do you need to beable to draw realism in order to be an cartoonist?
hope to hear from u soon Nicole
Full Version: Realism= cartoon
You need to be able to draw well. In some ways, what a cartoonist does is harder than drawing realism: you have to express your ideas with much less (fewer lines on the page, fewer colors, etc.)
Ernest is correct. If you look at a cartoon character like Charlie Brown, for example, you'll notice his head and body form is much simpler than a real person's and that is part of the charm.
Nicole,
I agree with what has been said already - especially when it comes to things like charicatures. You have to know what features to exaggerat.
Even in the most simple cartoons you need to be able to express the entire gamut of human emotions in a few simple lines and your subject, to make things harder, isn't always human. How do you make a spider look worried?
But the good thing about a cartoon is that is all out of your own head nd no-one can tell you that the eyes are wrong or the nose too big - the creation is yours! You just have to get it to convey what you want.
Sue
I agree with what has been said already - especially when it comes to things like charicatures. You have to know what features to exaggerat.
Even in the most simple cartoons you need to be able to express the entire gamut of human emotions in a few simple lines and your subject, to make things harder, isn't always human. How do you make a spider look worried?
But the good thing about a cartoon is that is all out of your own head nd no-one can tell you that the eyes are wrong or the nose too big - the creation is yours! You just have to get it to convey what you want.
Sue
i have heard that cartoon is harder then Realism i didnt know if it was true or not?
i love cartoon and i dont like realism am just starting out drawing and would someday become an good cartoonist i dont wanna go into it action/super hero comics though
well i better get starting to draw then!
i love cartoon and i dont like realism am just starting out drawing and would someday become an good cartoonist i dont wanna go into it action/super hero comics though
well i better get starting to draw then!
In my opinion it depends on the artist .. myself I would say that realism would be easier ..its what I do ...but then again brian is very good at cartoons so he may have a different opinion 
I think whats most important in cartooning is developing a unique character one that has expression and just makes you smile ...good luck with it .. I am sure you will do fine . Keep us posted .
I think whats most important in cartooning is developing a unique character one that has expression and just makes you smile ...good luck with it .. I am sure you will do fine . Keep us posted .
Kim that was sweet of you to say... 
U.K this is an interesting topic.....My thoughts on this ....Out of respect for all Cartoonists I believe yes we first must learn the basics of drawing and figure drawing...and as Ernest mentions you must be creative and express your ideas....Cartoons are mostly made up of solid lines where as in realism the lines of a human for example can be almost non existent.....as Trying mentioned Charlie Brown is a simple character... but hey...his head is round and is not a perfect circle...for some that may be difficult to draw...I strictly rely on positive and negative space when I am drawing classics and constant eye contact with the reference...that is why it may be hard for some to learn by watching an artist... you never know what he or she is thinking when they are drawing....creating is another storey...and as Bigs said drawing a character with several expressions can be difficult for some...it still is for me .
I strive to be diverse...Realism and people are my weak points so I need to practise more....where Kim is such a natural at realism....great at cartoons and is very diverse. I think it is a matter of what may be hard for some may be easy for others and go with what you enjoy the most or what ever your niche may be.
My final answer to your question would be yes...I beleive drawing realism can greatly improve our skills as a cartoonist
Best of luck, Brian.
U.K this is an interesting topic.....My thoughts on this ....Out of respect for all Cartoonists I believe yes we first must learn the basics of drawing and figure drawing...and as Ernest mentions you must be creative and express your ideas....Cartoons are mostly made up of solid lines where as in realism the lines of a human for example can be almost non existent.....as Trying mentioned Charlie Brown is a simple character... but hey...his head is round and is not a perfect circle...for some that may be difficult to draw...I strictly rely on positive and negative space when I am drawing classics and constant eye contact with the reference...that is why it may be hard for some to learn by watching an artist... you never know what he or she is thinking when they are drawing....creating is another storey...and as Bigs said drawing a character with several expressions can be difficult for some...it still is for me .
I strive to be diverse...Realism and people are my weak points so I need to practise more....where Kim is such a natural at realism....great at cartoons and is very diverse. I think it is a matter of what may be hard for some may be easy for others and go with what you enjoy the most or what ever your niche may be.
My final answer to your question would be yes...I beleive drawing realism can greatly improve our skills as a cartoonist
Best of luck, Brian.
ok, my turn. I learned cartooning first and I'm just now trying to do realism. Do you have to do realism? No. Does it help? Heck yes! Even a charmingly misshapen Charlie Brown still utilizes basic and exaggerated anatomy and proportion. A good knowledge of lighting is definitely recommended if you intend to color. Cartooning isn't about breaking the rules, it's about bending them until they can't take it.
