Drawing Mischa, one of my characters

[elektro]

Note that everything here was done digitally

This can be considered more a step-by-step process on how I draw characters for "Negligence", since I try not to have a set way of drawing for everything I do. However, even though some of my cartoons look different, most of them are made through the same process.

I start with a very, very rough sketch of the character's figure. In this sketch, the figure looks more like a mannequin than anything:


After that, the finer details of the character are sketched in, as well as a surface to stand on (I usually don't use a darker color for this, but decided to here for demo purposes):


Now we get closer to the actual drawing. For Negligence characters, I make another layer, then draw a thick outline around the sketch so they look a lot like a modern cartoon character (both the version with the sketch layer and without are shown):


Now, the character's basic outlines (facial features, clothing separations, etc.) are drawn with a much thinner line than the main outline from before. Notice how the eyes, eyebrows, and other details haven't been filled in yet:


The details are more fleshed out now, such as the eyes and eyebrows colored in, knuckles and hand folds visible, and, more importantly, Mischa's trademark "FMC" shirt (they stand for an expletive against a very popular singer):


Another layer is created for this step. The details for the background Mischa's standing on are fleshed out, although quite messily, as you can tell:


This is the reason why I made the new layer before. The parts that went across the lines of Mischa are erased out. It's at this time that the blue sketch layer is eliminated altogether:


Usually, the drawing would be close to done by this point (I rarely work in color), but for this I decided to put in some color. Figured I should go all out. Anyway, I start with the background color first:


I like to make blue skies with a cloudy atmosphere. It's easy to make, too. All I do is erase part of the background with a low-opacity eraser:


This is where I start making the color for the ground itself. It starts out pretty sloppily:


I then use another color over that, and blend them together:


Any excess color from the previous one is erased (at least, the color that can't be cover by the next step):


The skin color is the first for the character. The excess color has already been erased, so that the layers underneath won't be obscured:


Lather, rinse, repeat:


This is the final thing that I actually draw. Every cartoon has to have the cartoonist's signature:


Now, we get to the word balloon. I start with the text:


Then, I put a shape around the text, using a layer under it:


The shape is given a line around it, so to differentiate it as a word balloon:


Finally, the word balloon is given a tail, and the drawing is complete:

[Leah-Admin]

This is a really excellent step by step guide, thank you for taking the time to post it!!

It is massively helpful I feel to see the organic process behind a finished cartoon.

[Simon Lake]

Pure Quality.