Animals Archives | Freelance cartoonist and illustrator

Prehistoric animals

You’ve probably already seen my cartoon Woolly Mammoth and Sabre-tooth tiger, but have you seen any of my other recent prehistoric animals? These were great fun to do – take a look below for yourself!

Ceratogaulus

This was my first real encounter with this critter – Ceratogaulus was basically a prehistoric rodent with a pair of small horns jutting out of it’s nose.

I’m not sure on exact food he would have eaten, but the thought of him throttling a cartoon worm was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Just to complete this composition, and because he’s rather small, I chose to place him on a set of small boulders.

Glyptodon

Another childhood favourite of mine is the armadillo-like glyptodon.

A hairy mammal with a solid, egg-like shell and thick spikey tail – reminds me of a pineapple!

This particular cartoon Glyptodon has a cheeky offspring riding on his back!

I experimented a little here also with the scaley shell pattern – creating a swatch and then repeating across the shell.

Woolly Rhino

This character was immense fun to do, with all of his fur and oversized features allowed for a lot of scope as a cartoon!

I wanted a stark contrast between the body and the face/limbs, so as with the mammoth, I opted for a pale grey.

I then had fun with a custom brush to make the hair look extra shaggy.

Orohippus

Prehistoric horses were very different to those we have today. For starters, they were only about the size of your average domestic dog!

As they are only small, I thought I’d have a pair of them playing together, racing through some foliage.

The most unusual thing I think about the prehistoric horses is that they had toes instead of hooves – those came later!

Paraphysornis

You may have heard the phrase used in Jurassic Park about the Velociraptor being a six-foot turkey? Well, Paraphysornis was exactly this… and then some!

Literally a massive beak on legs, this prehistoric bird chased smaller mammals around Brazil some 23 million years ago.

This one is pictured chasing a rather terrified prehistoric horse for his dinner!

What do you think of these cartoon Prehistoric animals?

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on these cartoon critters and if you’d like some of yuor own, please get in touch!

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Clownfish ahoy!

I’ve recently begun a new series of sea creature cartoon illustrations and wanted to start the series with a well known (and thanks to films like Finding Nemo) and recognisable spieces – the clownfish!

About my clownfish

Clownfish have always intregued me, even from a very young age, watching them swimming around in aquariums.

They always seemed so very small and friendly, with their little-rounded fins and cute faces. I also loved the bold and crisp white in their stripes.

With this cartoon illustration, I thought that one clownfish on his own would look a bit small and lost, and seeing as they’re quite sociable little things, I thought I needed at least two!

A crazy anemone

So as you know, the best friend of any clownfish is the sea anemone.

Now, for those of you that don’t know, sea anemones live on coral reefs and attach themselves to rocks with a strong sucker.

The mouth of the anemone is located in the centre of the stinging tentacles, but as this is a cartoon, it would only look right on the side accompanied by a pair of googly eyes!

I imagine that the anemone would also provide shelter for other sea creatures, including my cartoon blue crab from the teeth of hungry shark!

Cartoon sea creatures

If you like the various cartoon sea creatures that you’ve seen in this post or indeed around this website, please get in touch today!

Shark Logo

I’ve recently completed the design of a shark logo for a client who runs a fishing channel, The Lawless Tide!

The brief

My brief was to create a dynamic and eye-catching shark logo for a fishing channel. The shark needed to be leaping out of the waves, pulling a fishing rod behind him – snatched from a shoreline fisherman!

Sketches and ideas

As always, my first port of call is a few quick sketches to get a feel for the piece. I’ve drawn several cartoon sharks in the past so already had a feel for how he might look.

I wanted to make sure he looked very energetic and mischievous, with lots of emphasis on his sharp teeth! I had to ensure that the fishing rod was also very easy and clear to see, being such a slender object.

There was also the requirement for some waves that the shark was ploughing through.

Experimenting with composition

Once I had a look for my shark logo and an idea of the composition, I experimented with the placement of the elements.

As this was to be used as a channel logo/avatar I also needed to ensure it would fit within a square. I also toyed with the idea of whether the waves would be contained within the circle, or spilling out.

Creating the shark logo

Once the pencil sketches and composition were approved by the client, it was time to digitise the outlines.

