The Making of Cartoons : Procedure , Tips , and Facts

Cartoons have shaped my creative path more than any early art form . Whether I was outline my own goofy characters in the margin of school notebooks or animating short loops for customer , themaking of cartoonshas ever felt like a perfect blend of structure and play . And over the years , I ’ ve bring in that behind every silly voice or magnified expression exist a surprisingly thoughtful procedure .

In this place , I want to walk you through how cartoons are made , what go into the creative decisions , and what tips I ’ ve discover from both client work and personal project . If you ’ ve always desire to create your own cartoons , or only appreciate the feat that move into them , this is for you .

Key Detail

The Making of Cartoons : How It Starts
Developing the Concept and Style
Tool and Techniques I Apply
Writing and Voice Acting : Don ’ t Skip It
What Do a Well Cartoon ?
Where Cartoons Fit Into the Bigger Photograph

Key Stage

Key Point

Don ’ t surge the quality development . A well-designed reference with a clear personality saves lots of time down the road .
Think of your animation mode like handwriting . Have it evolve naturally , but study the fundamentals .
Keep your workflow thin . Too many tool can bog you down . Master one or two key curriculum or technique first .

The Making of Cartoons : How It Start

The making of cartoons usually begin with a floor thought or still just a character . I ’ ve have entire short animations emerge from a doodle that made me gag . Early times , it take off with a client brief , like the ones I ’ ve tackle for Sun Bum or Microsoft .

At the earliest phase , I outline quality and view to become the feeling right . This live where know different style of cartoons really helps—I can tilt into slapstick exaggeration or subtle , expressive realism depend on the vibe . I try to begin a sense of the Earth the cartoon last in . Equal it surreal ? Dry and understated ? Chaotic and colorful ? That mood informs every conclusion that follows .

Developing the Concept and Style

A lot of mass remember animation starts on the computer , but the accuracy is , the better material take place on paper ( or iPad ) . I draw rough thumbnails of setting , expressions , and actions . This is portion of pre-production , and it ’ s essential for nailing the pacing and visual storytelling .

I pass time explore how the characters travel , how their personality express up in posture and motion . Yet if it ’ s just a five-second loop , the character should feel believable within their own cartoon logic .

If you ’ re bring on a full animation , understanding animation movie techniques will help you decide how to shoot setting . I often revisit my place on the process of animation to insure where I am in the pipeline . Storyboards , animatics , keyframes—they each serve a specific office and serve go on things coordinate when a task scales up .

And the art way ? That raise with you . You can learn from the visual element of cartoons and get that determine how you approach color , line work , and exaggeration . Don ’ t stress about get a “ signature ” feeling right aside . I ’ ve see that style develops of course through repetition and thoughtful experimentation .

Tool and Techniques I Use

When I first started , I used whatever I could find—pencil tests on Post-it notes , finish motion with action pattern , voiceovers recorded under a cover . Now , my go-to tools be :

Procreate or Photoshop for character and background design
After Effects or Toon Boom Harmony for animation
My own voice , or a quick shout with a talented friend , for voice work

For short form projects , After Effects devote me flexibility without sweep over complexity . For more frame-by-frame dominance , I ’ ll turn to Toon Boom Harmony or even just traditional hand-drawn animation .

That say , simplicity work . I ’ ve produce entire project using only stop motion animation and an former camera , which frankly teach me more about time than anything else . The constraints of stop motion force you to think through each movement before entrust to it , and that subject carries over to digital work also .

I always advocate starting little . Build a 3-second scenery . Sample lip syncing one line of dialogue . Finish something . It build momentum .

Writing and Voice Acting : Don ’ t Skip It

Compose for cartoons isn ’ t like compose a novel . It ’ s closer to write sketch or short comedy . I ’ ve learned to dilute dialogue in half and have visuals cause more of the mouth . Every Bible count . In my early script , reference over-explained everything . Today , I center on rhythm , subtext , and how the pitch of a line pair with the animation .

Voice acting is another overlooked gem . The voice actor of cartoons bring characters to life in ways that drawings alone can ’ t . Tone , pace , even breath—these subtle cues do a character flavor literal .

I ’ ve also learned to direct voice actor like collaborators , not robots . I share rough character sketches and explain what emotions I ’ m aiming for . And when I ’ m voice the characters myself , I record several take while suffer up and physically behave out the movement . It makes a vast difference .

If you ’ re instruct animation , or still just teaching yourself , you might revel my breakdown of how to teach animation . It extend how to layer storytelling and technique thus that you ’ re always moving forward . Teaching forces you to simplify complex ideas—and that clarity helps in your own study , also .

What Reach a Good Cartoon ?

There ’ s no one answer hither , but I ’ ve see that firm characters , clear emotion , and confident timing matter most . A visually utter cartoon without excited punch will fall flat . You get to care about the characters , even if they only be for a 30-second gag .

A good cartoon plays with contrast—fast and slow , loud and subdued , silly and sincere . Some of my favorite cartoon moments occur from the unexpected—a pause before a gag , an awkward silence , a sudden reaction . The timing of these rhythm can raise a decent thought into something memorable .

If you ’ re curious , I get deeply into this in my article on the character of effective cartoons . You can too discover a lot by watching good cartoons for adults and analyze what makes them land . Humor , purpose , and content all play a role , but how they ’ re pace and perform is where the real magic happens .

Where Cartoons Fit Into the Bigger Picture

Cartoons put on ’ t survive in a vacuum . They reflect culture , criticism systems , and express identity . From the golden years of cartoons to today ’ s animated movie that deserve an Oscar , the medium has produce more layered and experimental .

Modern cartoons aren ’ t exactly for child . They tackle mental health , politics , social justice , and existential dread—all with a blend of humor and visual metaphor that live-action rarely achieve as gracefully . This is why I love the medium so a lot . You can say something deep and foreign and queer all at once .

You can also find how the psychology of cartoons influences everything from advertise to political comment . It ’ s why I much reference work I ’ ve cause for Capital One or Disney when talking about storytelling in visual kind . These project taught me how visual tone and reference purpose can shape emotional response before a single news live spoken .

And if you ’ re marvel where to begin your own journey , I recommend just sketching your world . No grand thought need . Cartoons raise from wonder , not perfection . Start with what make you laugh or wonder . Revive a moment you find at the market fund . Doodle something absurd and hold it a backstory . Every cartoonist I know started by drawing what they loved or what they see weird .

For more learning , I highly advocate the educational archives at asifa.org , which showcase international animation community and resources .