Your real-world guide to creating and marketing original cartoons Do you love comics? Want to become a cartoonist? This practical, hands-on guide is packed with step-by-step instructions and plenty of tips for creating your own cartoons. From inanimate objects to animals to aliens, you can see how to breathe life into your characters and make your cartoons stand out. Plus, you discover how to Master the basic building blocks -- set up your workspace; start creating with pencil, ink, and pens; and fix mistakes Get the creative juices flowing -- find inspiration and formulate your cartoon idea, gag, or concept, and make it work Create your characters -- from their heads to their toes, give your characters personality and presence Assemble your comic strip -- create an effective background, plan your layout, letter your cartoons, create drama, and more Fine-tune your work -- discover the tools and techniques for digitally formatting your comics Open the book and find: An overview of the different cartooning genres Drawing techniques, such as shading and crosshatching An exploration of body, gender, species, and character types Tips for developing a cast of characters The lowdown on drawing editorial cartoons How to add color to your creations Ten steps to a finished comic strip Hints on breaking into the business