This was all done in Illustrator as a vector artwork – the main advantage to this being the artwork can be easily amended. It also has the advantage of being able to be scaled to any size without any loss of quality.

Once all outlines were completed, base colours were added, followed by all shading and highlights.

Shark logo text

As with the existing videos on The Lawless Tide channel, I needed a typeface that would suit the feel of the logo.

This needed to be fairly loose and relaxed, but also bold enough to be viewed at a small size. The request was that it would also need to be yellow to match the existing channel lettering.

Once I’d played with the letterforms and arranged them into a looser format, I bulked up their appearance. After that, more wave-like shapes were added behind to help give more impact to the text against the busy shark.

Parasaurolophus cartoon

Parasaurolophus was a large herbivore from the late Cretaceous period and belonged to a group known as the Hadrosaurs.

This particular dinosaur is known for its large, elaborate head crest, which forms a long curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull.

Parasaurolophus was such a distinctive creature I just had(rosaur) to draw it (did I get away with that awful pun?)

My Parasaurolophus cartoon

When I looked back at the other dinosaur cartoons I’d created in my portfolio, I realised we needed more bipedal characters.

Although not the first dinosaur people think of, It’s the head-crest that really makes him stand out.

I went about creating a pencil sketch initially. Once I had something I liked, I took the sketch and digitised all of the outlines.

In terms of colour, I wanted to use something vivid, yet friendly to convey the gentle nature of this dinosaur.

I went for a nice orange shade in the end and feel this works very well, not only on its own but also when placed next to the others.

What were the Hadrosaurs?

The Hadrosaurs were a group of dinosaurs that lived during the late Cretaceous period. They had a stiff tail (most likely for balance), bumpy skin and hoof-like feet. Ok, maybe my version isn’t scientifically accurate, but hey, it’s a cartoon!

They were also characterised by many of them sporting a distinctive head crest. These head crests would vary in size and shape on each species.

They’d travel in large herds across the plains of North America and would’ve provided a prime food source for hungry predators, such as Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor!

Additional Hadrosaur cartoons

I’m so pleased with this Parasaurolophus that I think I shall add to the ranks in due time.

Who knows, we could even draw enough of them for a mini Hadrosaur party – what do you think?

Cartoon Pterodactyl

As we’re rumbling through Jurassic June, I felt we needed to add some variation to our dinosaurs with a cartoon Pterodactyl.

Why choose to do a cartoon pterodactyl?

Not strictly a dinosaur, but is synonymous with what we have in mind when we think of prehistoric times. This particular pterodactyl is actually based on one of the larger species, known as Pteranodon.

Pteranodon had a wingspan of over 6 metres and due to a large toothless beak, fed on fish. They lived primarily in North America during the late Cretaceous period.

Other types of Pterosaur

There were many varieties of pterosaur that roamed the skies of the Mesozoic era. I’ve included a few more for you below!

Feilongus

Another giant of the prehistoric skies was the Feilongus.

Feilongus basically translates as ‘flying dragon’ – quite apt when you consider his appearance!

This Pterosaur had two crests on it’s skull – one long and low one in the middle of it’s snout and a second projecting from the rear of its head.

Quetzalcoatlus

With a wingspan the width of a small aircraft, Quetzalcoatlus must have been an impressive sight some 70 million years ago!

This Pterosaur had an unusually long, stiffened neck. Its name comes from the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl.

Do you need any cartoon dinosaurs or prehistoric creatures?

These are always great fun to draw and I’d be more than happy to draw some for you!

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Cartoon Ankylosaurus

Talk about a living tank – this cartoon Ankylosaurus is that and then some! Even his eyelids were armoured!

What was the Ankylosaurus?

An armoured giant from the late Cretaceous period, Ankylosaurus was more than a match for even the biggest Tyrannosaur!

Its name means ‘fused lizard’ from all of the tightly fused armour plates on its body.

It was a gentle herbivore, reaching lengths of up to 7 metres and covered in bony armour plates and dozens of sharp spines.

It had a wide, low skull, with two horns pointing backwards from the back of the head, and two horns below these that pointed backwards and down.

The end of the tail was formed into an enormous bony club, which would have been swung at predators for defence.

Why a cartoon Ankylosaurus?

