Chris Hart: Cartoonist

Tips from a Cartoonist

Chris Hart collected comic books as a kid. Now, he's a professional artist with his own studio.

Chris started working as a cartoonist in high school, designing animated characters for a small company in California. Since then, he has written and illustrated more than 60 how-to-draw books.

I always liked to draw and collect comic books, but I wouldn’t read the words—I would just look at the pictures. I was amazed at how the comic-book artists could draw expressions.

When I was 12, I started concentrating on cartooning in particular. It was fun, and I found out that I could draw a cartoon in only a few minutes. Drawing realistically took a lot of time.

When I was in eighth grade, there was another kid in class who was a great cartoonist—better than I. His artwork was getting all of the attention! I decided then that I was going to improve my drawings, and it became a competition between the two of us. Throughout high school, we each tried to outdraw the other. We became good friends, and we’re still friends today. We no longer compete, but we’re both professional artists.

Story and Illustrations by Chris Hart ~ Photo courtesy of Chris Hart