Video Drawing Tutorial: Shape Drawing Challenge #4 | Turn Shapes into Cartoon Characters | Shape Drawing Book for Kids

by | Jul 10, 2025 | How to Draw Books for Kids, Video Tutorials

Turn Shapes into Cartoon Characters: New Triangle Shape Drawing Challenge Video

I’m back with another installment in my Shape Drawing Challenge video series, and this one is a lot of fun. In the 4th video, I start with a simple triangle and show you how to turn shapes into cartoon characters. This time around, that single triangle becomes a bird, a robot, and a bunny rabbit. As always, this video is all about using your imagination, experimenting with shapes, and turning something super simple into something unexpected and fun.

Take The Shape Drawing Challenge

If you’re a fan of creative drawing prompts or you’re just looking for a unique activity to spark some artistic energy in your kids, this is the kind of drawing challenge you’re going to want to try. And if you’ve been following this video series from the beginning, you already know how much fun it can be to turn shapes into cartoon characters.

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How the Shape Drawing Challenge Book Connects

The video ties directly into my book, Shape Drawing Challenge, which is packed with activities just like this. Each page of the book features a different shape and space to draw three different characters or objects. The goal is to turn shapes into cartoon characters while using your imagination, critical thinking, and creativity.

I designed the book to be flexible. It can be used at home, in the classroom, or during art time anywhere. It works for younger kids who are just learning how to draw and older kids who want to stretch their imagination. There’s no pressure to make your drawings perfect—in fact, the whole point is to get a little weird and see what comes out of it.

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Why Turning Shapes into Cartoon Characters Matters

Why put so much focus on turning shapes into cartoon characters? Because it’s one of the simplest ways to teach creativity and visual problem solving. Starting with a shape eliminates that fear of the blank page. It gives kids a place to start, while still leaving all the fun decisions up to them.

When kids learn to turn shapes into cartoon characters, they’re not just doodling. They’re making choices, testing ideas, and growing their confidence. They start seeing everyday objects as things that can be reimagined and reinterpreted. That kind of thinking is valuable far beyond drawing.

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About My Art Books for Kids

The Shape Drawing Challenge book is just one of many I’ve created to help kids draw and express themselves creatively. I’ve built out several drawing book series for kids, including:

  • How to Draw: Teaches kids to draw characters step by step.
  • Trace Then Color: Perfect for younger kids who want to trace cute characters before coloring them in.
  • Draw by Grid: Breaks down drawing into manageable steps using a simple grid format.

Each series is meant to make drawing fun, approachable, and confidence-boosting. All of the artwork in my books is hand drawn by me—no AI, no stock art, just original, character-driven designs.

And just like the video shows, many of the characters I draw come from a place of playful experimentation. That’s why learning to turn shapes into cartoon characters is such a key piece of my approach to drawing. It teaches you to be loose, to explore, and to enjoy the process of figuring things out on the page.

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About the Video: One Triangle, Three Characters

The concept is simple: take one shape and see how many things you can turn it into. In this case, a triangle serves as the base. From there, I walk through how I used that triangle to build three completely different characters:

  • A cheerful cartoon bird with the triangle forming its beak and head.
  • A quirky robot with a triangular body and fun, geometric details.
  • A cute bunny rabbit whose triangle base is flipped and stylized into a full cartoon character.

The best part? These drawings are simple enough that kids can follow along, but open-ended enough that they can use the same triangle to create their own interpretations. That’s one of the big benefits when you turn shapes into cartoon characters—there are no wrong answers.

Watch The Free Video Tutorial:

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Keep the Challenge Going

If you and your kids enjoy the idea of turning shapes into cartoon characters, you’ll love the activities in the Shape Drawing Challenge book. It’s one of the most flexible and creative books in my lineup. You can start anywhere, pick a shape, and dive in. Whether it’s a triangle like in this new video, or a blob, square, squiggle, or oval, each page opens up a new creative opportunity.

You don’t have to be a professional artist to enjoy these challenges. All you need is a pencil and your imagination.

So give the video a watch, grab the book if you haven’t yet, and see what you can do with a simple triangle. If you like what you create, keep going. Try different shapes, different characters, and challenge your friends and family to turn shapes into cartoon characters too.

Thanks for checking out the new video, and as always, keep drawing!

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Meet The Author & Artist

Kevin Coulston is a children’s book author, illustrator, cartoonist, and member of the National Cartoonists Society. Over the course of his career, he has published more than 100 books, including instructional drawing books, activity books, comics, graphic novels, and children’s picture books.

His popular How to Draw, Trace Then Color, and Draw by Grid series have helped thousands of aspiring young artists learn to draw through simple, approachable lessons featuring hundreds of Kevin’s original cartoon characters.

Kevin is also the creator of the comic series Dylan McVillain and The Adventures of a 4th Grade Space Captain, as well as the children’s picture book series Alexis and the T-Rexes. In addition to his publishing work, Kevin created, wrote, illustrated, and animated the web series Bad Jokes with Ugly Folks, starring legendary voice actors Rob Paulsen and Tara Strong.

Kevin believes anyone can learn to draw—and that learning is a lot more fun when the characters you’re drawing are weird, silly, and just a little ridiculous.

What Our Customers Are Saying

“The author really does a great job demonstrating how easy (and rewarding!) it can be to draw seemingly ordinary things you (and your little ones!) may feel too intimidated to try drawing without the step-by-step guide! Putting already-known shapes together and making something new and original is a fantastic way to learn! And recognizing that you can add your own twists and personality to your drawings makes all the difference. I think it’s a fun, original approach to building confidence for a lifelong hobby. I have the ebook copy, and can only imagine how great a physical copy would be!”

– Daenarah [Amazon Review]

“There are several of these fun books by this author. My kids and I have had a lot of fun with these. It’s a great activity to do as a family and see how they all turn out. Almost like a sip and paint but more of a juice box and draw.”

– Allison B. [Amazon Review]

My kids can’t wait to start drawing these monsters in their illustrations! The many different moods of the monsters appeal to their different personalities. We love the many options, styles, and opportunities to expand upon the characters. Recommended for all ages!

– Kasey [Amazon Review]

“Kevin has put out many books on drawing and animation, and has such a great feel for HOW to explain the process. His art is so expressive and kid-friendly, but his real strength is in his ability to really explain and show how it’s done, making it accessible to kids and adults. I’m a firm believer that not everyone who “can do” can teach, but Kevin does both beautifully! Pick this up and watch kids have a blast making robots of all sorts, while learning great fundamental art skills at the same time!”

– Tom R. [Amazon Review]

“My 5yo LOVES this book! The drawings are cute and the instructions are easy to follow along with. She gets a kick out of drawing muffin monsters and ketchup monsters and it actually keeps her pretty focused for long periods of time.”

– Monica [Amazon Review]

“This is a fantastic book for kids who love art, cartoons, comic books, or just having fun! There are a lot of characters to choose from, and really easy step-by-step instructions to follow. You child will have a blast drawing these fun, silly characters! And just in time for Easter baskets!”

– Bestmomever [Amazon Review]

“This is a very good book for kids that want to learn to draw, my sons love it and Kevin does a great job of making drawing fun and not intimidating. Highly recommended for the long summer hours!”

– David D. [Amazon Review]

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