In this article I’m going to go through the steps involved in creating the above cartoon. First though I’ll give you a bit of background about the story that the cartoon helped to illustrate.
The Three-Finned Spotted Horace is a really rare fish, that briefly came to national interest in the 1930s due to its intervention in a cricket match. Here’s an extract from the story:
The Cricket Ball Incident
The Horace remained a very obscure fish until an incident during a cricket match in 1932 brought it to the attention of the newspapers.
Legendary England cricketer “Hairy” Harry Higglebottom was taking part in a charity cricket match at the village of Little Plumming. The cricket ground is one of the most picturesque in the country, with one of the sides running along the bank of the river Piddle.
Higglebottom hit a magnificent cover drive and the ball ran along the ground and into the river. Two of the fielders set off to retrieve it, but reached the bank in time to spot a Horace seizing the ball in its mouth and then setting off down stream.
So now let’s have a look at the process of creating the cartoon.
The initial outline
I used the 6B pencil in Procreate for this outline.
Adding washes to the characters and background
For washes I used the water brush, choosing black and setting it at 30% opacity.
Adding washes to the fish and water
The water is not really standing out from the grass at the moment, so I’ll put that right soon.
Increasing the intensity of the lines
To make the characters and detail stand out more, I copied the outline layers a few times so as to build up the intensity.
The completed cartoon
I worked on the water to make it stand out from the grass, and added some white streaks to show the movement of the fish.
What’s Next?
I drew some of the above cartoon during Cartoon Hour.
What’s Cartoon Hour?
Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions.
At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.