Meet Eugene!

A Guest Post by A Student Cartoonist

We have an extra fun one today!

We invited Justin’s younger sister, my daughter Bethany, to write for us.

Bethany is a high school senior, mostly finished with her core curriculum. Many of her study hours are devoted to art. Doodling, drawing, watercolors—you name it. On any given day, you will find Bethany following tutorials, reading art books, and creating.

In today’s post, Bethany shared about how she is developing her skills as a cartoonist. I’ve learned a lot as I have watched Bethany draw cartoon characters, and I think you will too.

We are a mother-and-son illustration team. Our drawings are hand-drawn and traced in the computer. Our goal is to help Substackers illustrate their publications with fun and simple drawings. We’re trying to restore the human creativity that is being lost from the progression of technology and AI.

Studying Cartooning

By Bethany

Growing up with storybooks, TV shows, and Pixar movies, I have often admired the work of cartoon artists. Cartoonists know how to put a smile on a child’s face. Cartoons are fun and nostalgic, and they’re supposed to be.

As a homeschooled art student, I find cartoons fun to draw. There’s something to drawing a picture where the lines and proportions don’t need to be exactly right. They can be imaginative and silly.

To develop my cartooning skills, I watched a YouTube series by Let’s Draw with BeeJayDeL.

This is a great series. The videos are well done and easy to follow. I recommend it for anyone practicing cartooning.

Finding My Style

I liked the way my drawings came out when I was following a video, but artists say you need to develop a personal style. What if I never figure out a style that is perfect for me? I was always influenced by other people.

I just needed to be patient with the process. Influence isn’t a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with imitating other artists. However, I needed to use my creativity to call the drawings mine.

I drew characters without watching a video. That was a big step. Still, I was using the concepts the man taught in his videos. That was okay. I was getting better.

To change things up, I decided to give my characters big heads. I like drawing large heads because I can highlight the facial expressions. I combined this idea with other elements of art I had seen and started my own style.

Here’s one of the first drawings I created with this style.

Naming My Characters

As I drew my characters, personalities emerged, and I started naming them. I’ll introduce you to a few of them.

Claire

The first character I named was Claire.

Claire is assertive, pretty, and perhaps a bit vain. She spends a lot of time in front of the mirror getting her make-up just right.

Click to enlarge.

Chuck

Next up is Chuck.

He is care-free and very sloppy. You can tell by his messy hair.

It’s always good to look at your life for inspiration. Some of the inspiration for this character came from my brothers. 😃

Click to enlarge.

Karen and Her Two Boys

I drew a little boy named Sammy, a woman named Karen, and a baby boy. I decided they should be a family: a young mother and her two sons.

Click to enlarge.

I drew a man with dark skin and a character who was supposed to be his wife. After coloring, I thought the woman looked more like his mother.

Eugene and Emma

Lastly, I’ll introduce you to an elderly couple. I named them Eugene and Emma.

Inspired to Write a Story

Of all my characters, one inspired me to write a children’s book: Eugene. However, to make a story about him, I had to adjust the drawing.

I started with the same idea, an old man with a mustache. I needed to fix the shape of his body and head. A few wrinkles, a pair of glasses, and a different outfit—what do you think? Is this an improvement?

Let me tell you a little about Eugene. Like I said, he is married to Emma. He’s retired and needs to find something he enjoys to keep busy.

Most importantly, he hates vegetables. This is the basis for my story.

When writing a children’s story, there has to be something about the characters that a child can relate to. A man who only likes junk food seemed perfect.

I drew many pictures for my story.

Coloring My Drawings

I was happy with the drawings. However, I wanted to color them digitally to give them a crisp look.

I had no idea how to start, so I went to my brother Justin. This is the benefit of having AJ Doodles in the family. I knew Justin’s graphic design and computer skills would help. Justin showed me how to scan my drawings and transfer them to the computer. He gave me an app to work with Krita.

I have seen Justin color drawings on the computer many times. I have always thought it looked kind of fun, but I figured my talent was drawing by hand. After doing a project where I had to color many digital pieces, I still think my talent is more in drawing with pencil and paper than in computer work. I did enjoy the digital coloring, though.

Justin was very patient with me throughout this project. I’m not a techy person. I had to get Justin’s help quite a few times throughout the project. He always figured out the best way to do things and helped me when I made mistakes.

My mom was very supportive too. Given that she is an artist, my mom and I like exchanging opinions about the other’s art. She gave me ideas as I showed her my drawings along the way.

Eugene in Color

The more I worked in Krita, the better and faster I became.

The first drawing that I colored was Eugene eating his junk food. I have to admit, it was pretty fun coloring the pizza and ice cream. :)

I am glad I learned a new skill on the computer. It’ll come in handy if I decide to make another story. I became better at drawing, writing, and digital coloring by doing this project.

Next Up…

This post is just the beginning of the fun with Eugene! Next week, Justin will show you how he created a book cover for Bethany’s story, and we have a special surprise for our subscribers.

So, stay tuned!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on Bethany’s drawings.