Brian Fairrington Nationally syndicated cartoonist Learn to: • Master the basic building blocks of cartoons and comics • Bring life to your characters • Practice lettering and coloring • Market your work Drawing Cartoons & Comics Making Everything Easier! ™ Open the book and find: • An overview of the different cartooning genres • Drawing techniques, such as shading and crosshatching • An exploration of body, gender, species, and character types • Tips for developing a cast of characters • The lowdown on drawing editorial cartoons • How to add color to your creations • Ten steps to a finished comic strip • Hints on breaking into the business Brian Fairrington is a nationally syndicated cartoonist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, and Time magazine, as well as on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Fairrington has won many awards, including the Charles M. Schulz award for college cartooning and the John Locher Memorial Award, given annually by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC). $19.99 US / $23.99 CN / £14.99 UK ISBN 978-0-470-42683-8 Art/Drawing/Cartoons Go to Dummies.com ® for videos, step-by-step photos, how-to articles, or to shop the store! Your real-world guide to creating and marketing original cartoons Do you love comics? Want to become a cartoonist? This practical, hands-on guide is packed with step-by-step instructions and plenty of tips for creating your own cartoons. From inanimate objects to animals to aliens, you can see how to breathe life into your characters and make your cartoons stand out. Plus, you discover how to • Master the basic building blocks — set up your workspace; start creating with pencil, ink, and pens; and fix mistakes • Get the creative juices flowing — find inspiration and formulate your cartoon idea, gag, or concept, and make it work • Create your characters — from their heads to their toes, give your characters personality and presence • Assemble your comic strip — create an effective background, plan your layout, letter your cartoons, create drama, and more • Fine-tune your work — discover the tools and techniques for digitally formatting your comics Drawing Cartoons & Comics Fairrington spine=.72” [...]... xii Drawing Cartoons & Comics For Dummies Building the Body: Drawing the Standard Character Type 109 Starting with circles 110 Moving circles for different looks 114 Drafting Arms and Hands 119 Drawing arms 120 Lending a hand with fingers 121 A Leg to Stand on: Drawing Legs and Feet 122 Starting on the right foot 123 Spacing the legs and. .. bulleted and numbered lists ✓ The Internet is a wealth of information on everything from the history of cartooning to great sites to buy expensive supplies for less Web sites appear in monofont to help them stand out 2 Drawing Cartoons & Comics For Dummies What You’re Not to Read In today’s busy world you may be juggling a full-time job, your better half, kids and pets, friends and family, and a wide... to newspapers Comic strips appeared on the scene long before other forms of entertainment media — like radio, movies, and TV — became popular Chapter 1: The Skinny on Cartoons and Comics Expressing a viewpoint: Editorial cartoons Editorial cartoons are a popular and sometimes very controversial form of cartooning Editorial cartoons are simply cartoons written to express a political or social viewpoint... Gag cartoons tend to be more generic and better suited for these markets One of the most well-known gag cartoons, The Far Side, set the bar high for the genre, and the next-generation successor to Far Side creator Gary Larson has yet to surface, so get busy, before someone else beats you to it! 9 10 Part I: Drawing Inspiration: Getting Started with Cartoons and Comics The comic strip’s close cousin:... character! And because cartooning is more than just drawing, I also give step-by-step instructions on how to come up with ideas and color your cartoons Conventions Used in This Book Every For Dummies book has certain conventions to make it easier for you to get the information you need Here are some of the conventions I use in this book: ✓ Whenever I introduce a new technical term, I italicize it and then... understand the different cartoon genres and choose the genre that best suits your interests If you’re a beginning cartoonist and need some drawing pointers, jump into Chapter 4 and start with the drawing basics If you’re already drawing but want to improve your characters, check out Chapters 6 and 7 Part I Drawing Inspiration: Getting Started with Cartoons and Comics A In this part re you a budding... Inspiration: Getting Started with Cartoons and Comics 5 Chapter 1: The Skinny on Cartoons and Comics .7 Understanding the Different Genres 8 Following familiar characters: Comic strips 8 Expressing a viewpoint: Editorial cartoons 9 Delivering the punch line: Gag cartoons 9 Getting Started with Drawing 10 Drawing a basic character’s head 11... editorial cartoons the same way they used comic strips — to attract readers Editorial cartoonists in the early part of the 20th century were the media celebrities of their day Their cartoons preceded TV by several decades and were a source of information and entertainment for readers Editorial cartoons of that era were very influential, even influencing political elections and reforms From Thomas Nast and. .. journalism, and in the past few years, newspapers have had massive layoffs and cutbacks But like comic strips, editorial cartoons are thriving on the Internet, and unlike their print counterparts, the Web versions are done in full color, and some are even animated Check out Chapter 11 for more info on editorial cartoons Delivering the punch line: Gag cartoons Gag cartoons are another popular category Gag cartoons. .. you an overview of cartooning and the different cartooning genres that I cover in this book, I show you how to master the drawing basics, and I discuss how cartoons are marketed and how those markets are evolving If you’ve always wanted to be a cartoonist, this chapter gives you the skinny 8 Part I: Drawing Inspiration: Getting Started with Cartoons and Comics Understanding the Different Genres To . 97 8-0 -4 7 0-4 268 3-8 Art /Drawing/ Cartoons Go to Dummies. com ® for videos, step-by-step photos, how-to articles, or to shop the store! Your real-world guide to creating and marketing original cartoons. Brian Fairrington Drawing Cartoons & Comics FOR DUMmIES ‰ Drawing Cartoons & Comics For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 0703 0-5 774 www.wiley.com Copyright. layout, letter your cartoons, create drama, and more • Fine-tune your work — discover the tools and techniques for digitally formatting your comics Drawing Cartoons & Comics Fairrington spine=.72”