How to Draw Cartoon Animals

by Christopher Hart

Because people are captivated by the “human” traits in animals, especially those that make us laugh, animals have been an endless source of humor for cartoonists. We chuckle at the antics of Marmaduke and Garfield, recognizing in them amusing behavior in our own pets. We also find humor in more human-like characters such as the irascible Donald Duck and the gloomy Eyore because their personalities remind us of people we know. With their ability to make people laugh, animals are essential in the repertoire of every cartoonist.

In his latest book, Christopher Hart teaches an easy method for capturing the forms and expressions of animals. The book begins by showing how to create simple drawings with just a few strokes of the pen. Following the basic shapes, Hart goes on to depict animal personalities that are based on their physical traits. He covers many different species, from exotic African beasts to common breeds of dogs and cats. A final section shows how animals can be turned into “human” characters that stand upright and wear clothes.

Genres: Drawing, Art, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Neil M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. I've checked it out from the library many times. It is fun. It taught me how to draw doggies. And kitties. And a skunk. And cows. And a pig. And birds. And a bear. And even a squirrel. I really like drawing the squirrel . It makes me happy.

After spending many years living as a hardcore drug addict, I went into recovery about a year ago. Since then, I've taken up drawing cute cartoon animals as my new sober hobby. I combined my two new interests - recovery from drug addiction, and cartoon animals, by making a large wall hanging depicting the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous using cartoon animals, that I learned to draw from this book. I gave it to my friends in recovery. It made them laugh, which makes me happy. So if you have a chemical dependency issue, emotional traumas, or suffer from any type of depression, anxiety, or spiritual malady, I suggest getting this book and drawing some of the cartoon animals in it. It will make you feel better. And if you don't suffer from any of those things, you should still get it. Drawing cartoon animals (especially the squirrel) makes the world a better place.

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book for our children's books course.

[Azaghedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember flipping through this book endlessly as a kid (this was before the internet was as ubiquitous as it is today). After numerous failed attempts at getting my unsteady lines and amorphous solids looking more like cartoon animals, I finally resorted to the worse form of cheating there is in the art world: tracing. So while this book didn't exactly serve its purpose for me--that purpose being to teach you how to draw, not trace, cartoon animals--it was so fascinating to me at the time that I'd be cold-hearted not to give it such a high rating.

[Sheila Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to try and get really good at drawing cartoons whether it is just animals or anything else. But not very good at drawing yet.

[Yuiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty good has lots of cool animals to draw!!!! Really helps!!!

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

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