How to Draw Cartoons for Comic Strips

by Christopher Hart

Here is a comprehensive approach to drawing comic-strip characters in an appealing contemporary style featuring large-format reproductions that can be easily copied. A wide range of drawings depicting people of all ages as well as such animals as cats,dogs, birds, and fish show you how to capture the personality, mood, and character of a subject. The 275 drawings illustrate head and body construction, how to draw facial features and expressions, how to use action lines to depict body language, how to draw hands and feet, and ways to convey emotion and age. The author also offers valuable tips on developing a comic strip. He shows you how to place subjects within panels; make a layout; master reverse angles, medium shots, and close-ups; establish lights and darks; and utilize dialogue balloons.

Beginning and intermediate artists—from the younger audiences attracted to animation to more sophisticated artist who enjoy New Yorker -type spot cartoons—will find the book of great interest.

Genres: Drawing, Art, Comics, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

I started drawing character designs and storyboards for a small animation studio in while in High School. Cartooning and animation was a magical experience to me. I try to bring that experience, as well as art tips, to my readers. Their enthusiasm also motivates me.

Early in my career, my cartoon work got noticed by Watson-Guptill, a premier publisher of art books. They asked me to do a book for them on drawing cartoons. It sold 200,000 copies, which is a healthy number. So we kept going. I discovered that I enjoyed the art of creating books, which has its own special requirements. I also worked as an author for Random House, Quarto and Soho Publishing. In total, I have had 8 million books sold, and have been translated into 20 languages.

My book, "The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates" has sold over half a million copies to date and is still very actively in print. An earlier book of mine, "Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics:" reached the number one art book in the country, according to Bookscan.

I've also been a cover story on the industry trade magazine, "Publisher's Weekly." And if you've read this far into my Bio, then I'm more impressed with you than you are with me!

Thank you so very much for letting me offer some inspiration to you in your art adventures.

Christopher Hart

Reviews

[Andres Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

ver easy reading and lots of examples to practice

[Tim S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much here to really recommend this book. If you don't know how to draw at all, this can be a fair starter, but there are much better books to learn from long term. Probably its best feature is that Hart's style -- reminiscent of Hanna Barbara toons -- is so simple that even a novice can recreate his work fairly simply. That might make this book ideal for younger children. The rest though...it's really basic stuff, much of which is frankly quite useless. I'd look to Jack Hamm's books instead, even if their layout is a bit more confusing. They're cheaper and yet a better value for your buck.

[Bibliobabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done, even I was able to draw recognizable characters.