Modern Cartooning: Essential Techniques for Drawing Today's Popular Cartoons

CHRISTOPHER HART is the world’s bestselling author of drawing and cartooning books. His books have sold more than 7.4 million English-language copies and have been translated into 20 languages. Renowned for up-to-the-minute content and easy-to-follow steps, all of Hart’s books have become staples for a new generation of aspiring artists and professionals, and they have been selected by the American Library Association for special notice.

“First, let’s examine the various theories of cartooning from a contextual standpoint. Oh, what the heck, let’s just start drawing!
You may be wondering if it’s possible to create cartoons with personality by beginning at a basic level. You foolish, foolish mortal. You’re only half right. The faces you’re going to begin with are easy to draw, but they’re also pro-level character designs that are highly entertaining and stuffed with personality. You can achieve these results by using a few simple head shapes and filling them with simplified facial features. But there’s more to it than that: The initial construction of the head shape (in this case, a circle) should remain conspicuous even in the final character design. This technique causes the head shape to appear as an obvious feature of your cartoon character. The basic head construction does not just serve as a guideline for the finished drawing; it becomes a caricature of a “regular” head. “