Character design for kids: how to invent your own cartoon character

To design a cartoon character, start with one simple body shape, decide on a personality, then choose eyes, a mouth and one special feature that matches it. Draw the character a few times in different poses and moods, give it a name and a story, and you have a character of your own. Kids who have practiced step-by-step drawing already know most of the parts.

Why character design is such a good next step

Step-by-step lessons teach kids how other artists build a drawing. Character design is where kids start using those skills for their own ideas. It’s also a great fit for kids who love stories, games or cartoons, because it lets them make the kind of thing they love. And there’s no wrong answer: a character only has to look like itself.

Step 1: Pick a body shape

Most cartoon characters start with one big shape. Each shape gives a different feeling:

• Circle: friendly, soft, cuddly.
• Square or rectangle: strong, steady, stubborn.
• Triangle: sneaky, sharp, full of energy.
• Bean or blob: silly and wobbly.

Try drawing the same face on three different shapes and see how the character changes. For shape practice, see drawing with shapes.

Step 2: Decide who they are

Before adding details, answer three quick questions:

1. What does your character love?
2. What are they scared of?
3. What’s one funny thing about them?

A grumpy robot who’s afraid of puddles, a tiny monster who collects socks, a dinosaur who’s terrible at hide-and-seek. The answers tell you what to draw next.

Step 3: Choose the face

Eyes do most of the work. Big round eyes look young and sweet; half-closed eyes look sleepy or bored; one huge eye looks alien. Then choose a mouth to match the personality. For ideas, see cartoon eyes for kids and cartoon expressions. The funny faces hub has dozens to borrow from.

Step 4: Add one special feature

Great characters are easy to recognize. Give yours one thing nobody else has: a crooked horn, a striped tail, mismatched socks, a bandage, a giant nose. Keep it to one or two features, so the character stays simple enough to draw again and again.

Step 5: Make a character sheet

Real animators draw a character sheet: the same character several times on one page. Ask kids to draw their character:

• Happy, sad, angry and surprised.
• From the front and from the side.
• Doing something: running, eating, sleeping.

This is the best practice there is, because it forces them to remember what makes the character look like itself.

Step 6: Give them a story

Once a character exists, kids want to use it. Put it in a comic, a picture book or a set of story drawing prompts.

Where to find ideas

• Mix animal parts with the hybrid animal drawings or monster drawing ideas.
• Spin the drawing prompt generator for a starting point.
• Learn a few ready-made characters first in the How to Draw books, then change one detail at a time.

Tip: If a kid gets stuck, have them redraw a character from a lesson and change just one thing: the eyes, the hat or the color. That small change is how every designer starts.

The book that helps

Drawing other people’s characters is how kids learn the parts. Cute Cartoon Monsters and Silly Faces are full of eyes, mouths and bodies to borrow, and the Sketchbook gives them room to invent.

How to Draw: Cute Cartoon MonstersSee it on Amazon

How to Draw: Silly FacesSee it on Amazon

How to Draw: Crusty GoobersSee it on Amazon

How to Draw: SketchbookSee it on Amazon

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