How To Create A Cartoon Without Drawing One

Aside from venturing to the extremes of fringe science, how can we create a cartoon without actually drawing one?

In this article I’m going to show you three different ways of creating a cartoon, even without having to draw a single one.

Here’s what we’re going to look at:

1. Alter someone else’s cartoon

2. Draw faces on an existing cartoon

3. Put a character into a new scene

To really get the idea of these exercises, it’s best to play along and try them out for yourself.

Okay, so let’s get started with the first exercise!

1. Alter Someone Else’s Cartoon

A fun activity to try is doing your own version of someone’s cartoon.

Regardless of your own current drawing ability, you can find a cartoon to modify. Just make sure you credit the original cartoonist.

I’ve always been a fan of Calvin and Hobbes. Not only is the strip a lot of fun with great writing and drawing, there is also so much to learn by looking carefully at what Bill Watterson gets up to within the panels.

As Calvin gets into frequent trouble with his parents, I thought it only appropriate to try such a scene. I copied the poses from two separate cartoons for this one. I traced over the originals and then modified them slightly.

You don’t even have to modify the original drawing, you could simply write a new caption or speech bubble for the character/s instead.

So why not give it a try? Choose a favourite cartoon, or one that catches your eye, grab a pen and get going!

If you work digitally, you can copy and pasted an existing cartoon. If you’re working old school, you can find a cartoon in a newspaper or magazine and to alter.

2. Draw New Faces On An Existing Cartoon

This exercise has a little bit more to it than the previous one, but not much. This time, find a cartoon you like and blank out the faces.

If you work digitally, you can copy and pasted an existing cartoon. If you’re working old school, you can find a cartoon in a newspaper or magazine and to alter.

After you’ve blanked out the faces, draw your own new ones.

Below is an example, blanking out the faces to the above cartoon. You are welcome to use this one if you like.

3. Put A Character Into A New Scene

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This last exercise is a little more complex than the previous two. First of all, find a scene that you like. You can use a drawing or a photograph.

Next, get a character or two from another picture. In this case the leopard and Dalmatian were from different scenes.

Finally, drop the characters into the new scene.

I hope that the above three exercises have been useful, and that you’ve tried out one or more of them for yourself.