how to draw cartoon bodies course

by Horace Dicki 7 min read

What do you need to know about cartoons?

If you draw any kind of character in a cartoon style, you need to understand the main differences in muscles and bones among different cartoon categories , such as cats, birds and humans. This knowledge is necessary and it will guide us in relation to the character's joints, such as elbows and knees.

What are the fundamentals of cartooning?

Cartoon Fundamentals: The Secrets in Drawing Animals. Cartoon Fundamentals: How to Create Movement and Action. The pleasure of creating a cartoon character is immeasurable. The act of building and developing a character is not just linked to the construction of the figure: each character has its own shape, personality and attributes.

What is the most important factor to consider when building a cartoon character?

Proportions . Proportion is the most important factor to consider in building a cartoon character. The artist should keep in mind the relative size of body parts, because it's based on them we'll define the structural features of our characters.

How to tell a story with sketches?

To summarize: Measure the proportions of your character with rounded shapes; Wrap the body using the famous rule of pear; Trace the lines that serve as guides of the main points of character's joints (skeleton);

What is the hand in cartoons?

Hands are an extensive and complex a subject (even in cartoon) and deserves a tutorial dedicated solely to them. Briefly, there is no mystery to the cartoon design process. 95% of artists build the characters and their moves through specific blocks, because it simply makes the process a lot easier! 2. Proportions.

Why draw based on templates?

The reason for drawing based on templates is to create an immediate identification in the human brain. Especially in children - where everything should be simplified to be understood. Drawing the body in the format of a pear, helps maintain a dynamic look and adds an overall interest in our character! 4.

Why do cartoonists use pear shapes?

Actually, this is a common technique among cartoon studios, since several different artists work on the same character and must maintain the correct proportions of each one.

What do you need to know about cartoons?

If you draw any kind of character in a cartoon style, you need to understand the main differences in muscles and bones among different cartoon categories, such as cats, birds, and humans. This knowledge is necessary and it will guide us in relation to the character’s joints, such as elbows and knees. Share.

What are the different styles of characters in cartoons?

In the cartoon, there are several different styles of characters, such as “ goofy ” and “bully.”.

What is a demure character?

In contrast, a demure character is based on the proportions of a baby with a large head in comparison to the body.

How to tell a story with sketches?

To summarize: Measure the proportions of your character with rounded shapes; Wrap the body using the famous rule of pear; Trace the lines that serve as guides of the main points of character’s joints (skeleton);

Why is it important to keep in mind when making a cartoon?

When it comes to a cartoon, it is important to keep in mind that we should be able to tell a story with each scene that we create. This does not happen often when it comes to photos or realistic drawings. Simply because human beings have a great facility to hide their real intentions. In the cartoon it’s different.

What is the purpose of oval shapes in animation?

Animated studios have the famous practice of using oval shapes to measure the height of a character. For example, A child usually has a head larger than the rest of the body measurements. But the adult has different proportions, which varies according to gender and physique of each character. Share.

Why draw based on templates?

The reason for drawing based on templates is to create immediate identification in the human brain. Especially in children – where everything should be simplified to be understood. Drawing the body in the format of a pear helps maintain a dynamic look and adds an overall interest in our character! Share.

What are some cartoon body shapes?

When it comes to cartoon body shapes, anything goes. Start with basic shapes: Squares, Circles, Triangles. Pull them, push them, make them interesting: Stick heads arms and legs off of them, and you've got a cartoon body. It's really dead simple.

Is there a body formula for Disney?

The final result can vary greatly depending on your needs. Male bodies that are in this more Disney type look, differ far more. so there isn't just one body formula that you can adjust from.

Can you use modified bean shape in cartoons?

But it can also be use to supplement a modified Bean shape to add more naturalism to an exaggerated cartoon shape: When drawing either The Bean or The Bullet from the side view, don't forget to make sure to the natural rhythms for the body to get a naturalistic convincing look to your characters.

What is the course on drawing cartoons?

This course unveils the secrets of drawing cartoons quickly and easily. It will take you through the basics of drawing a cartoon character and an animal character. You will learn about the different styles of drawing body parts like eyes, torso, hair, and limbs. The course also covers an extra lesson on using Photoshop CS6. By the end of the course, you will be able to develop your style.

