How to Draw The Iblesnuts Gang for Halloween

Good grief! What would Halloween be like without Instructables? It's the great Robot, Charlie Brown.

Whenever you think of Halloween, I always think back to the classic Peanuts "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." So what happens when we have Robot and some of our favorite ibles staffers transformed into Peanuts characters and bring us the true message of Halloween?

Observe the process that you can replicate and improve upon. I would have tried to draw the entire thing in SketchBook Pro (trial) directly but I lent out my old drawing tablet to one of Caitlin's friends to work out on her art school portfolio. A mouse is not the ideal input device when trying to do freehand drawing. Also, I am not allowed to use her ipad.

You can call it sketching, doodling, drawing, inking in, coloring, etc. but the end product here is a drawing that falls into something that looks more cartoon-like than fine arts -like. By the way, I happen to have this instructable on instructable comics that you can check out.

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Step 1: Oh, it's Gang similar style...

One of the fun things when you try to draw is to copy someone's style. Whether it ends up a parody or pays homage to the greats, it is not to plagiarize the work of others but to modify it creatively and to build upon your own technique.

I wanted to copy the style of Charles Shulz and his cartoons Peanuts. My twist is to see if I could incorporate an instructables staffer theme into the Peanuts Halloween theme. Similarly, you could try this variation on any other theme - Pokemon, Transformers, Super Mario, or any comic.

So I will describe some basics in this ible. It should be enough to get you started on developing your own characters. You really can't ~~set anything on fire~~ mess up anything so give it a shot and practice. Good luck.

The pen is mightier than the sword....

You just need something to write with and something to write on with the something you have to write with.

I will break down the steps by taking a snapshot of the work in progress.

I will outline or sketch the basic scene or layout.

I will ink the pencil lines and then erase the pencil markings.

I will scan the image on to the computer to generate a digital image to work with.

I will use SketchBook Pro to color in and enhance the drawing. It's actually cool that it replicates the COPIC line of professional markers for professional illustration. You can download a trial version good for 15 days after installation.

Having a lightbox might be handy if you need to trace anything.

Having printed or onscreen images for reference may be handy.

CAUTION: You shouldn't get lead poisoning from using too much pencil lead, it's really graphite. Eraser crumbs are not edible and may not taste good. Sketching and driving at the same time might not be a good idea.