looks unique. If you're ever struggling to make something look your own, go back to reality and look for inspiration there. Some details some cartoonists choose to lose which you might want to keep, or you may interpret a body part in a different way.

Not that taking inspiration from other artist's cartoon styles isn't good too. If you have a favourite cartoon artist whose style you particulally love, try to work out what aspects of it make you like it. You can adapt these into your own work; often you'll do this without even realising it.

Hm...Oh, on final note: The base of a lot of cartoon styles is dynamism and motion. If you feel clunky drawing cartoons, or it becomes awkward and slow, try doing a load of spead sketches where you only give yourself 10 seconds to draw a person or animal. Quick fast strokes sometimes produce the best exaggeration and give you the sense of movement you were looking for. Cartoons were originally designed to be quicker to draw, so speed can sometimes be a helpful tool.