People have been drawing cartoons for quite some time now. This style has evolved over time and is now more than a humorous depiction of someone. It’s very popular among children and an interesting...
People have been drawing cartoons for quite some time now. This style has evolved over time and is now more than a humorous depiction of someone. It’s very popular among children and an interesting way of showing an image of yourself to others. It has a colorful nature and a different way of interpreting things from reality.
Products aimed at younger audiences require designs that are specifically thought out for them. It’s no surprise that toys, posters for children’s films or TV series, and other products like these resort to a more cartoony style since it resonates very well with such an audience. Grab their attention, and you’ll also catch their parents’ interest.
Cartoons are not only for children. Their variety nowadays is vast and covers audiences of all ages. This style is so popular that many people love to use avatars depicting themselves in a cartoony fashion, which is a creative and fun way of introducing yourself to others. Don’t be afraid to use this style on social media.
Many children’s films started as illustrated books. It’s well known that illustrations and drawings attract kids’ attention due to how colorful they look. Thus, it’s a good idea to use cartoony designs in such books so that children can imagine what they’re reading, allowing them to be the story's protagonists.
Traditionally, the term cartoon has been associated with sketches or drawings used as a pattern in some forms of graphic art. Still, you’ll be most familiar with its later incarnation, a series of satirical and humorous drawings or illustrations. Sometimes, it’s also used to describe the graphic style in certain comic books, animated TV series, or movies.
There are some factors to take into account. A good character design helps viewers understand your character at a glance. If you want to focus on animation, opting for simplicity is important since animators need to render characters multiple times. In its more traditional sense, since it's intended for satirical or comical purposes, designers tend to focus on exaggerating certain features of the person (or animal) they want to depict.
Let’s try this. First, draw two oval shapes: one for the head and one below for the jaw. Then, draw some guidelines for the face and ears, which will be done later. Then, do the same with some features of the face, such as the neck, the nose, the lips, and the eyes. Try to draw everything separately to implement each element correctly on the face. These guidelines will help you determine the basic proportion of each facial feature. Now, refine the features according to these proportions. Suppose it’s for satirical or comical purposes. In that case, the cartoon style usually tends to exaggerate some character features, but there should also be an adequate balance between the height and the size of the eyes and the shape of the lips, for example. Additionally, you can find thousands of templates on Freepik, which can act as a starting point to create your own style in your favorite graphics software.
Discover the principles of design and how to use them in your graphic design projects in the best way.
A cartoon is a type of drawing that can be used for animation or any other application and whose construction is based on the exaggeration of characteristic features.
Discover what is a color scheme, types, and the importance of using color schemes in art and design.
