Assignment 3: Drawing a Political Cartoon

Ben Franklin BEN: Want some hints for figure drawing? Remember the caricature exercises from Lesson 2.

Materials:

• Drawing pencils (HB and H)
  
• Lots of paper (start with newsprint, move to smoother paper when you ink your cartoon)
  
• Tracing Paper
  
• Fine felt tip markers and/or ink

Additional Materials that you may choose to use

• Colored pencils
  
• Inks, black and colored
  
• Watercolors and brushes

DIRECTIONS

1. Write down your feelings or what you want to make a statement about.

2. Begin your sketch by lightly using a soft pencil like an HB or B--not a hard pencil like an H. The softness refers to the lead of the pencil. Rough paper or an inexpensive sketch pad will be fine in the beginning; you'll be making lots of sketches.

3. Play with your figure(s). Exaggerate! Enlarge or stretch an image or part of it to draw attention to it.

• Use tracing paper to help you view different changes without having to draw the whole picture again. Draw the figure; cover it with tracing paper and copy the major features and make the changes you want to explore.
  
• Flip the drawing around to see if it works better in the opposite direction.
  
• Add shading if you think that will make your image funnier, more interesting, easier to see.

4. Experiment with different ways to add more details. Draw in the background to suggest a sense of place.

5. Experiment with different papers. Try out colored pencils.

6. Decide a caption for the cartoon; add dialogue, if you choose. Decide if you want a bubble or square box for the dialogue of the characters.

7. Pencil in the lettering, making sure it is readable, well spaced and dark enough to see. Use a hard lead pencil (an H) for lettering.

8. Using a fine tip felt pen, or pen and ink, ink in your cartoon. Add color if you like. Be certain the paper you've chosen will work for the ink you choose; be certain it is not so porous that the lines of your drawing will become blurred. If you choose to color with watercolor, remember to start with very light color. You can always darken a color; you can't make it lighter!

Work slowly and enjoy what you are doing. This is just the beginning!