Anatomy in a nutshell is the physical structure of an object, specifically for this article, the human form (or animal). By gaining a better insight into how the body is made up and how parts move, individually and as a whole, will give you a better understanding of the shapes/forms to greatly enhance your drawings. Before you get all worked up thinking that you must learn anatomy before you are able to to get into drawing cartoon characters, don’t! You’re not studying to be a surgeon, but like I previously stated, you should start getting an idea of how we are built to get an understanding of what it is that you want to draw. If you don’t, who will. Trust me, just start playing around with it and don’t be scared to experiment a little. You will amaze yourself how well your drawing skills will have developed.

The next concept: dynamic poses, I felt should go right along with your studying of anatomy. How many drawings have you seen of cartoon characters that look like stiff cardboard cutouts with no life? Do you know the reason why? The key to this dilemma is dynamic poses. Sure, the character may be drawn well, but is it appealing enough to attract attention? If the pose isnt interesting you may actually detract from what can be an incredibly drawn cartoon character. By positioning the body in a more expressive way will add so much more character, well, to your character. The body can move in all sorts of different ways, even when a character is standing still, our bodies are not like a stiff mechanical robot standing like a soldier at full attention.

I’d also like to add a few more magic words of the day: Sketchbook! Get one. Use it. Don’t go in it alone. You have a ton of material to look at and learn from: Reference photos or models. Use em’! Also, remember why you want to learn how to draw cartoons in the first place. You like it right? Your pretty good at it and want to get better? You see people who you feel are more talented and want to be one of them? Whatever the reason you will need to practice and study and then, only then will you get better. There are several book that I would recommend as far as anatomy and dynamic posture, from artists Burne Hogarth and George B. Bridgeman, who I believe developed some great books for studying with lots of examples (honestly, good material). By using your newly acquired knowledge of anatomy and dynamic poses in your drawings, you are well on your way to drawing cartoon characters with flair and style.