Also, to those who have trouble cartooning emotions, it's all in the eyes, the mouth, and body language. I've got a few examples at my webspace on deviantart.
Also, to those who have trouble cartooning emotions, it's all in the eyes, the mouth, and body language. I've got a few examples at my webspace on deviantart.
Minion----Very well put!!! I to started out cartooning and am learning realism. It is helping me deveiop my drawing skills all together. But you can really see the vast improvement in my cartoons.
Obviously everyone has their own style. Weither that be cartooning, realism, portraits, caricture or whatever. The main thing is this. ANy form of art can be taught. It is the level of enthusiasim you put in and the amount of passion you bring forth, that will seperate you from everyone else, once you have mastered the basic skills needed to render what you imagine and see. I guess what I am saying is, practice. Take yourself out of your comfort zone here and there. Practice some more. ANd with a little patiance, you will find that perfect style or niche. No one style is more difficult than the other. It is just a matter of perspective and confidance.
Obviously everyone has their own style. Weither that be cartooning, realism, portraits, caricture or whatever. The main thing is this. ANy form of art can be taught. It is the level of enthusiasim you put in and the amount of passion you bring forth, that will seperate you from everyone else, once you have mastered the basic skills needed to render what you imagine and see. I guess what I am saying is, practice. Take yourself out of your comfort zone here and there. Practice some more. ANd with a little patiance, you will find that perfect style or niche. No one style is more difficult than the other. It is just a matter of perspective and confidance.
That's right on, thunderbird. Just experiment, plug away until you find something for you. Art has so many mediums, styles, formats, etc... that there is no shortage of possibilties.
Well my dad says that if you send your portfolio to Disny, that they want realism. That they know that if you know the body and how to draw it well enough then you can stretch it and make a cartoon. So it helps but you can still be a very good cartoonist without hatching and shading lessons.
wow guys thanks for your help
you all have been helpful my passion is cartoon i have some very good news i will put it into an new tread
you all have been helpful my passion is cartoon i have some very good news i will put it into an new tread
i found this on the net and heres some info about the guy that wrote it
Learn how to draw and improve your skill in no time with the help of an online coach. Whether you're an art teacher, art student, or just a hobbyist artist you will find the step by step education that will give you the ability to bring those images in your mind into paper reality.
I spend a lot of time looking at and evaluating art as the creative director of a computer game company. I also spend a lot of time sketching so that I can communicate my artistic ideas to the talented people I work with. This is a subject I've known and loved since I was a child and I'm fortunate enough to have even made a career out of my art ability.
Being able to sketch with confidence is a truly great feeling, but sometimes it can be really tough, especially when you are just starting to learn how to draw! Maybe you have said this yourself in the past, but whenever I hear someone say that they 'can't,' or that they 'suck' - it's like fingernails on a chalkboard! It simply isn't true! Like anything else in life - you're not going to be great the first time give it a try, but with a little practice you will really begin to amaze yourself.
Don't let me scare you though! Learning how to draw won't be nearly as hard as you may think it is, and I'll be here to help make your transition from stick-man artist into a modern day Leonardo da Vinci as painless as possible.
Thank for all of your help i will work on the basics and build it up
Cartoon people is a great place to start if you are an aspiring artist who hasn't really spent a lot of time working on your ability to draw. Whether you are 5, 50, or 105, you can easily start drawing with cartoons because most drawings are quite simple.
In the past, you may have found that you have been afraid to make the attempt to draw anything because drawing is taken so seriously by a great portion of the art world. However, Charles Schultz didn't become famous from some masterpiece hanging in the Louvre in Paris. His drawings were all human (with the exception of a particular cartoon dog we are all familiar with). As you can see from his and other cartoon artists' fame, drawing cartoons is a perfectly respectable way to break into art.
There are several great aspects of drawing cartoon people that make it so exciting, especially if you've doubted your talent up until now. First of all, you can throw all manner of realism out the window and really get creative. Give your cartoon boy crazy hair or dress your cartoon woman in wacky attire. Let your creativity run free.
In addition, drawing cartoon people can be achieved in just a few steps. Drawing cartoons of any kind requires nothing more than a knowledge of basic shapes and the ability to visualize turning those shapes into body parts, hair, and clothing.
On top of all of these benefits, drawing cartoon people can lead you to greater talent and ability. Should you decide to move on to realism, such as portraits and other forms of drawing, having developed a method of drawing cartoon people will help you better visualize true lines, curves, and angles of the human body. Drawings like this can also open doors to other cartoon drawing styles and types.
Once you've mastered the art of drawing cartoon people, you can easily create your own characters, your own world, and even your own comic strip. Follow up with lessons on other cartoon drawings and build a comic strip worthy of publication.
