And speaking of my cartooning class, as you may know, I teach cartooning classes to elementary school students. They seem to be as thrilled to learn from a professional cartoonist as the cartoonist is to teach basics to those who really want to learn. It's a great symbiotic relationship. Anyway, the same questions pop up, week after week, which brings forth the thought that I should write about it here. Drawing lightly and loosely.
It is very important for a good cartoonist, or a good artist, for that matter, to draw loosely. Famed Disney animator, Ruben Aquino starts off his day at his animation desk drawing lots of circles to loosen his hand, wrist and shoulder. He fills very large pieces of paper with lots and lots of circles. I shake my drawing hand for a minute to get all my fingers and my wrist good and loose before I begin drawing.
Glen Keane, the animator of the Beast and Aladdin draws very loosely. You’ll see in his drawing to the left that every line is loose. He lets the pencil find the form of the character. It isn’t until the clean-up process, (when we begin inking) when the stray lines are erased, and the final line is permanently drawn.
Without loosening up in your drawings, another thing will occur. Your drawings will become stiff and flat. This is why every character begins with construction lines.
Happy Drawing, Guys!