Learning to Draw Cartoons

Although I have been a cartoonist since I was a little girl, I have always been a “shy” cartoonist, keeping most of my cartoons to myself. That is until recently when I decided to risk showing off my cartooning skills in an arena that I knew pretty darn well – horses and ponies. Thus “Horse Life” was born.

Today, I thought I’d give you a backstage look at the development of some of my “Horse Life” characters. My sketchbooks are full of drawings like these, although many are less finished. Some characters seem quite chatty as sketches and always have something to say to me (usually in the margins!) When I was drawing “Privateer Princess” I had dialogs with my characters all the time, with various chatty characters frequently complaining about how I was drawing their hair, or about their lack of stage time, etc.. 

I think a lot of illustrators do this. It’s a great way of developing your ideas while staying in your characters' heads. It’s also pretty darn fun! 

The following sketches are from my most current sketchbook.

Horse and rider sizes and shapes.
Image copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2012

Horse and rider sizes and shapes.
Image copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2012.

Bucking sketches.
Image copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2012

Artists never stop drawing. Our fingers get too itchy if we try. It's a great thing when you can draw something near and dear to your heart, which is how I feel about drawing horses and riders. Perhaps one day I'll be famous for my cartoons, one never knows...but in the meantime, I can happily report that I improve with every sketch and am totally thrilled with the journey!