Read comic books that tell stories with the characters so you can see how they change with different emotions, angles, and actions. Find a cartoon artist whose style you like and look at their character designs to inspire your own work.
Your cartoon character’s personality should help guide the way they look. For example, if your character plays football and loves to tell jokes, then they would look different than a character that loves to read poetry and listen to classical music.
Cartoon characters are meant to be larger than life, with details and traits that are exaggerated and dramatic. For instance, if your character is bookish and shy, then maybe their eyes are sunken and are always looking down. Exaggerated details can illustrate your character’s traits without saying them out loud. For example, a broad chest and strong jaw can make your character seem strong and brave without having to explicitly state it.
Come up with a unique way of depicting eyes or hair for your character. Use features to define your character. For example, perhaps your character suffered an injury as a child when their parents were taken by the mafia and they have a distinctive scar on their face as a reminder. Details don’t always have to be significant to the character. You could include something about yourself, such as a favorite hat or shirt that you had as a kid in your animation.
Consider coloring the skin of your characters a distinctive color to accent their moods and temperaments. For instance, your character can turn slightly red when they’re angry, or they could have a pale shade of green skin when they’re feeling ill. You can also flip convention on its head by having an evil character with lots of bright pink, yellow, and other happy colors.
For example, a cartoon character that’s a detective might have a magnifying glass handy or wear a long khaki trenchcoat. Use the details to express the personality of your character. If you have an introverted character who loves music, maybe they’ve always got on a pair of headphones, or maybe they’re constantly checking themselves out in a pocket mirror if they’re super vain.
You may find that some features just don’t work as you’re drawing the cartoon character, and that’s okay! Having a reference can help keep you on track while you’re working away creating the character.
Use a notebook or sketch paper to sketch out your character.
Use defining features and items to highlight the personality of your character, such as reading glasses for a nerdy character or a sword for a warrior.
For example, if they’re a happy-go-lucky type of character, sketch them with a big smile on their face.
Erase any faint pencil markings from your sketch to make it feel more finished.
For example, watercolors might fit a whimsical, dreamy cartoon character, while color pencils would work better for a comic-strip type of character. Use colored pencils for an easy way to add color to your cartoon character.
Search online for free apps and websites you can use. A few popular options include Cartoonify, Animaker, and Toonytool. Programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, CorelDRAW, and others may require you to follow a tutorial in order to learn how to properly use them.
Some programs will have templates of heads, faces, eyes, arms, and other features that you can add to your character to complete it.
Many programs will allow you to customize your color options for the specific color that you want.
Choose a filter that adjusts the brightness, contrast, and color to create a color effect on your character to enhance its appearance.
Save your cartoon character by selecting the save option from the file menu so you can keep a copy of it stored on your computer or device. Share your cartoon character with your friends and family on social media or post it to your blog. Search for publishing companies that are accepting submissions if you want to submit your cartoon for publication.
