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My custom cartoon portrait process

Custom cartoon portrait process

I’ve been doing a lot of custom cartoon portrait orders for cards and prints over the last few years. People just seem to love seeing themselves and others in cartoon form! Read on to find out how I go about creating my stick figure portraits step by step…

First steps

When I get an order for a cartoon portrait card or print the first thing I do is get in touch with the customer to ask them to send photos and find out if they have any preferences regarding outfits, etc. If the photos show anyone both with and without glasses or a beard then I’ll double check which version they want. (I did once get two photos of someone’s Dad for a personalised birthday card which both showed him with a beard, and I was only when I sent the first proof that she told me he no longer had a beard… in a tone that seemed surprised I didn’t know this…)

Once I have the photos and other information I need to get started I open up my sketchbook and get started.

Layout of each custom cartoon portrait

I begin by very roughly sketching stick figures on the page in the positions and poses I want them in. This is helpful for getting proportions right in even one person portraits but is especially important when I’m doing larger family portraits for making sure they’re balanced. Check out this example from a family cartoon portrait I worked on recently:

Custom cartoon portrait layout
This sketch shows roughly where each family member will be in relation to each other.

I sometimes send this to the customer to check they’re happy with the layout, but usually only if there are at least four people in a family portrait.

Filling in the detail

The next step is to start working on each person’s head, working from the photos. This is the most important bit to get right in order for the customer to recognise the real people from the cartoon versions.

Custom cartoon portrait heads sketch
Here I used pencil to draw the detail of each person’s head and try to capture their likeness

Once happy with that I’ll move on to the bodies and add in any props or pets. You can faintly see how I draw the bodies and clothes around the original stick figure sketches.

pencil sketch of family
This example shows the pencil sketch once finished

I try to make sure I’m completely happy with this step before I move on, as it’s much easier to draw with pencil than to edit digitally later on. When I’m content that I’ve captured each person’s likeness I’ll use my Tombow brush pens* to go over the pencil in black ink. If necessary I’ll use my Derwent Graphik line maker pens* for any very fine details before rubbing out the pencil marks.

Inked sketch
This shows the inked version in my sketchpad – ready to scan in

Digitising the sketch

The drawing is now ready to scan in. I use the ‘Text’ setting in black and white to get the sharpest outlines I can. I leave the image rasterised rather than converting it to a line drawing as otherwise some of the detail can be lost and it also looks less hand drawn.

Custom cartoon portrait scanned
Here’s what the digital image looked like once it was scanned in

At this point I leave my pens and pencils behind and do all the rest of the editing digitally. I sharpen up the contrast and remove any marks that have come through on the scan but shouldn’t be there. I also fix any slips or mistakes I may have made in the inking stage.

Time to add colour! All the colour is digitally added, to make it easier to make any colour changes if the customer asks for them. I send a first proof to the customer to get their feedback once I’m happy with the digital image and colours .

cartoon portrait sketch first proof
Here’s the first proof I sent to the customer with colour added

Final edits

A lot of the time the customer accepts the first proof. However it also often happens that they ask for colour changes or realise that the photo they sent showed an older hairstyle, facial hair or glasses.

In the example above I’d been given instructions for outfits of two of the family members but omitted to check what the others should wear and did my own thing. This was foolish of me… In this case the customer felt that the two figures in orange and blue were too casual looking in relation to the rest. As a result I needed to digitally redraw these two outfits. (She also asked for a few colour changes but these are very easily done.) I’m now trying to ask more questions and getΒ as much detail as possible before starting. This is much easier than having to edit digitally later, and I’m hopefully getting better at remembering to do this!

The finished product – how this custom cartoon portrait turned out

Once I’d made these edits and send a second proof the customer was very happy with her family portrait. I’ll always keep going until the customer is completely satisfied with what I’ve created! Here’s the finished product:

The final cartoon family portrait as sent to the customer

She also asked me to sign the portrait as she said I should get credit for my artwork, which I thought was really lovely of her! I’ve also done quite a few other cartoon portraits for her, so despite my mistake she remained a very loyal customer πŸ™‚

So that’s my process! I love doing custom cartoon portraits. They result in me having a lot more interaction with my customers than I do with ready to ship orders that are just printed and posted off. Some really terrific customers come back again and again and I’m always so pleased to hear from them when they ask for another custom cartoon portrait for a new occasion.

Take a look at the range in my shop to see examples of all theΒ different custom cartoon portrait cards and prints that I offer.

* These are affiliate links, which means that if you click on them and buy I will get a tiny commission on that product – it doesn’t cost you anything though! And I only add affiliate links to products I actually like and use (of course).

