How to Draw People - Cartoon and Realistic

Drawing people be it realistic or cartoon-like can be challenging. But the pure joy you can have from creating drawings of people is really awesome. Here in this article you will find some tips that will help you to create drawings of people that are not only beautiful but also full of life.

Pay attention to various proportions: To draw a realistic human body you must have clear understanding about the sizes and proportions of various body parts. Things like: a man is around 7 head high, width of human body at the waist is little more than one and half times of his face and things like that. A good anatomy book meant for figure artists can be very useful for this purpose.

When drawing cartoon characters you can override many of these guidelines, but to break rules in style you first have to be aware of them.

Draw eyes to express the state of mind: Eyes express the state of mind so be careful while you are drawing eyes. Eyebrows and lips are equally important. Make a habit of observing people and how they express their emotion through their facial expression. This practice is very useful and will enrich your character-creation-toolkit.

Hands are not too difficult; you just need to practice more: When drawing your character do not avoid drawing hands. Properly drawn hands separate a good figure artist from mediocre ones so practice drawing hands diligently. Use your own hand as a model and draw from various angles, this will give you a very good practice.

While drawing cartoons you can reduce the complexities by drawing four fingered --three plus thumb -- hands. Or you can make your character wear gloves that will make your work even easier.

Why shadows are important: Shadows can add depth to your scene. But drawing elaborate and accurate shadow takes time; instead add some shadowy patch near the feet of your character. If you do not add shadow at all your character may appear to be floating in mid air.

Practice drawing from real life: Initially when you start drawing it is easier and natural that you will be drawing from other’s sketches or photos, but as you start becoming good at your job you must start drawing from real life. Real life gives you the freedom of choice and rich variety.

Negative space drawing will make your work easier: Negative space drawing is drawing space that is not part of your intended drawing subject. Or in other terms it is basically nothing but drawing the out line of your subject. You may find this approach useful because it lets you concentrate on the overall form without getting bogged down into the details of the subject.

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Understanding About Cartoon Faces

Do you love cartoons? Do you still remember the cat and mouse twosome, Tom and Jerry? How about Popeye with his puffed-up forearms and craze for Spinach? Does the name 'Homer Simpson' ring a bell? Although it is not popular but did you know that the Jackson Five had their own animated series based on their lives and music called The Jackson 5ive during the 1970's? Yes, these are only some of the most endearing cartoon characters the world has ever seen. I am quite sure that you have your own favourite cartoon character whether from Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and many others.

Because of technological innovation, cartoons have evolved in history. From the old low budget black-and-white cartoons, people today enjoy colourful and vibrant images on television and in the big screen. Also, cartoons transformed from being dull and heavy-handed to more realistic and vivid representations. The features of those enchanting cartoon faces and cartoon characters have become more defined. Even the sound effects have improved to become more realistic such that even the sound of a sneeze, a bursting balloon or a crying child can be heard clearly. Today, animated cartoons have been given more attention to the point that animation is recognized as one of the youngest, fastest-changing and entertaining industries worldwide. Indeed, cartoon animation has come a long way in the last few decades. Pictures of cartoon present a refreshing point of view in the world. Cartoon faces also have a universal appeal to people because many people like to laugh.

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Discover the Key Differences Between 2D and 3D Animation - Computer Graphics Guide

It seems like computers have been around forever. You buy a brand new one then two years down the road it seems obsolete and there is another one more advanced and dynamic to take its place.

In a way that is exactly what is happening with animation. Originally, there was just the 2D animation, which in its time was exciting enough, and in fact still is. Technology stands still for no one so it stands to reason that animation would be included in this aspect as well. As a result along came the 3D animation.

Animation is a broad term and can sometimes be misleading. The term in some ways refers to animated graphics as well. Often people do not broaden their scope of what animation is all about. Many consider animation is another word for cartoons. Think of some other animated movies that you have had the pleasure of watching where physical models have been used. King Kong certainly was not a live version of an ape. Yet look at the movements that he made. The basics are this. Move the model record the image move the model and record the image. This goes on repeatedly.

One of the most successful and powerful animators in his time was Walt Disney. What he accomplished with what he had during his career was amazing. Many of us grew up enjoying many of the accomplishments of this world-renowned animator. It was a joint project in his day to produce an animation. He would do the major drawings, known as the key frames, and then the less important pictures would be done by his staff of in between framers.

