How To Draw Cartoon People (From Reference Photos) - Beginner Tutorial
22.4K views · 2026-02-19
Visual & Graphic
Time to stop drawing boring portraits and start breaking some faces.
In this tutorial, RSCO in-house artist Matt is breaking down the art of caricature. We’re talking about the art of distorting reality to capture the actual soul of your subject.
Matt will be walking through the whole process, from the initial Loomis head construction, to the final line work.
HERE’S WHAT WE’LL COVER:
-The Reality Check: Why you need to study standard head anatomy before you start distorting it.
-The Big Three: How to find the main forms of a reference image.
-The Pick Two Rule: How to push features without going too far.
-The Art of Simplification: Why simplifying a feature is often better than over-rendering it.
-The Seinfeld Study: Building a full retro mid-century poster design with caricatures.
Whether you want to draw mid-century cartoons or just sketch your friends and family, this is your guide to stylizing people the right way.
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
Standard Pencils: https://www.retrosupply.co/search?type=product&q=standard+pencils
Inferno Ink: https://www.retrosupply.co/search?type=product&q=inferno+ink
Duplitone: https://www.retrosupply.co/search?type=product&q=duplitone
Want more brush packs, tutorials and freebies? Check out www.retrosupply.co
CREDITS:
VIDEO AND ART Created by Matt Tower exclusively for RetroSupply Co. Follow him on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royland.art/
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Why Most Artists Get Caricature Wrong
0:38 – You Can’t Stylize What You Can’t Draw (Loomis Method Basics)
1:24 – How to Construct the Head Step-by-Step
2:31 – Choosing the Right Reference (Finding Energy & Vibe)
3:30 – Blocking in Big Shapes Before Details
4:35 – Using Liquify & Transform to Start Exaggerating
5:13 – The “Pick Two” Rule (How to Exaggerate Without Ruining Likeness)
6:08 – Stylizing Accessories to Strengthen Character
7:14 – The Real Skill: Simplification
8:05 – What to Delete (Making Executive Decisions)
8:40 – Exaggerating Gesture vs. Anatomy
9:30 – Drawing Multiple Characters in One Scene
10:20 – Finding the Hook for Each Face
11:33 – Inking with Line Weight for Depth & Focus
12:12 – Adding Color, Halftones & Texture
12:42 – Creating a Mid-Century Poster Scene
15:00 – Final Thoughts: What Caricature Is Really About
📱LET'S CONNECT:
==================================
🛒: RetroSupply Shop: https://www.retrosupply.co
✉️ Newsletter: https://www.retrosupply.co/pages/newsletter
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrosupply/
👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRetroSupply/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@retrosupply
RetroSupply Co. is a leading provider of brushes, textures, fonts, and digital tools for designers and artists.
Thanks for using RetroSupply Co. products and for watching our videos. Don't forget to subscribe and hit notifications to never miss a video.
In this tutorial, RSCO in-house artist Matt is breaking down the art of caricature. We’re talking about the art of distorting reality to capture the actual soul of your subject.
Matt will be walking through the whole process, from the initial Loomis head construction, to the final line work.
HERE’S WHAT WE’LL COVER:
-The Reality Check: Why you need to study standard head anatomy before you start distorting it.
-The Big Three: How to find the main forms of a reference image.
-The Pick Two Rule: How to push features without going too far.
-The Art of Simplification: Why simplifying a feature is often better than over-rendering it.
-The Seinfeld Study: Building a full retro mid-century poster design with caricatures.
Whether you want to draw mid-century cartoons or just sketch your friends and family, this is your guide to stylizing people the right way.
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
Standard Pencils: https://www.retrosupply.co/search?type=product&q=standard+pencils
Inferno Ink: https://www.retrosupply.co/search?type=product&q=inferno+ink
Duplitone: https://www.retrosupply.co/search?type=product&q=duplitone
Want more brush packs, tutorials and freebies? Check out www.retrosupply.co
CREDITS:
VIDEO AND ART Created by Matt Tower exclusively for RetroSupply Co. Follow him on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royland.art/
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Why Most Artists Get Caricature Wrong
0:38 – You Can’t Stylize What You Can’t Draw (Loomis Method Basics)
1:24 – How to Construct the Head Step-by-Step
2:31 – Choosing the Right Reference (Finding Energy & Vibe)
3:30 – Blocking in Big Shapes Before Details
4:35 – Using Liquify & Transform to Start Exaggerating
5:13 – The “Pick Two” Rule (How to Exaggerate Without Ruining Likeness)
6:08 – Stylizing Accessories to Strengthen Character
7:14 – The Real Skill: Simplification
8:05 – What to Delete (Making Executive Decisions)
8:40 – Exaggerating Gesture vs. Anatomy
9:30 – Drawing Multiple Characters in One Scene
10:20 – Finding the Hook for Each Face
11:33 – Inking with Line Weight for Depth & Focus
12:12 – Adding Color, Halftones & Texture
12:42 – Creating a Mid-Century Poster Scene
15:00 – Final Thoughts: What Caricature Is Really About
📱LET'S CONNECT:
==================================
🛒: RetroSupply Shop: https://www.retrosupply.co
✉️ Newsletter: https://www.retrosupply.co/pages/newsletter
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrosupply/
👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRetroSupply/
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@retrosupply
RetroSupply Co. is a leading provider of brushes, textures, fonts, and digital tools for designers and artists.
Thanks for using RetroSupply Co. products and for watching our videos. Don't forget to subscribe and hit notifications to never miss a video.