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Choosing a 60th birthday wishes card

Whiskey 60th birthday card

How do you choose a card to send 60th birthday wishes? 60 years old is an appreciable milestone, so you don’t want to give just any old card. I always think that if you’re going to go to the trouble of giving a card then it might as well be a great one!
Of course this applies to any milestone birthday, but I’ll use a 60th as an example. You have a few options if you don’t want to go the generic card route (and why would you?)

  • Choose a card that emphasises the 60
  • Choose a card that is tailored to them personally
  • Choose a card that does both!

If it’s someone you actually give a crap about then why not do both? (And if they’re not, then WHY are you sending them a card?!)

Make it personal

By choosing a card that shows that you remember that it’s their 60th birthday and that you know them well enough to know what they like, you’re also showing that you’ve given this card some thought and not just bought the first thing you saw.

For instance if you know they love their wine, then you could send a card like this one…

Wine 60th birthday wishes - 60th birthday card

Buy this wine 60th birthday card

But if they’re more of a whiskey drinker, you could choose this one…

Whiskey 60th birthday wishes - 60th birthday card

Buy this whiskey 60th birthday card

You could also give a card that reflected their favourite hobby, TV show or anything else you know they like. If they’re known for being a chocaholic, or pizza guzzler, or coffee fanatic… well, you get the idea!

Custom 60th birthday wishes

For extra brownie points, you could customise the card with their name. This way they’ll know you put some extra effort in, in advance, and didn’t just pick a card off a rack at the last minute.

You could also make a card yourself if you’re that way inclined, or if you have kids you could get them to do it, with a little bit of overseeing.

And if you really want to go all out then you could go for a professionally printed but completely custom card like the one below. These are all completely one of a kind, as I draw the cartoon portrait from photos that are sent to me. You can’t get much more personal than that πŸ™‚

Custom cartoon portrait 60th birthday card

Order a custom cartoon portrait card to send 60th birthday wishes

There are so many great cards out there to choose from, so there’s really no excuse for sending a crappy one…Β And obviously these tips apply to choosing any milestone birthday card, not just choosing 60th birthday wishes.
Do you have any other tips for choosing birthday cards that are extra special? If so let me know on social media or by dropping me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

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Valentine cards with cartoon portraits

Valentine cards have always been intriguing to me. When I was a kid there was always that anticipation that someone might fancy me enough to secretly give me a card, mixed with the slight dread that I might be the only one who wouldn’t get a Valentine… both of which happened a few times in different years. Continue reading Valentine cards with cartoon portraits

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Cartoon portrait Christmas cards and prints

I added a whole lot of Christmas designs, including cartoon portrait Christmas cards, to my Etsy shop a while back, but have been holding back before sharing them with you on here. I really don’t like it when Christmas starts too soon (not because I don’t love Christmas – I do – but because it’s always just those selling stuff that start talking about it months before and I don’t want to be that person!)

Now that the colder weather has arrived and we’re well into November however, I thought I’d let you know about some of the goodies you can find in my Etsy shop for Christmas πŸ™‚
Continue reading Cartoon portrait Christmas cards and prints

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Custom name children's birthday cards

custom name children's birthday cards

Children love to see their own name in print and custom name children’s birthday cards are much more likely to be treasured by both kids and parents alike for a long time after they’re received.

This post has been updated to reflect the changes in my shop, as I’ve recently added a new range of children’s birthday cards.

I have personalised name cards for different ages as well as ones that are for any age. Here are a few examples…

Custom name children’s birthday cards with ages

These cards not only allow you to add a custom name but you can choose from a variety of children’s ages too. The rabbit and tractor designs are especially suited to younger children.

Personalised Rabbit Birthday Card (Ages)
Tractor Personalised Birthday Card (Ages)

Dinosaur custom name birthday cards

Two different dinosaur designs (complete with dino pun!) that can be personalised with the child’s name. So many young children are obsessed with dinosaurs, and would be thrilled to received one of these cards with their name on it. But will you choose the Triceratops or the Stegosaurus?

Dinosaur Birthday Card (Personalisable) – Triceratops
Personalised Dinosaur Birthday Card – Stegosaurus

Personalised unicorn card

This magical unicorn card is made even more special with the addition of the child’s name. The design is also available separately with different ages instead of personalisation.

Personalised Unicorn Birthday Card

I hope the variety of different designs makes it easy to choose an extra special personalised card for the child you have in mind. Which one is your favourite? Come find me on Instagram and let me know!