Cartooning: Cartooning 1

Dress’ Em Up

AS A CARTOONIST, YOU ARE not only the casting director and author of your cartoons but the costume designer as well. Clothes make the man, as the saying goes, and you can get a lot of mileage out of the duds you choose for your “brainchildren.”

Add Some Definition

Costume is very important in defining a character. For instance, pin a star on a hound and he’s instantly perceived as a law dog. Add a cowboy hat and you’ve got a sheriff. Or draw a circle around the same hound’s head to serve as a space helmet, and scatter a few stars in the background and Rover’s in orbit! Play up aspects of dress that make it clear what kind of person this is at a glance.

PLAYING DRESS-UP The oversized shoes, hat, and hand-bag tell the viewer that ...