Cartooning: Character Design

HEAD OVER HEELS

Where’s the best place to begin? At the beginning, of course! And the beginning of the body is the head. Think of the head as a rounded mass that can take on many different shapes: A head can be shaped like a ball, an egg, a teardrop, a pear, a bean, or even a triangle. Practice drawing different head shapes in a variety of poses and angles; then determine which one best suits your cartoon character!

BUILDING ON FOUNDATIONS

The six generic head shapes are the foundation for the six character heads below. A ball shape becomes a cute bird, an egg shape produces a sweet old lady, an upside-down teardrop shape transforms into somebody’s grandpa, a pear shape morphs into a slobbery pooch, a bean shape creates a tough-guy Elvis impersonator, ...