Drawing cartoon people has never been easier than with these guides to creating personalities in just a few short steps. Pick up a pencil and paper and see for yourself just how easy it is and how successful you can be in creating your own cartoon images. Before you know it, you'll have drawings all over the house!
Learn how to draw and improve your skill in no time with the help of an online coach. Whether you're an art teacher, art student, or just a hobbyist artist you will find the step by step education that will give you the ability to bring those images in your mind into paper reality.
I spend a lot of time looking at and evaluating art as the creative director of a computer game company. I also spend a lot of time sketching so that I can communicate my artistic ideas to the talented people I work with. This is a subject I've known and loved since I was a child and I'm fortunate enough to have even made a career out of my art ability.
Being able to sketch with confidence is a truly great feeling, but sometimes it can be really tough, especially when you are just starting to learn how to draw! Maybe you have said this yourself in the past, but whenever I hear someone say that they 'can't,' or that they 'suck' - it's like fingernails on a chalkboard! It simply isn't true! Like anything else in life - you're not going to be great the first time give it a try, but with a little practice you will really begin to amaze yourself.
Don't let me scare you though! Learning how to draw won't be nearly as hard as you may think it is, and I'll be here to help make your transition from stick-man artist into a modern day Leonardo da Vinci as painless as possible.
Thank for all of your help i will work on the basics and build it up
Cartoon people is a great place to start if you are an aspiring artist who hasn't really spent a lot of time working on your ability to draw. Whether you are 5, 50, or 105, you can easily start drawing with cartoons because most drawings are quite simple.
In the past, you may have found that you have been afraid to make the attempt to draw anything because drawing is taken so seriously by a great portion of the art world. However, Charles Schultz didn't become famous from some masterpiece hanging in the Louvre in Paris. His drawings were all human (with the exception of a particular cartoon dog we are all familiar with). As you can see from his and other cartoon artists' fame, drawing cartoons is a perfectly respectable way to break into art.
There are several great aspects of drawing cartoon people that make it so exciting, especially if you've doubted your talent up until now. First of all, you can throw all manner of realism out the window and really get creative. Give your cartoon boy crazy hair or dress your cartoon woman in wacky attire. Let your creativity run free.
In addition, drawing cartoon people can be achieved in just a few steps. Drawing cartoons of any kind requires nothing more than a knowledge of basic shapes and the ability to visualize turning those shapes into body parts, hair, and clothing.
On top of all of these benefits, drawing cartoon people can lead you to greater talent and ability. Should you decide to move on to realism, such as portraits and other forms of drawing, having developed a method of drawing cartoon people will help you better visualize true lines, curves, and angles of the human body. Drawings like this can also open doors to other cartoon drawing styles and types.
Once you've mastered the art of drawing cartoon people, you can easily create your own characters, your own world, and even your own comic strip. Follow up with lessons on other cartoon drawings and build a comic strip worthy of publication.
Drawing cartoon people has never been easier than with these guides to creating personalities in just a few short steps. Pick up a pencil and paper and see for yourself just how easy it is and how successful you can be in creating your own cartoon images. Before you know it, you'll have drawings all over the house!
thank you for your posts and i agree with you all i have an long way to go i dont think i will get there! lol
I think the need to draw "realistically" varies quite a bit based on the cartoon. I agree that even if you want to draw Charlie Brown, you need to understand how to draw a human face. But a strip like Peanuts has very little realism; the characters don't really look like people.
You always need good drawing skills and consistency to draw cartoons, I'll agree with that.
But if you want to draw Peanuts, you need one set of skills, and if you want to draw, say, the Green Lantern style of comics, with a lot of panoramic 3D backgrounds and characters who look like real people instead of very abstract figures, then you need a lot more ability to draw realistically.
I say this because it's exactly what I struggle with. I can draw faces of cartoon characters (even "realistic" ones) pretty well. Hands are harder...much harder. Figures in action are harder still. And a 3D street scene? I'm nowhere near being able to do that unless I put painstaking hours of work into it.
But I can draw Charlie Brown and Linus talking at the wall like nobody's business.
You always need good drawing skills and consistency to draw cartoons, I'll agree with that.
But if you want to draw Peanuts, you need one set of skills, and if you want to draw, say, the Green Lantern style of comics, with a lot of panoramic 3D backgrounds and characters who look like real people instead of very abstract figures, then you need a lot more ability to draw realistically.
I say this because it's exactly what I struggle with. I can draw faces of cartoon characters (even "realistic" ones) pretty well. Hands are harder...much harder. Figures in action are harder still. And a 3D street scene? I'm nowhere near being able to do that unless I put painstaking hours of work into it.
But I can draw Charlie Brown and Linus talking at the wall like nobody's business.
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