Illustration Archives | Freelance cartoonist and illustrator

How do you draw cartoon dinosaurs?

You may have noticed that I have an unhealthy interest in dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. When I meet people at networking events, one of the questions I always get asked is ‘how do you draw cartoon dinosaurs’?

Of course, my usual response is ‘I don’t know, it just kinda happens’! So let’s take a closer look at how I actually do it!

So why draw cartoon dinosaurs?

That’s a really good question – I mean, let’s face it, dinosaurs are just AWESOME! From a young age, I found them absolutely fascinating and I always remember seeing a picture of the Age of Reptiles mural in a school book and recreating my own versions in biro on giant lengths of wallpaper!

The best thing about drawing cartoon dinosaurs is that they’re timeless – everyone has loved dinosaurs at some point or another in their lives (or thirty-something years in my case!)

How do you start when you draw cartoon dinosaurs?

I usually begin by selecting a cartoon dinosaur that I’ve not drawn before – for the challenge, but also to keep things fresh for me.

Luckily for me, there is a whole host of dinosaurs to choose from, so there’s no shortage of inspiration!

And you can have so much fun with them too! You’ve some with spikes, some with horns, some with fins – and even some with all of the above!

1. The initial dinosaur sketch

Each dinosaur starts out as a series of rough shapes, just to get everything in place. I then join up the shapes with other pencils to give us our rough dinosaur shape.

I don’t worry too much about scientific accuracy, but I do make sure they’re recognisable as a certain species.

2. Tightening up the sketch

Once I have the shapes as I want them and looking quite good, I’ll tighten up the composition and make sure everything is where it should be.

Then I go over everything again with an outline in pencil – this will serve as the guide for the next stage – digitisation!

3. Digital outlines

The next stage when creating a cartoon dinosaur is adding in the digital outlines. For this purpose, I tend to use Adobe Illustrator and create as a vector.

The vector has the advantage of being much crisper when increased in size (which suits the style of my artwork, as it’s very much solid colour) and is very easy to edit as I go if some last minute adjustments are required.

I use the pen tool for the majority, but also have a series of pressure sensitive brushes that I like to use too.

4. Adding some prehistoric magic

Next, I go about adding in some solid colours. I have certain palettes that I tend to stick to when colouring my cartoons.

I use the pen tool in illustrator to create the larger areas of colour and then the blob brush tool to fill in smaller areas, such as teeth and horns (as these tend to be more numerous).

5. Final touches and details

Once all of the base colours are in, I will go about adding some shades and highlights on my characters. More often than not, I have the light-source directly above the dinosaur. This means the majority of the shading is underneath and the highlights are on top.

For these, I tend to use a shade of the main colour, but about 20% lighter for highlights and 20% darker for the shading, but this is subject to change depending on what I’m working on.

Adding shading and details to my cartoon dinosaur

Can I draw you some cartoon dinosaurs?

If you feel my cartoon dinosaurs could aid your business or project, please get in touch!

Let’s draw something roarsome!

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!

contact me

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 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!

Mark Hussey classical guitar album

A very exciting commission came my way recently in the form of a classical guitar album cover with a little cartoon personality on the front.

This was a cartoon design for classical guitarist, Mark Hussey, who wanted to inject a little humour into his next classical guitar album.

The title of the album was ‘Laid Back’ and contains many classical songs played in Mark’s unique style.

So with a brief and a few quirky ideas in my head, I set about getting started.

The classical guitar album front

Having seen several of my cartoon artworks, Mark approached me to capture a version of himself, playing live on stage, in my own quirky cartoon style.

He wanted to reproduce his stage environment, with a backdrop of a red curtain and a single spotlight above him.

I created a sketch of Mark first, propped up on a stool with classical guitar in hand.

My first concept had a ‘concentrating’ face, but looked a little too serious, and given the name of the album he needed to look more ‘laid back’.

I suggested that we could also include a crowd of people watching him, but not simply the backs of their heads and there should be a range of expressions and moods.

The classical guitar album back

There was also the requirement for a back cover of the album too. This initially started out as a plain coloured background, with the list of tracks presented to the side.