One should never think that the 3D animation of today is simply sitting down at a computer and putting in a command and there it is done. The computer is the tool; it still requires a knowledgeable operator. The operator has to be astute in many different areas such as creating the idea, the characters, the storyboard, and the soundtrack just to name a few responsibilities. It is true that there is computer software that is utilized to achieve each of the goals as they pertain to each step. The fundamentals of art still play a large part in it. Without them, the work could never be taken to perfection.

It should not be forgotten that animation both 3D and 2D play a big role in other industries as well. Often individuals who have artistic talents and are intrigued with animation may not have a major interest in cartoon animation. For these individuals there are other opportunities. For example in the medical field, 3D animation is used all the time. Then in the building industry, the new concept is to draft 3D floor plans and architectural plans. With the advancement of animation software that is available on the market today a whole building can be depicted in 3D color. Nothing like knowing what you are going to get before the ground is even broke.

No doubt just as computers, continue to evolve so with the animation software. One has to admit it makes for an exciting prospect wondering what they will think of next.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Discover-the-Key-Differences-Between-2D-and-3D-Animation---Computer-Graphics-Guide&id=2439327

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Cartoon House Drawing Techniques

Drawing cartoons is actually harder than you might expect. Whether you are trying to draw a person, an animal, an inanimate object, or even a cartoon house you need to expect to have a little bit of difficulty if you never drawn a cartoon before. Though most people underestimate the cartoon medium and leave it is relatively easy to do, the fact of the matter is that cartooning is a complicated art form.

When drawing cartoons, you need to be able to utilize shapes. While this in itself sounds easy enough, there is difference between knowing what shapes are, and knowing what to do with them. Most amateur cartoons use simple shapes and lines structure in order to convey relatively simple images.

Also knowing the angle at which you intend to draw is important as well. You can be drawing full frontal, or you could be doing a three fourths angle, or any other angle you decide to use. However, the more complicated angle that the image will be focused on, the more difficult is going to be for you to draw. For this reason, if you intend to do something that is not a straight on look at what you are drawing, you need to be fully aware of how different shapes look from different angles in order to get good results.

Exaggeration is also a big part of cartooning. The whole point of drawing cartoons is to take something realistic and make it larger than life. We could do this by large lines, soft edges, or just certain aspects of what you're drawing be larger. For example, if you're drawing a cartoon house, then you would want circular edges instead of hard edges in order to make it more friendly looking. You would also most likely keep details and a minimum in order to make it seem more like a cartoon unless like something from real life.

Also in drawing cartoon house, any details around the house should be certified as well. The focus should be on the house, and not on its surroundings. While in animation, pay attention to the background is important, and regular cartoons it is not so much a big deal. You can portray what you are trying to draw relatively easily without putting too much detail on things that do not matter. This also accounts for things on outside of the home, for example things like house damage. The house is damaged, do not draw in unless you are trying to make it look the dilapidated or scary. Cartoons are very simple, and a simple thing like a crack in the wall could make it seem intimidating. A cartoon house is only one example what you could draw, but these rules apply no matter what you are trying to portray.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Cartoon-House-Drawing-Techniques&id=3456994

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Cartoon Drawings Are More Than They Seem to Be

Cartoon drawings more of an art form than may realize. Over the past half a century, cartoons have gone from barely simplistic drawings, all the way to highly detailed works of art. What started as something as a form of children's entertainment has become something that anybody of any age can enjoy.

While Walt Disney really brought cartoons to the mainstream it made them viewable for other people, they really did not due until the 90's. The 1990s brought a whole new wave of cartoons from all over the world. American animation itself matured through outsourcing and technological advances, though in the late 90s American cartoon drawings to a lot of influence from Japanese animation. While the art style of Japanese cartoons, also known as anime, did not really become emulated until the mid-2000s, the art direction was very much influenced sorry the 90s. Also, animation techniques were also mimicked by American animators.

However, there is a big difference between drawings and animation. What animation is, is a collection of cartoon drawings all drawn in sync to create a scene. So in essence, animation is collective of drawings. Cartoons in the old days were all done by hand. Each frame in any animated feature was done by hand, including the outlines, the final drawings, and the color. This is a very difficult task, it took quite a long time in order to finish even a 30 minute television show. Starting in the late 90s and early 2000, computer animation really took hold. Using computer software, animators could then take away half the work they had to do before and produce animated features at a faster rate. It's also much cheaper to animate on the computer that I hand, as you do not need individual cells or ink.

