Drawing A Dog Strip Cartoon

It is said that Bull Terriers are one of the most stubborn of all dog breeds. Certainly that’s the case with Bertie in the above cartoon.

Today I’m going to talk through how I came up with and created the above cartoon.

Initial Rough Sketch

Rough layout sketch. I quickly sketched out how I imagined the cartoon would appear. I wasn’t sure about what the dog breed would be at this point.

Laying Out The First Panel

I wanted a dog breed known for its stubbornness, so a dog trainer friend recommended the Bull Terrier.

Colouring The Characters

For Suki, I basically used the same pose and then adjusted the legs. For Bertie I used four different poses.

I’ve now started colouring in the characters.

Colouring In The Background

I coloured in the background using the watercolour tool, and added shadow using back at 20% opacity.

Moving It Forwards To Night

To establish the fact that a long period of time has pasted since the previous panel, I washed over the scene a few times with the 20% black watercolour tool to give the impression of night.

The Completed Cartoon

Would You Like To Drawn Cartoon Dogs Of Your Own?

The course will cover:

-Drawing dogs in different poses, so you don’t have to keep on drawing the same old hounds.

-Learning about dog body language, so you can have a greater range of expression with your pooches.

-Thinking up gags for dog cartoons, so you’ll never be stuck for something to draw.

-And lots more!

Making Your Characters Move Faster

Today’s article gives you a few quick tips to make your characters move faster.

Add movement lines. You can experiment with the number of lines, and also if they’re solid lines or broken-up.

If you separate your character from the ground entirely, then it’ll give the impression that it’s moving so fast that it’s flying.

You can have the ears and tongue being blown by the wind. For human or long-haired characters, you can also have the hair trailing in the slipstream.

Try adding a more dynamic pose. In the above case, our everyday pooch is now zipping along like a greyhound.

Space permitting, have a trail of dust extending beyond and beyond the character. You may recall similar effects from cartoons such as the Roadrunner.

Spot the mistake in the above caption!

A diagonal angle can really give an impression of speed, along with making a picture more dynamic in general.

Over to you:

Have a go at doodling your own dog or another character going flat out. Experiment with using a combination of the previous techniques.

Feel free to try out different ideas, whether your own or from other cartoons.

Would you like to draw your own cartoon dogs?

Add your name, best email address, and type “woof!’ in the subject line, and I’ll send you details of the ‘Cartooning Canines - How To Draw Cartoon Dogs’ course.

Lesser-Known Dog Breeds - The Seafoundland

The Seafoundland is by far the most powerful swimmer in the canine world and one of the strongest swimmers in the animal kingdom. Able to swim for vast distances, the Seafoundland is notable for being the only sea going dog. The Seafoundland's outsized paws sometimes result in it being a little clumsy on land, however it is in the water that the dog truly comes into its own. Those outsized paws bear webbed toes which enable it to move steadily through the water at a good rate of knots. The dog is also able to use it's tail as a rudder and so is highly manoeverable.

One of the most notable Seafoundlands was that of long distance swimmer Betty Paddle who was accompanied by her faithful dog 'Henry' on her English Channel swim of 1923.

Betty even attempted to enter Henry in the Paris Olympics the following year. He was entered under the name of Henry Paddle and it was only when he was lined up at the side of the pool for the 100m freestyle that an official pointed out that only human competitors were allowed to enter. Not to be deterred, Henry made the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to swim in the Olympics and took part anyway despite the impending disqualification. Henry's time would have qualified him for the next round.

During the 2011 Tsunami in Japan, a Japanese Shiba dog, Potchi, was washed out to sea and was able to survive by scrambling onto some debris. He was rescued two days later by a Seafoundland from his neighborhood, Koji, who swam out and towed him back to shore.

This is definitely a breed that needs a lot of exercise, and it really needs a daily paddle as well as a daily walk. Those who enjoy a day messing about in boats on rivers, will find that their dog likes nothing better to tag along behind the boat, and will even happily tow the boat if the rowers get tired. The dogs coat can tend to be a bit high maintenance to prevent matting and also to remove any barnacles that may have lodged there. Seafoundlands can still sometimes be found to this day assisting fishermen who take a tumble or those in peril on the sea.

Would you like to learn how to draw cartoon dogs?

To find out details of the Cartooning Canines - How To Draw Cartoon Dogs Course, click the button below, send me a mail and type ‘Woof!’ In the subject line.