I felt there was something missing, and seeing as I have a love for cartoon rats I suggested to

Mark that we include an additional cartoon on the reverse in the shape of a team of rats, scurrying off with one of his prized guitars!

Development

Mark also queries with the idea of possibly including an artwork on the disc itself, to continue the theme across the whole project.

This added another nice dimension to the project, as I was able to simply take the existing artwork of Mark and add his to the side of the disk.

Obvious themes like typefaces were carried across and also chose a nice, rich shade of blue to work alongside the red used in the curtains on the front (red, white and blue – see what I did there folks?)

There was also a small space remaining on the front of the disc, and seeing as the rats went down so well with Mark, he requested that we add another cheeky little chap in.

Outcome

In all, a very fun artwork piece to be involved in and one that I feel came out really well. The colours printed nice and strong and being that it was all produced as a vector file, the linework was very crisp and vivid.

Why not pop over to my portfolio and view the final album sleeve artwork?

Client Feedback

I recently challenged Nick to come up with a design for my recent solo classical guitar album ‘Laid Back’. Nick listened to my requirements, was thoughtful, timely and produced exactly what I had been hoping for, a great album cover. I could not recommend Nick more highly for his artwork and design skills. A very talented man indeed.

A little cartoon welder…

We’ve recent acquired a new client at work and they have a requirement for a cartoon welder.

The idea being that this cartoon welder would be based on the company owner and would appear on the new website.

The welder may also be used on business cards and other materials going forward, so he needed to be bright and attractive and also work well at a small size.

Initial cartoon welder sketch

So my first sketch of the welder was a rather portly little character, with a torch in his hand and a raised mask on his head.

I chose the raised mask, as this would allow his face to be seen and give more character than a lifeless mask. The client was pleased with this, but had a few requested amendments – namely to make him a little ‘slimmer’.

They also requested that we lost the belt and the turn ups on the trousers.

Of course, working digitally the sketch was easy to change. I made the welder slimmer by moving one of the legs in and changing the whole shape of the torso.

Digital outlines…

So with a couple of spare hours this afternoon I went about adding in all of the digital outlines, along with the base colours and shading.

This was also the opportunity to try something new with my cartoon work – the creation of some custom brushes.

These were very easy to create and added a new look/feel to the standard solid lines I use in my work, so shall be using these again in future!

A splash of colour…

Next I added in some nice, bright colours for our cartoon welder. The client wears orange overalls and so complimented this by giving him heavy grey boots and gloves.

The welding mask I coloured with an olive green, again just to give some contrast and an all important third colour into the mix.

Final details…

Just to finish off our cartoon welder, I’ve put in some shades and highlights. These have been added mainly along the edges with out light source to the left and therefore the majority of the shadows are added to the right.

Designing a badger beer clip…

A surprise opportunity sprang my way tonight, as a local pub in Salisbury requires a design for a beer clip and decided to run a quick competition.

So, being a fan of both beer and cartoons, I thought I’d spring into action with my sketchpad!

This particular pub, The Winchester Gate, is a popular pub in Salisbury for it’s live music and I know it well.

I also know that the landlord is very into badgers (after all, his band is named after them), so used this as my starting point, adding a flat cap on him too (not that it’s a likeness, but just adds to the character of the pub).

Finally, I added a large glass of fresh, frothy pint in his hand – perfect for a very thirsty badger! This was also fun to do, as I needed to make the pint look not only appealing, but add some depth to it too (plus some bubbles).

The beer clip concept

Being that the purpose of this design is a beer clip for the front of the pump, I figured this design would also need a shield behind the cartoon of some description.

So had the idea of having our slightly inebriated badger leaning on top of a banner, which will contain the name of the beer, and behind him a hexagonal wooden shield.

This will allow him to have some backing and to draw the eye in towards the cartoon character, plus will make it easier to display on the pump front.

In terms of colour, I’ve gone for some earthy brown and golden tones – keeps it fresh and rural and also aids in making the badger stand out!

The result

Well, I’m very impressed with how the final design came out considering the tight time constraints.

The final decision for whether this design will be used will be made on Thursday night – wish me luck!