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Draw Cute Cartoon Characters - How to Draw a Cute Boy, Girl or Animal

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The Cute Cartoon Character Archetype
cute cartoon character S. Encarnacion, licensed to About.com, Inc.
In this tutorial, we will be drawing a cute cartoon boy. This character will follow the cute character 'archetype'. In cartooning, "archetypes" help us to communicate ideas about different types of characters. An archetype is a way to describe something universally accepted.

The archetype body for a cute character will be basically the same, even when the characters are different cute characters. This universal body shape often includes big heads, small bodies and arms, and legs.

Certain character types will be less similar between genders, but because the cute character takes its features from children's features, these characters are quite similar regardless of gender. They represent a time in life before the body fully matures into an adult or adolescent form, and thus gives it the "cute" appearance. So as you will see, you can use these basic principles to create a boy, girl or animal characters.

Copyright note: This tutorial and all drawings are copyright of Shawn Encarnacion and licensed for exclusive use to About.com, Inc. You may not publish any part of this tutorial in any form.

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