This is a distillation of years of experience in how to draw better cartoons. Keeping them simple and neat is important to the overall appearance of the comic. Your readers should notice the picture then their eyes should naturally flow to the caption without a lot of distraction. Too many details and busyness can get your readers confused and take away from your gag. The focus of comic strips is to help others laugh and smile through words and pictures. Keep it simple and funny.

Drawing hands and feet is easier than it looks. They can be drawn with three or four fingers and toes. No need to get into a lot of detail here. Just remember to keep the basic hand and foot shapes and you’ll be fine. You can always tuck them in a pocket or make your characters wear shoes.

Background details should be kept to a minimum. Too much action or detail takes away from the main characters and what is going on in the comic. Busy backgrounds also take away from the gag. Your characters will feel lost in all that detail. Once again, “keep it simple” should be your motto.

Cartoonists have to study composition as much as any other kind of artist. Cartoonists pictures should be in balance and objects should harmoniously work together to create that balance. Off centered drawings just don’t look right, so balance them out by adding an object to the other side or sometimes redrawing a new way and taking out objects is necessary to find balance and harmony. It takes some practice and studying the masters is a good way to get a feel for it.

Before starting your cartoon it is essential to do a character study. Develop your characters and think about what they will be like. Tall or short, fat or thin. Expressions, gestures and body language can go a long way to show what someone is thinking. Practicing on some scratch paper is a good idea though some can just think it all up in their head and get right to it.

The punch line is also an important part of cartooning. You have to be able to deliver a good laugh. There is the set up, then the punch line. Don’t hesitate to study some of the masters of humor to refine your punch line writing skills.

Let’s talk about perspective next. The basics of perspective need to be followed in order to have believable cartoons. Objects get smaller as they get farther away. They also get larger as they get closer to you. Even a rudimentary understanding and application of the rules of perspective will make your cartoons more understandable to your readers, which will reduce distractions and let them stay focused on the joke.

Make sure you have plenty of light and sketch your cartoons in pencil first. When your pencil draft is looking good enough to make permanent, then pick up the ink. The brush is a soft line in contrast to the nib pen which leaves a hard, crisp line. Keeping practicing and when you feel comfortable send your cartoons out for publication. Start seeking out magazines, newspapers and websites that would be good places for your work, and begin sending out your best pieces. Get a web site to showcase your comics. Once you fill a wall with rejection letters, you are probably ready to be a professional cartoonist and will receive that first acceptance letter.

Pam Neely writes about how to learn to draw. Visit her website to find hundreds of free drawing lessons, including how to draw cartoons.

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