Cool Characters: Elephant Rabbit-Eating Hunter

So the kids in this class randomly created a series of characters that we randomly decided would be in a forest setting (to influence the nature of their character, outfits, etc). This was our first one: The Elephant Rabbit-Eater, whom I turned into a hunter for illustrative purposes.

This lesson stresses simple shapes- building from big to small shapes (main body shapes to the details), creating an environment with foreground, background, and middle-ground elements, and creating depth with overlapping shapes. Have fun!

Cool Characters: Building your Character

Here's an example/ lesson page using characters from the cartoon series "Dexter's Laboratory." This lesson explains how to build a humanoid character with basic shapes, adding on to the following notes of drawing from observation. By using the simplest shapes, it's much more easy to draw your character again and again (or to be consistent with your drawings). Remember to always build larger shapes to smaller shapes, saving your details for last!

Here are various examples of different shapes that can be used in facial features: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair. The possibilities are really endless, so have fun coming up with all kinds of different shapes!

Lastly, here's a tutorial on basic facial structure. Using examples from real life, you can see how there can be all kinds of different face shapes! We've also used marking lines to help with the placement of facial features so things don't get all wonky. Try looking in a mirror at your own face to do a caricature of your own face and make yourself into a character!

Animal Drawing: How to Draw a Cheetah

Remember to keep shapes sharp and more triangular when you're building your cheetah- they are predators after all and are more dangerous than a house cat (for sure!). Sharper shapes give the impression of danger vs. round shapes for something more cuddlier. If you teak the main shapes of your cheetah- bulking out the body, arms and legs as opposed to making them long and lean- you can create any other of the big cats including lions, leopards, tigers, and cougars. All cats will have a long, curvy line of action (or spine line)- this gives them a slinky feline sensibility.

Animal Drawing: How to Draw a Giant Anteater

And here's a reference page of real anteaters to show you different poses, environments they can live in, and different coloring options. Have fun!