Snip…snip…snip…
I’ve created lots of different characters, whether human, animal, or undisclosed critters, but I don’t think I’ve ever really dabbled with anthropomorphising inanimate objects before.
Recently I created some illustrated podnotes to go with a podcast.
After finishing the above image, the pair of scissors reminded me of a children’s craft book that I had way back when in elementary school. I can’t remember the name of either the book or the author, however, I recalled that one of the characters in it was a pair of scissors. That sparked the idea to produce a new character and to have some fun animating household objects.
Here is Snippet, as it is named at the moment. I welcome other suggestions for names.
After that I started to ponder about what Snippet could cut, and the idea of a shaggy dog in need of a trim popped into mind….an overly shaggy dog who really doesn’t want a trim….
As Snippet was relatively simple to create, I thought it would be more interesting to instead go through the steps of drawing the shaggy dog instead.
Outlining the dog
The dog is really resistant to the idea of having a haircut, so I wanted to capture an appropriate look on its face.
Colouring the dog
You can see the palette I used for the colouring. I did the colouring with a digital watercolour brush, starting out at 30% opacity and then building up the tones.
Adding a bolder outline
To make the dog stand out a little more, I added some bolder pen strokes around the outline using a bigger brush size.
The completed cartoon
I modified the original Snippet pose and added some shadow and hatching under the characters.
What’s next?
From Scissors to Shaggy Dogs…and Hounds to Hair Pieces…You name it - I can draw it for you!
I also put out a Cartoon Newsletter, which contains a whole host of characters and cartooning tips. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way. As a thanks for signing up, I’ll also draw you a free cartoon!