An increasingly common animation platform is flash. Flash is a very simplistic and easy way to produce animation on the computer, but does not give the greatest results at all times. This method is mostly used by amateurs posting their homemade cartoons online, but some professional studios to use flash for cartoons. The best example of this style would be a French cartoon, known as WakFu. This cartoon has the most advanced usage of flash animation to date, and really lets you see what flash as an animating platform can do.

Though they were initially intended for children, cartoons becoming more mature in content, meaning that many adults these days enjoy them as well. And if full-featured films are more common than ever for adults, and cartoon television shows that are animated for adults are growing in popularity also. Prior to drawings of come a long way from how they were at their first inception, and they are assured only grow as time goes on.

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A Cartoon Picture - Something a Little More Behind the Fun

A cartoon picture can portray anything from something funny, all the way to something starkingly serious. The way the picture is drawn and colored can great affect the feel that is given off, much like with any other artistic form. While cartoons have long been thought to be an immature art form, the fact is that it is maturing all of the time. New styles are always coming up, as well as subject matter. The kiddy cartoons of years past are being replaced with more mature and artfully drawn mediums.

Not many would have given a cartoon picture even a second glance a few decades ago. There were not many out that were especially visually appealing as the medium was rather new, and the technology available at the time didn't lend any help to cartoon artists. Around the mid 1990's Japanese animation started to really boom in the United States, which brought a whole new level of awareness of cartoons in general.

Before the Japanese animation boom, American animation had been crude at best. Japanese animation at the time was leagues above what was being made in other parts of the world. The lines were generally very crisp, colors were very vivid, and the art style was distinctly unique. This boom gave way to a whole new wave of cartoon fans, and opened the doors to a whole new way to draw and perceive any cartoon picture.

While animation and cartoon styles in general were going through their maturing in the 1990's, computer animation and design was also growing. Using computers, cartoon artists could draw, tweak, and color their work easily without a need for ink or extensive linework. This helped with animation as well, as each frame could be drawn and dealth with on the computer, eliminating the need to individually draw and scan each individual frame. This not only made it much easier to animate, but also made it less expensive and take far less time. Features that would have taken several months or a couple of years before were suddenly finished in a few months or weeks. It was quite a big jump.

Today's cartoon stills, comics, and full-motion cartoon films are much easier to make and are more visually stunning than ever before. This is because of many reasons, though the main two are the Japanese animation influence as well as the maturing of graphic design technology. These two factors have changed the face of cartoons and animation forever.

The differences between cartoons 20 years ago and those today can make it difficult for anyone to go back and look at a cartoon picture from the past. At this rate, cartooning is looking to be one of the bigger entertainment and art mediums of this century.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Cartoon-Picture---Something-a-Little-More-Behind-the-Fun&id=3414293

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Create Free Lookalike Cartoon Avatars of Yourself

Generally even with the anonymity behind the computer screen, people tend to want to be recognized as an individual. This has created the need for avatars to represent the individual from the masses either at a forum or during personal one to one chat basis. Avatars are an online user's representative of him or herself. Avatars are little icons that give yourself a little more personality when you are chatting on the instant messenger. There are also animated and static avatars.

Popular instant messenger services like Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger has popularized the use of avatars and smilies. Other services allow for talking avatars during video conferencing. The instant messengers and chatrooms usually have 2-D avatars while 3-D avatars are commonly found in video games. Certain social networking sites like the MySpace profile uses many animated avatars.

Avatars are the visual representations of people who currently inhabit the virtual environment. When people use certain avatars at the forums, they serve the purpose personalizing their thoughts and actions while giving a hint to their personality, characteristics, social status and other details. At forums or chatrooms, usually the facial part with certain animated expressions is enough to convey a message. In video games, especially those online role playing games, the avatars are more sophisticated and three dimensional so the players can have a feel of the environment and the effects of its own action in the game.

To be sure that it is fun to create personal avatars for one self. Some websites provide extensive varieties for the specific look such as hair length whether straight or perm and its colors, skin tones, the shape of the eyes and colors, modern and chic wardrobe and even accessories like handbags, shoes and headdress. There are websites online that can help you make avatars that are both lifelike and animated. You can actually upload your own photo onto the avatar to give it an even more personal look. Within minutes you can create a representation of yourself or others on the screen and the avatars can be downloaded for your use at forums, chatrooms or elsewhere.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Create-Free-Lookalike-Cartoon-Avatars-of-Yourself&id=1572528

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