Ankylosaurus has always been a popular favourite, both of mine and popular culture.

This particular dinosaur was created firstly as a pencil sketch. I then fully digitised the artwork in Adobe Illustrator.

I’m particularly pleased with how the armour came out – almost like a giant, purple corn on the cob!

The contrast between the light and dark shades of purple also work well and helps to distinguish him from my other dinosaur cartoons.

Fun fact…

The fused plates that make up the Ankylosaur’s armour are called ‘Osteoderms’. These are only found in extinct animals, as well as crocodiles and some amphibians.

Cartoon Brachiosaurus

With his towering neck and mighty shoulders, here’s the next entry for my dinosaur series – a cartoon Brachiosaurus!

A little bit about the Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus was a sauropod from the late Jurassic period (155-140 million years ago) and first discovered in 1903.

His name means ‘arm reptile’ due to the oversized front legs, probably to help him graze from taller trees

Why choose a cartoon brachiosaurus?

Ever since a child and seeing him in one of the opening sequences to the wonderful Jurassic Park, I knew I had to create a cartoon Brachiosaurus.

He was another cartoon that began life as a pencil sketch, with emphasis on the large body and small head.

I wanted to add a dopey, yet gentle expression on his face. He’s then topped off with a long neck, but relatively shorter tail.

I chose a subtle blue tone to colour this cartoon dinosaur, as I felt this not only mirrored his personality but also contrasts well with the other dinosaurs.

Being a gentle herbivore, he’ll be quite at home amongst my other cartoon dinosaurs, Stegosaurus and Triceratops.

Cartoon Dinosaurs

I don’t know about you, but I love drawing cartoon dinosaurs (and anything else prehistoric for that matter!)

Whenever I possibly can I’ll break out the sketchbook and create some monstrous beastie from the Mesozoic period!

If you’d like to know more about a particular dinosaur, simply click on the picture.

View a few of my favourites below and if you like them, there are more in my portfolio!

A selection of my cartoon dinosaurs

Cartoon Stegosaurus

Here is one of my favourite dinosaurs, the Stegosaurus. Always been a big fan of this dinosaur, with his array of plates arranged down his back.

Be wary of that tail though! He’s armed with four, three-foot long spikes which would definately make any Tyrannosaur think twice!

Triceratops Cartoon

Next up for your Jurassic celebrations is the mighty Triceratops! With three giant horns on his head and a protective head-frill, this dinosaur would have looked impressive in life.

Luckily for us, my cartoon version is much friendlier and would rather play fetch!

Cartoon Velociraptor

Springing into action is my fierce and lively cartoon Velociraptor!

Armed with sharp claws on his toes and even sharper teeth, he isn’t someone you’d mess with… unless you were Chris Pratt of course!

Be sure to take cover when you see a Velociraptor… as others aren’t usually far behind!

Cartoon Brachiosaurus

Say hello to a gentle giant of the Jurassic period – the mighty Brachiosaurus

One of the tallest of the dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus could easily look over the top of a three-storey building and weighed as much as twelve elephants!

Cartoon Ankylosaurus

Check out this guy – a walking tank, covered in armoured plating and toting one mighty club on the end of his tail!

Ankylosaurus lived at the end of the Cretaceous period and would’ve used it’s defences against hungry Tyrannosaurs!

Cartoon Pterodactyl

Ok, so not strictly a dinosaur but a family of winged reptiles that ruled the prehistoric skies.

This particular creature is a Pteranodon and had a wingspan equivalent to that of a small light aircraft!

Parasaurolophus cartoon

Another popular dinosaur that I just had to have a go at drawing is Parasaurolophus.

Also known as one of the ‘duck-billed’ dinosaurs, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to add a comical expression to his face.

Topped off with a nice vibrant orange colour-scheme, I think he stands out very well!

Tyrannosaurus cartoon

I’ve saved my favourite for last – the undesputed king of the dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex!

As with the other cartoon dinosaurs, this one was devised as a pencil sketch before being fully digitised.

He’s now free to roam my portfolio, hunting down his favourite prey…

My cartoon dinosaurs are all available as vinyl stickers!

Head over to my dinostore and bring home some prehistoric beasties of your very own!

Let’s go dino shopping!