How old do you have to be to take cartoon classes?

Anyone above 10 years of age can pursue these courses. Foundations of Cartooning, is a prerequisite course for all courses offered by The Cartoonist Academy. The classes for this course are conducted on Saturdays and span an hour. You will be introduced to drawing techniques, art material, and the history of cartoons.

What are the courses on Udemy?

While some of these courses teach you how to draw cartoons from A-Z, others delve deeper into specialized areas like cartoon sketches, Chibi characters, deep sea toons, emotions and expressions, and comic style cartoons. Most of these courses are suitable for beginners and help animators, illustrators, film-makers, coders, and game designers expand their skill set. Their courses also include a chapter or two on using professional software like Photoshop.

How to draw a caricature mouth?

When starting to draw your subject’s mouth, notice how far the mouth is from the person’s nose. The mouth of your caricature should start with the person’s lips. The lips should be plump, thin, or straight, and their shape will help you determine how you want to exaggerate them. For the teeth, if the person has very straight teeth, make sure that you over-exaggerate the straightness. If they have big teeth, on the other hand, give them buck teeth or a noticeable overbite.

What is a caricature?

A caricature is supposed to look realistic and humorous at the same time. Play around with creating caricatures in random places. For instance, when you are walking down the street or in line at the grocery store, attempt to see people as their caricatures.

What is a caricaturist's job?

A caricaturist is supposed to have good and keen perception to be able to look at a subject and know what parts of them should be exaggerated. Look for 2 or 3 features that you can use to deviate from their normal size or proportion. Keep in mind that your deviates can be done with size, shape, or both.

How important is pencil quality in caricature?

The line quality of caricature drawings is very important. Make sure you have your lines vary as much as possible in your picture. Flat lines are going to be boring, so make sure that your lines are thicker and harder in certain places.

Why do you use soft lines in drawing?

Softer lines should be applied to places in the drawing where there is detail, such as on wrinkles or other delicate facial features or structures. Additionally, it can help to vary the thickness of the individual lines on your drawing and to keep them smooth and confident.

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How to Start

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When creating characters, I recommend the use of rough sketches before hand. This will provide you with the perfect direction of style and nature of your character. That being said, the steps that we follow today are quiet simple. First, draw the basic shape of the figure and then go adding features and other details of the bod…
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Proportions

  • Proportion is the most important factor to consider in building a cartoon character. The artist should keep in mind the relative size of body parts, because it's based on them we'll define the structural features of our characters. For example, the bully guy has a combative nature, therefore has a small head but his chest is prominent! His arms and legs are strong and well defined, as w…
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The Body Is A Pear!

  • It's common practice among designers to usepear shapes- or similar objects - to build the body format, because of the association that generates inside everybody's head. Actually, this is a common technique among cartoon studios, since several different artists work on the same character and must maintain the correct proportions of each one. The above examples demonst…
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Addition of The Skeleton

  • Now that we know how to define the forms, we need to define a simple skeleton structure. If you draw any kind of character in a cartoon style, you need to understand the main differences in muscles and bones among different cartoon categories, such as cats, birds and humans. This knowledge is necessary and it will guide us in relation to the character's joints, such as elbows a…
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Inverting The Pear

  • Does the "rule of pear" work for all cartoon characters that we'll create from now on? Not always. If we reverse that shape, we'll create a sense of strength and power in our character! Notice the examples below. Another interesting analogy would be to base the characters in objects that resemble a specific physical type, like the example below:
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The Goofy Character

  • The "goofy character" is one who walks on two legs (even the animals) and looks silly, clumsy and, generally, lazy. This kind of character is often represented as a coward. They are generally more interested in staying out of trouble than anything else. It can also be represented as a nerd or as a frustrated guy. There is a template to be followed in such cartoon characters - although not a de…
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Apply Our Knowledge: Create A Heroic Character

  • We will now build together the body of a character based on the knowledge we have acquired. Let's get started!
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Great Work, You're Now Done!

  • Well, that's it! Here were presented the processes in draw bodies in a cartoon style. More than that, we also learned how the circular and oval shapes work together to form the body of the characters. We also learned the differences that make up the heroic/strong/bully type and the helpless/fragile type, and how to apply the technique of the pear to achieve these results. Finally…
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