This article will describe a simple process that I use to draw cartoon faces of real and imaginary people. When I first started drawing I wasn’t very good with faces so I just drew what I thought was an OK face and I moved on. I drew a lot of masked super heroes and villains. Then I read “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards and learned a simple technique that allows me to draw faces almost effortlessly. I hope this article will help you do the same. I’ve broken this process down into four separate sections. I’ll call this my high level work flow:

• Finding a Subject
• Preparing the Work Area
• Drawing the Picture
• Editing/Coloring

Finding a Subject

This is the first of several simple steps. I consider these steps my intermediate work flow. One thing about work flows; they allow you to repeat a process over and over again quickly and consistently. This will increase your effectiveness and boost your productivity. Something that takes 10 hours the first time might take only one hour the next time.

Here’s a good example:

This picture took about 8 hours to produce. It took so long because I was commissioned to do it and I wanted it to be as good as possible so I was never satisfied. Good thing that I recorded every step along the way. I was able to start over and retrace my steps. With just a few modifications I was able to produce a much improved drawing within an hour:

Finding someone to draw is super simple. Faces are everywhere. Take a picture of someone you know, search the internet for a picture you like or just get something out of the news paper or a magazine. One thing you don’t want to do is to offer to draw anyone for free – especially not on the internet. It is just too time consuming and if they don’t like the results they may subconsciously hold a grudge against you! Seriously, if they consider the image that you have drawn of them to be unflattering, they will assume, if only on the sub-conscious level, that you view them as unflattering.

Preparing the Subject

Did you know that professional house painters spend most of their time preparing a room for painting than they spend time actually painting the room? That’s not necessarily true when it comes to drawing cartoon faces but I thought you might want to consider that the next time you decide to paint a room.

I use two preparation methods when I draw cartoons (or anything for that matter). If the cartoon is relatively simple, if I have a deadline, or if I’m just constructing a draft, I use the “speed’ method. If I have some time and I’m really interested in getting outstanding results, I use the “slow hand” method. This article will focus on the “method of the slow hand” as I like to call it.

• Frame the subject and the drawing paper with an outer frame
• Overlay the subject photo with clear sheet upon which a grid has been drawn
• Draw the same grid onto the drawing paper

Drawing the Picture

Here’s the fun part…if you are really into it and there is little to distract you, this can be a very blissful experience. Many people choose to draw for this reason alone. The most basic approach is to work on one quadrant at a time. You may find it helpful to cover the quadrants that you are not currently working on. Try to draw what you see. Try to draw the lines that you see. Sometimes it’s easier to draw the “white space” (aka “negative space”). Turn your image upside down. Sometimes looking at an image from a different prospective will allow you to see it better. For a better understanding of this process I recommend you go to the library and read the chapter on upside down drawing in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.

Editing and Coloring

I really enjoy this part because you get to tweak your drawing to see if you can come up with something new and exciting and maybe better. More than 90% of my drawings require some form of editing. Interestingly, my all-time favorite drawings are those that I did not edit.

Conclusion

So there you have it a simple, straight forward process you can use to accurately draw faces – cartoon or otherwise.