Cartooning Techniques;

The Action Line

Great Cartoon Characters are all about Energy and Life!
It's all about their exaggerated expressions and dynamic gestures.

But what's the secret to creating this?
Well, the first step in creating any dynamic character, whether it's for cartoon logos or cherubs for the roof of the Sistine chapel, is The Action Line.

Before even touching pencil to paper think about the kind of pose you want your character to convey. Then exaggerate it a little. The first line you draw on your page should be your Action Line, remember though, use a faint pencil, as you won't want it showing in the final image.

The action line determines the flow and rhythm of the final image. The Action line offers a guide to where the final focus of your character is directed. In short, the Action line is what gives your cartoon characters LIFE!

As an example look up and to the right, the first image shows a shocked cartoon guy, now he incorporates both a primary and secondary line of action (this is partly as I felt that using a single action line would push the cartoon exaggeration envelope a little too much).
Now, try to see both of these action lines in the image?

As a rule of thumb the primary action line will run along the leg and spine of the character, but it can be extended along the arms (or use any of these elements individually).
It should also be one smooth, graceful line.
A wobbly action line is bad, it subtracts from the dynamic nature of the image, it makes the character seem weak and indecisive.
For example the second image shows a pair of action lines, both used to create two different characters. Now ask which gives the stronger sense of dynamic power (the third image shows these two line developed a little more fully).

And then we have our fourth image, showing our Cartoon guy again, this time I've highlighted both his primary line of action (red) and the secondary line (blue).

A secondary line of action certainly won't harm your character or image, and personally I find by using one action line running through a leg and spine and the other running across both arms (as in our shocked cartoon guy) you are left with an excellent basis for the "simplified skeleton".
The simplified skeleton, you ask? Well, it's similar to a "stick figure" which is used to sketch the foundation for your character, but more on that next time.

Cheers,
-K

(Next post, the simplified skeleton.)

 

Cheers,
K