Cartooning: The Only Cartooning Book You'll Ever Need To Be The Artist You've Always Wanted To Be

by Art Roche

Any child who can make a stick figure can learn to create funny cartoons--and this enjoyably illustrated guide tells them exactly how. Written by professional cartoonist Art Roche, it gives kids lots of hands-on opportunities to turn their creative ideas into delightfully drawn reality. The emphasis is on doing original illustrations and developing a personal vision, rather than tracing or copying someone else's style; after all, cartooning is a free and fun form, so there's no "wrong" way to draw one. Roche also includes plenty of information that other children's how-to books overlook, including advice on writing jokes, composing panels, and getting published. In short, it addresses every step of the process, from buying a pencil to seeing the cartoons in print.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Childrens

112 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Art is a cartoonist and content director at Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. He enjoys a lifelong interest in cartooning, writing and daydreaming.

Before his work at the Charles Schulz studio, Art worked in game development as the founding creative director for National Geographic’s virtual world, Animal Jam. Prior to that Art was a part of Cartoon Network’s new media team, where he created the popular animated shorts series, Nacho Bear.

Art’s book, Art for Kids: Comic Strips, currently ranks #1 on Amazon’s best sellers list for children’s cartooning books.

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to learn the basics of illustration, so I figured a kids' book would be a great way to get a simple explanation of the essentials. This is a fun book, and it explained some things, but it seems like it left a lot to "here's what it looks like--now go practice." Obviously, I'm not going to get better at drawing just from reading a book--I have to actually start drawing. I get that. But I would have liked a little more explanation. For example, when you want to draw a person's head facing different ways, how do you do it? The book really doesn't say, just shows some pictures, drawn by someone who already knows how. Maybe this stuff just can't be explained?

In reality, this book probably deserves 4 stars--if I had done any of the stuff he said, I'd probably be excited about it. As it is, it didn't help me much, but it was fun to read.

[Rachael]

More good ideas, but quite similar to the other book. It's funny how things change (eg 1 idea for ridiculous events for to draw, is "Dad making dinner" )

[LadyS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, not just for kids. A easy to use and simple guide to help one get started to create their own characters! I enjoyed the books' presentation and the activities included.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our girls love to draw and our girls have been borrowing a lot of how-to-draw books from their elementary school library. Our youngest brought this book home and pored over the different techniques and styles.

I like that this book has chapters on different styles and techniques and encourages children to find their own approach. I also like that the author teaches about how to tell a joke in a cartoon.

The narrative is fairly long and I doubt that our girls read it all, but I know they had fun making cartoon characters.

November 2013 update: Our girls have borrowed this book a couple of times and they love it.

interesting quotes:

"Most people laugh at things that contain a portion of the three magical ingredients of humor: surprise, exaggeration, and the pairing of unlike objects or ideas." (p. 68)

"You must remember, however, that cartoons should never be used to hurt someone's feelings. Drawing an ugly picture of someone and then calling that picture a cartoon is cowardly and unfair." (p. 73)

[Zahra Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

now i make my comics much better

[mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good