From Real Life to Cartoons: Part 2-Animals

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     Warriors is one of my favorite book series, and even though not many people that I know have read it, some of you might have heard of this series. It's really about a large group of wild cats that live in the forest, moor, near a river, and in a pine forest. I absolutely love to draw the cats from this series but find myself wistfully browsing through other artists' work on this subject. For years I have wanted to get specifically into the profession of drawing out cartoon animals and characters so I can illustrate my own books, but first, I started out with real-life cats. This was very hard for me, because like any over-enthusiastic artist, I just wanted to jump right into drawing cute cartoony cats instead of the boring real deal. If you have a huge problem with impatience on this subject, trust me when I say I've been there!

    I also know how important it is to continue to draw from real life!

    Animals are in general, much easier for me myself to draw. Their anatomy seems much easier to me, though I do know that some artists have drawn people for so long that it's second nature to them. I started out with animals because I loved to draw mythical creatures and make up stories about bunnies rather than real people, so it's become very easy for me to spot the flaws within my art. If you're just starting to draw animals, (or humans) I'm letting you know that it will take a lot of time before you can confidently draw animals without a reference. 


    Drawing real-life animals can be very rewarding in its own way as well! when someone says, "Oh my gosh, it looks like it's jumping right off the page!" It can give you the courage to keep drawing from real life before you jump into cartoons. It might not feel worth it at the moment, but trust me, when you've got life drawings down pat you'll be excited to actually illustrate an amazing cartoon!


    With this knowledge I hope you continue to learn how to draw amazing art, and I pray that you will use your gift to the best of the ability that God has given you!

    If you found this helpful leave a comment below, and if you want to have a say in what I post next let me know! God bless!

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