Improving A Cartoon - The Seabird And The Seaplane

Here’s a cartoon that’s been sitting in the hanger for a while, so it was hightime to drag it down the beach and launch it on it’s way.

First Changes

  • Made the sea darker. This has caused the underside of the plane wing to blend a bit with the water. I think I also must have turned off one of the layers (I work in Procreate) as the waves look a little different from the previous version.

  • Added the caption.

Muddying The Waters?

It was pointed out to me that the area highlighted above was muddy visually, and I needed to create more contrast

Adding More Contrast

Lighten Up?

The next feedback I received was to make the sky lighter so as not to match the airplane.

Adding The Caption

As well as adding the caption, I’ve now lightened the sky, and also made Percy the Pelican bolder.

The Completed Cartoon

The final feedback I received was to move Percy further along the wing to make him stand out more, and also to punch up the pilot to help balance Percy. I thought about making her flying outfit the same shade of pink as Percy’s bill, but instead opted to make it brighter.

Over To You

It was fun to revisit the cartoon and to finally complete it.

Do you have a incomplete cartoon that’s been sitting in the folder, digital or paper, for a while? One that you haven’t quite gotten around to finishing?

How about taking ten minutes and having another look at it. What might you be able to improve along the way?

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Can you make the characters stand out more against the background?

  • Do any of the elements merge together and could benefit from a greater variety of tones?

  • What ways could you contrast the characters against each other?

Coming soon….The Cartooning Canines Course.

Fill in your name, best email address and type “woof!” In the subject line, and I’ll send you further details….soon you too can be doodling dogs!