This tutorial will show you how to create a cute cartoon bunny in Photoshop.

 

Draw and scan in the most cuddliest and cutest image you can draw.

Next, let’s prepare your workspace.
Unlock your background layer, Aka, the layer with your image on it. In the layers window, click the scroll down menu with ‘normal’ written in it and click ‘multiply’. This makes all colours on the layers below show thought the white, you’ll see later on
And now its time to use my favorite friend, the ‘pen tool’ (looks like pen nib in your tool bar). Depending on your version of Photoshop you should have either an option window or an option bar (mines a bar) make sure you have the rubber band option selected. Makes life so much easier.

 

Now start to map out the shape of the sketch with the pen tool. Click the anchor in place and drag your mouse until the pen tool line or rubber band mimic’s the basic line of the sketch below. If you’re alien to the pen tool, don’t worry if you can’t get this the first time. It take’s practice and patience.

Now I’ve here have only done half of the shape and closed the path. Once you’ve finished, on your paths windows click the arrow > ‘make selection’ > ‘new selection’. Now make a new layer to go UNDER your sketch layer and slap in any colour you please with the fill tool!!

Now I tend to cheat here >.> (that’s why I only made half of the body shape!) I copy the layer with colour by dragging it to the new layer button at the bottom of the layers window. Once I’ve done that I go to the edit drop down menu at the top of the screen > Transform > flip horizontal and move the new layer in place so it meets up with the sketch.

So now you now how to make it symmetrical you can use the same process for the feet, eyes and ears. Each to there own separate layer.

Now create a new layer and label it features. Here we’ll put some light into the eyes. First of all make the layer 50% opacity first, this can be found in the layer window. Select the paint brush and make the hardness, opacity and flow 100%. Now you can any size brush to put in the light effects in the eyes. Also on this layer I have put in the mouth and at 50% opacity it fits in perfectly.

Now here’s the tricky part, shadows. First of all click the eye on the sketch layer to make its invisible. Select your magic wand tool and in the options bar/window select ‘sample all layers’. Now click the negative space around the outside of the bunny. Once you’re done that go to the select menu and go to inverse. Right, now create a new layer and call it ‘shadow’ and then fill it with the selected area on the new layer with black with the paint bucket tool. Okay so its pretty black, to correct this go to the opacity again in the layers window like before and put it to 50%. Tricky part over.

If you feel the image needs more definition create a new layer and call it ‘highlights’. Need I’ve add some white section using the same pen tool method to put in some light on the ears and body.

Well now you can put your sketch layer back into view again and the fun bit begins Using the same method as before with the pen tool start selecting the part of the shadow you don’t want and delete them.

And here’s how we do his little speech balloon. Again create a new layer and call it ‘Balloon’. Using the pen tool mimic the shape of the sketch below and fill it with black or a dark colour. Then put a white circle inside the balloon shape and draw whatever you character wants to say! Remember to put the shape that inside the speech balloon on a different layer and name it so you don’t forget.

For the shadowing it’s similar to before. (if your shape inside the balloon isn’t on one layer I recommend you merge the relevant layers to together so that they are) This time select your wand tool and unselected the sample all layers. Again click in the negative space around the shape, again go the select menu and inverse it and on a separate layer fill with black and lower the opacity of the new shadow layer to 50%. And as before start removing the area you don’t want to be shaded.

And they’re you are! Now you can see what a pen-a-holic I am. The process’s I’ve used here are simple once you get the hang of them. So keep experimenting and see what you can come up with!