A cartoon is a type of illustrative drawing that is often humorous and has characters or backgrounds drawn with imaginary or exaggerated features. Historically, the word "cartoon" referred to an oversized sketch or preparatory drawing that artists used to transfer their designs to a fresco wall or canvas. In modern times, "cartoon" usually refers to the caricatures often featured in comic strips or animated films. There are multiple cartoon drawing styles, ranging from comic strips to graphic novels, caricatures, manga, anime, kawaii, or even characters designed for animation in films and television. The artists who create cartoons can also be referred to as cartoonists or animators, depending on what substyle they work in.

When learning to become a cartoonist, having a foundation in drawing and color is immensely helpful. Specifically, you'll need a basic understanding of color, line, shading, value, and volume. Artists can create cartoons using a variety of media, including, but not limited to, graphite, colored pencils, watercolor, ink, markers, and even digital production using graphic art skills. The next step in pursuing cartoon drawing depends on the type of cartoonist you'd like to become. For example, learning to use colored pencils would be helpful to an artist just starting to draw in kawaii style, while a future graphic novel artist may want to study the fundamentals of ink or marker drawing. As you advance in your cartooning practice, you may also want to consider taking a course in digital drawing. Knowing the basics for one or two types of software could help expand your horizons into a digital cartoon practice or even a venture into animation.