Laughing at other’s accidents, of course, is a no-no. Enter the beauty of cartoon mishaps. It’s here that you can simultaneously laugh and sympathize with the characters. And, I promise – no feelings will be hurt! I drew the illustration, below, freehand and then had fun patching in various sound effects from Zapsplat.com.
Cartoon Mishaps – Waltzing Matilda
(Even though there wasn’t a specific accident that inspired my Matilda drawing, this video really takes kitchen mishaps to a new level of comedy…)
Meanwhile…
I’ve almost finished working through Start with a Scribble, the wonderful workbook/drawing manual for kids and adults by Sir Quentin Blake and John Cassidy.
Some of the most important things I’ll be incorporating in my future illustrations are:
- Exploring extremes for comic effect
2. Using hair to help convey movement and action
3. Starting with the character’s back when depicting seated figures.
By the way, I used this very technique when I drew Matilda in the video at the top of this post. Even though she’s not seated, I figured that if I began by drawing the line of her back, I would be able to depict the energy of her “trip” more vividly.
The concepts in the Start with a Scribble book seem simple – basic even. But if you actually take the time to complete each exercise methodically and thoughtfully, you’ll be amazed at how your drawings evolve.
P.S.
If you’re curious to see me working through one of the book’s exercises in real time, take a look below:
