The TWB of Cantr??

Firstly, less then half of you are asking yourself what Cantr is. All this while the other less then half is asking themselves what TWB is and there is one of you who knows what neither of those things are. Anyone else was looking for something else and find my blog on accident so has zero clue what this is about regardless of my acronyms.

Today there shall be talks of something that actually is a cause of the problem. However, talking about the problem is actually an amusement in itself so there is no harm in breaking function of the blog any.

The simplistic notion of this post, and its title if you were inside my head, is the problem of falsified elitism among writers. Generally speaking in the matter of creative writing here. The problem is you, once and awhile, get either a group of mind thinkers or just one really loud intrusion of a man, or woman, that makes others bow to his bored prowess. A more popular example would be the Harry Potter and Twilight books.

On both sides of each, be they for or with the stories the elitist are the ones who cause the trouble for the rest. Some may say the elitist is also the fanatic if writing and creative thinking were to be taken in that route. Any human being with half of a mind can tell you that fanatic behavior only causes strife. This strife, however, is external to the fanatic or elitist group. The thing with elitism and fanaticism are that they are not self destructive and actually self rewarding.

Now fanaticism is an extra extreme taking of the form of an elite but its notion and restrictions still apply.

• Only The Best
• We of the "elite" are always in the right/know what is best.
• An argument with one ends only in the non elitist giving up or the elitist attacking the non.
• The none-elitist is always wrong and usually insulted and claimed unintelligent or something of that nature.

These behaviors are common among some circles and, sadly enough, even encouraged but it is when the elitist is the poor example that one must surly slam their foot on the person's face; figuratively, of course. This is the problem I share today.

TWB is an internet play by post RPing site which is operated and controlled by an elite group of "creative writers" who believe a story may only work a certain way and only in a certain manner. Added to the fact that one must be in the "main circle" to even see most of the activity on the site and you have a clear problem of "my farts don't stink".

This is all well and fine if you do not bump into anyone with an open and free thinking mind. When you are the puppet master there is only room for stringed sheep. So once someone like myself comes along there is always deemed trouble. Quickly this behavior brings "out the troll in me". There is a constant stream of aggressive attempts to shatter the glass house of whoever has built this "I am Jesus" wall around themselves. Any expressive of free thinking would generally resort to such tatics on the eventual level but it is difficult for me to remain on my senses. An elitist's ego, especially those without any standing, is only a zeppelin filled with hydrogen gas. Easy to pop and easier to set aflame.

However, TWB is not the issue today. Today we speak of a game that wishes to share with Cantr in its game play., Faery Tale Online (FTO). The game does a well enough job but needs a lot of work. The problem with this is that the current community on FTO has a small elitist attitude toward anyone who is not willing to simply accept FTO in the manner that is now. There are some small consensus among the group but generally they wish to keep the game how they found it. That is a fine and well to do thing to want but it is not okay to futher more attack those who simply state that the game is not perfect.

Quickly anyone who has anything negative to say about the game is flamed and attacked by some of the sites "core members". This, of course, has a negative response to those giving an honest responce about the game, when it is negative. Soon those who do not wish to play by the games current unrwritten rules that the players have arbitrarily set down for no reason other then to make the game how they wish it and subject others to "find something else".

Extra trouble of this is that the elitist are not even that elite. The sites current "golden boy" is blandly average with his words and writing. I could not get through one of his paragraphs let alone a constant stream of RP responses from this person. The community thinks it has a 'huge troll problem" but the reality is that they bring on the noise they get for their elitism with poor backing to it.

Don't fall into the trap of group think and elitism. Think outside their box and your own, always advert the norms willingly and happily. Take those who think they "know better" and break their glass houses with large brick rocks made of world shattering logic. These people are only to be an annoyance, nothing more.

This is a sad fate for FTO as the game, once you get past some major flaws in its design, is very enjoyable. With a game that is so strictly based off of its player base when you are greeted with such hostility for explaining you are not exactly happy and only trying to help, it makes you not wish to enjoy something you were enjoying.

Suggestion and Recommendation: Play Faery Tale Online, wait out its long birth queue and deal with some of its broken mechanics but do not join its forum and participate in the community unless you are willing to become a sheep puppet.

Grung Rock Munk!

There is a nice little fad on the net to make songs we all know, or at least enough of us know, into Chipmunk parodies. There are literally thousands of them on youtube but I picked out something a little extra special that gave me a smile. I was hoping that it would do something similar to you. For reference sake I am also going in include the original track music on this page as well.


Limp Bizkit - My Way


Now, who likes Limp Bizkit? They are a bit of an aquired taste and some people find them more crude then anything else but some of their songs fit into a more general type of audience, one of those is "My Way" and it is what I picked. Origianally I was going to go with "Break Stuff" but the Chipmunk version sounded a little too "rough" to have me posting on this blog without a small warning.


Limp Bizkit's My Way Chipmunk Style



I was amused by a lot of the Chipmunk reiterations but some just break the ears and sole. One of the many Tool songs just do not fit with a Chipmunk tone to them. These songs, along with others, are a little difficult to listen to sometimes but there is a small bit of smiles you could get from them if you tried.


The Pot by Tool Chipmunk Style



Did that not just make you cry in pain for the artist and/or song that was just raped by the Chipmunks? I know a tear left my cheek but I have a soft spot for the artist.

That small atrocity aside the moderately new movie did spur on these remakes some time ago and usually images from the movie are used. One particularly popular one seems to be the "gangster" Chipmunk poster but no rodent is going to look like a hard ass while he is still a rodent.

Fairy Tales!?

A game that I have been personally fighting tooth and nail is slowly gripping my attention and pulling me deeply into its game environment. It is something similar to Cantr and while only Cantr needs the hype, I shall give the other game its small dues.

Currently I have chastised the game on its forums for not fitting a few simple needs for its players while forcing other things that are based on the developer, as there is only one, views of what constitutes a reasonable world right. This would not be a problem for the games selling point not its open and free form world. A world that is free to be created by its players while still being horribly limited by its developer is not a free world. It is only the illusion of free.

You may, or may not, have realized that the name of the game has yet to be actually said. This is mainly because I still am withholding a final thought on the game. Currently it is in open Beta but due to several very bad game mechanics it would be almost impossible to actually recomened anyone this game. Especially with a delayed ability to play, currently one must wait aproximitly six to nine months before the ability to play is opened up for them.

That "feature" alone, by itself, cripples the game from being a recommendation. If this, and a couple other flaws such as its cluttered interface, are worked on or even overhauled entirely then we shall see about a full honest review.

There is, however, the shinnning hope I see with this game. I am actually enjoying some of its quirks. A few of said quirks I had originally written off as broken in one manner or another. The quriks I refer to still need work but are in no manner broken beyond the ability to play the game.

Once more time with this game is had by myself and a few things cleared with the community and/or its devolper I shall fork over a biased review, as all reviews are indeed very biased.

Faery Tale Online

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BRAIN FART!

Brain farts make me laugh, don't they you? I mean we all know its slightly annoying to have a sudden brain lapse but when you see others do it, you can not help and chuckle slightly to yourself. Apparently there was actually a study on brain farts and why they happen. According to the study, which was done last year, there is something of a thirty second precursor to a brain fart.

KGB Knows Something About Brain Farts

That being all fun, one should really check the link to the article in the side bar about the science behind a brain fart. It is really interesting to find out how the brain starts to take a nap upon doing something mindless and repetitive but anyone who has done a mindless and repetitive task could have told you that.

Really, if you stop to think about a brain fart, it may cause you to have a brain fart. You'll at least give those around you, if any, a kick from your involuntary release of ignorance.

Simon Says

Come on, who doesn't love Simon Says? I dare you not to spend at least an hour trying to beat your own personal score. Myself I could not get past about twelve. I never did have the sharpest memory but perhaps some of you will fair better.

Not much can be said about Simon Says. The game gives you a colored button combination to hit and you either do it correctly or incorrectly. Upon success you are given a longer pattern to follow. How long can you get yours?

Simon Says

Make a song with it, beat your record but above all else, remember to have fun. That is the purpose of a game after all. If you are not having fun playing Simon Says then I'm sorry you don't like pretty flashing lights with simple sound tones to implicate success.

Stretching the Truth

Roleplaying and other forms of collaborative writing all require its participants to play along with each others styles and manners by which they create. There is only a small problem with this and it is when does "truth" become "fiction" when one states a positive and another a negative from the same perspective. This is a good when trying to learn, have fun or "write by flight" but it can cause trouble among the group.

When one writer has something drastic or absurd happen* it can cause a catastrophic event among the rest. If others are not willing to play along with the sudden twist or alteration there quickly causes problems. Adversely when others do "play along" you start to break the line of truth. The truth of the story; its legitimacy, flow and general mood.


Truth

• The ability for a story to stay focused and on point.
  
• The believability to that the story has to its readers.
  
• The constant flow and easy to follow continuity of a story.
• No magic, lasers or anything not currently present in our reality.
  
• Can be found in science fiction and fantasy but is usually coined "Light Sci-Fi/Fantasy" and has little to no magic lasers etc and is "pushing" the line of truth.
  
• A stories general all around existence, if grounded in our reality.
• Requires similar minded individuals to keep truth at a constant.
  

Truth is something of a term I have "invented" for what I mean as I am unsure an actual word or phrase for what starts to happen. If a story is already on the border of the surreal then the truth is already slowly being lost and this was the point of the piece to begin with but a majority of writing, especially that of the collaborative nature, does not.

So far things sound well and good, right? Not exactly. Truth is needed to keep a reader in the story based on the reality of the world as he or she views it. This can be difficult as not everyone always sees, hears or tastes the same thing upon a similar situation. Some of us are even lacking the ability to use on of our senses so there becomes a true problem quickly.

Truth Problems

• Predictability of plot
• Lacking deep or well thought out plot
• Story is safe and appeals to a more general type of audience rather then a niche.
• A story with constant truth has no conflict or drive within it.
• Boredom for reader.
• Over use of truth leads to a lack as the reality becomes to Utopian and perfect.
  

While the truth of a story should be kept in mind and generally brought point it is good to drop the truth in favor of something more fun or interesting. This comes in matters where in stories something almost random happens and, at times, it can leave the reader a little out of the story. Abrupt change from truth to not causes an immediate removal of oneself from the world presented to you. This means that there must be balance.

So we must find truth in the stories we write while allowing it to also falter to the side without dropping it completely. This balancing act is, in itself, amusing to those who truly write a story with intent to amuse the rest of us.

*See Derailing Fiction for details.

Block Drops (Flash Game)

One would not believe this was a true flash game, especially with the option to fully download the game and play it as a client off line, but it is! The game looks, sounds, and plays so beautifully its just magic. The gameplay is so simple yet engaging you'll not be able to stop yourself from playing.

Controls

• Arrow Keys - Move
• Shift Key - Jump

Premise: You are a blob, thing, and you move about tile blocks trying to make it to the finish line, checkered box while making each stack of blocks disappear below the beautifully animated water.

I know that sounds dumb and might seem like you have even played it before someplace else but the music and animation drag you in. You almost feel like you are this little blob thing making musical steps continuing on a goal to who knows where. Honestly, you can not help but spend hours playing this game and once you realize you did, you play some more! It is rare that a flash game plays and sounds so well, at least to me, while still staying simple like a flash game should.

The game does, like most, have flaws. The basic the the ability to see. Actually it is the lacking in ability to see that causes the problem. There is only one view of the 3D rendered puzzles so your character can be easily hidden by taller block stacks and heavy forbid if you've an issue with depth perception. All of that and I'd still fully suggest this! PLAY THIS GAME, SERIOUSLY!

Link In Side bar but if you are lazy, you may go here as well.

Dream Relms (Coraline and/or Alice)

Alice meet Coraline, Coraline meet Alice. The two of you have had similar adventures both including rabbit holes, evil queens, a guiding cat and being a book later made to film. While with Alice In Wonder Land, this is rather literal with an actual rabbit hole and evil Queen of Hearts etc, Coraline's lines are more abstractly drawn.

The "rabbit hole" in Coraline is nothing more then a locked door. This could also be taken back to Alice with the talking doorknob as both are required to be opened to allow entrance into the world of wonder. While the talking doorknob has no key, the small wallpaper door has a key to match the world it hides, a button skeleton key. Also, Alice's door is only one way, letting her in but not out while Coraline may travel freely between both worlds, at first.

Evil Queens always run dream worlds, so it seems. It is as if women are the target to shatter the dreams of a small child. In Alice it is a "mother figure", keeping tabs on her kingdom even with a slightly ironed fist. Coraline literally has "another mother" to deal with. Each "evil queen" of the world is the main hurtle but, unlike Alice, Coraline actually fights. Alice flees from the Queen of Hearts and only has herself to save, Coraline has several she selfishly frees and even dooms the "other mother" to a destroyed world. Coraline the little girl savior, Alice the damsel in distress fleeing for her life and praying for her hero.

Cats! One, the Cheshire Cat is a guide into insanity and from the reality. Alice follows, dumbly, and eventually finds herself in loads of trouble do to this mangy feline. Coraline's feline companion warns of and tries to prevent trouble. Even rescuing Coraline at one point. Cat's are good at killing rats and helping, when it suits them, it seems.

Now on to a core issue. Alice was actually dreaming, there was no harm and once she woke it was only a personal lesson learned. Coraline's dream realm was a real threat. One that caused actual physical and emotional pain to herself and several others. No one believed, except for he friend Wybie, that the girl was telling the truth so only in essence was the world "not real".

Both books have also been made into movies. Alice in Wonderland getting the "Disney Make Over" and making everything a little less violent and/or angry in the process. while Coraline has the same charm of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Graphically there is no contest but this is due to the years the movies are apart. Because of that fact, neither can be judged against each other. As most of you have seen at least Alice in Wonderland, I shall only talk about the visual quality of Coraline.

3D is a neat trick in the theaters but it still fails at home. Still, at home, the staple of "one blue, one red" 3D glasses is how the movie is displayed. This would work better if one was not slightly colorblind, like myself. At one point there was time to stop the 3D of it and simply watch the 2D version as the glasses hurt not only my eyes but others. When you take the 3D "away" not much is actually lost. The movie still has a great charm and what is needed to be passed along in the story, is.

Musically, I am unsure. Both have their quirks, take a personal choice among the two songs I favore most from each.

Alice in Wonderland - Caterpillar



Coraline Song: Exploration

With Alice it is "cartoony" and the tone of music seems dated while Coraline's music has less of a need for the film itself, which is good when judging music on itself, it is still difficult to pick between them. However, when push comes to shove, Coraline beats Alice hands down on all counts; even if Alice "did it first" Coraline does it better, faster and stronger.

Nerd-TOPIA

San Diego Comic-Con is up and running! The place to be, if you've the money and means, if you are any form of nerd. Comics, movies, video games its all there at Comic-Con. New series that will be hitting a boob-tube near you, to be discussed on several of the panels. Some current talks and, of course, the comics.

G4 started coverage of Comic-Con a couple of days before the convention even started and will continue through Sunday. The floor at the convention seems overly crowded and unless you plan ahead or live in the Sand Diego area, you are better off finding something local. or watching G4. There are always conventions in your area all you need to do is look for them.

A good example for my "area" would be all the ones in Orlando, Florida. It is a central hub for such things, in general, and if you get the schedule for any convention center it will explain what is coming soon.

It is a little late to be going to anything now, especially Comic-Con but try and get to one. Local ones, and conventions in general, should be relatively cheap and provide cheap swag. Swag being free, and generally worthless, stuff that nerds and the like covet for collections and eBay. Although I think I would be guilty of swag collecting myself as that is half the fun of any convention, it is still slightly silly.

That all being, I'd suggest you watch G4's footage on the big event in San Diego. They have already dropped some big bombs and announced some killer things! Get to watching, live coverage today, Saturday, at 2:00 PM (EST).

Ain't No Rest For The Wicked

Music with a message will always grab the attention, especially if you can relate to it. There seems to be a trend in popular music to make something that is just mindless and slightly repetitive without actually explaining anything that anyone one of us have ever thought or heard. Those that know me may know I listen to "Alternative Rock" which is loosely rock that does not fit elsewhere or isn't popular enough to be played on main/normal stations. There is also the misconception that Alt Rock is Emo but that is a talk for another day.

Recently there has been a song I think deserves more recognition, not to mention its just cool.

If you liked that then you may also like this or this. These two songs are relatively more known and one is now actually considered main stream but I heard it before the dollar signs were tossed. It is music like this that makes me miss my local scene but my area is filled with more country then anything else so that is slightly fleeting thought.

If anyone has any song links that they think I might like or at least want me to listen to regardless of my own enjoyment, post a link in a common for this post.

FLCL

An "oldie" by goody. Recently downloaded and seen, once again, FLCL or Fooly Cooly is beyond amusing show. The utter randomness of it just screams Solve Unamusement. Guitars, yellow scooters (a Vespa to be exact) and giant robots! Not to mention some PG-13 hints on some subjects, the "horn" being one of them.

The basics of the story.

• Young sixth grade kid has normal life after college bound brother moves to America.
• Odd Vespa chick comes out of no place and nails said kid in the head with her vespa scooter... then her guitar, then her foot, then her.. you get the point.
• Horn grows out of kids head.
• He tries to hide said horn with bandages and hats.
• Horn turns into robot monster thing trying to destroy the city.
• Weird Vespa chick and boy destroy robot monster thing.

That is a very bare idea of the show and only the first episode. I've left out some things from my break down but that is to encourage you to actually watch the show. You could possibly find the show online but I have provided a site that offers safe Anime downloads. The site also has anime movies as well as a lot of popular and unpopular series both Anime and non.

Solve Unamusement fully supports anyone who wants to watch this. Solve Unamusement also high fives anyone who likes the show and its characters.

The Cast

SMOOOOOOOOOOOO- oooooooooooooooooo- OOOCH!

Synesthesia/12 Seconds

A disorder, a blog, a story. Three things that all share the name Synesthesia. The disorder is stimulating one sense and also getting a response from another. The most common of this would be the act of seeing sounds and hearing colors. This sensation and its name make sense for the writer that uses the word and the title of the story, claimed soon to be novel.

The story, Synesthesia, is the first person account of a man drifting between being concious, remembering his past and being "trapped" in a dream state. The writer does a good job of weaving the three things together but it does, a lot of times, get annoyingly confusing. At some points it is difficult to tell what the character is actually experiencing of course, according to the writer, this is the point. When you take that thought into account the entire story moves rather well and the "sudden jumps" make more sense to the reader.

Notes are given by the author at the begining of this and his other stories, which should always be taken into account. They are something of the blurb you would get on the back of a book if that blurb explained nothing about the story and rather its reason and purpose. There are some that do this so this is not an attack on the author in anyway, shape, or form. Actually I prefer the notes as it lets me into a side of the writing as a reader that one would not normally get.

Here is the notes on Synesthesia from the author, Jikei.

Synesthesia

This is the ORIGINAL SHORT STORY that my novel of the same title is based on. This does not, of course, contain ALL of the content the novel will (as it doesn't include a lot of his hallucinations that I have planned). It seems a bit much to happen in a short story and the ending may change in the novel. Who knows? I'm not even halfway through it and have LOTS to add. The ending may not be as good with a novel, after all. Oh well, read it and enjoy; this is my favorite of every story I've written.

As you can see the writer is very proud of his work and as well should be. It is not often that I find myself reading a story then later commenting on it in any form other then stateing the fact that I have indeed read it. Solve Unamusement is usually about visual stimulation and interactive media but this story deserves a looky loo.

His other stories and notes can also be found on the site which I have linked in a link cluster and is also in my own personal watch list. Some other story then this may the one to perk a cell in your mind so please, check them all out.

Garfield... Again? (Simon's Cat)

Don't Over Feed Your Pets, Seriously

Reminiscent of Garfield and his owner John, Simon's Cat is an amusing little character that haunts a very "Jone Doe" type of man. As it was with Garfield, Simon's Cat runs the show. Being the main subject matter. As cats in general have set types of behaviors, the characters are not that different either. Both are attention grubbing cats with little interest in anything other then getting themselves fed. The differences between Simon's Cat and Gafield are very small. Heck Simon's Cat even has himself an "Oddie".

What can be given to Simon Tofield (Animator, writer ,etc of Sion's Cat) is that he is a great cartoonist and even better animator. The series has its charm and is soon to have a book but I, personally, can't get past the "This looks like Gafield" stick. I'd love to give this animation more "credit" but, like everything else in this world, it has been done before.

Check out the other three cartoons on the youtube channel, which I have put up a widget. This Widget will then be moved down to the "Link Cluster" after a new post is created. And possibly, if it takes up to much space and or slows down page load, will be removed later.

Despite my small and possibly stupid gripes about Simon's Cat, I do hope the animations at least make you smile.

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!NEWS!

Some updates and news about myself and Solve Unamusement.

About Me

• I have been feeling oddly as of late. Sleeping at awkward times and fluxing my sleep cycle in odd manners. Not to mention I've been having issues with my stomach and using the bathroom more then normal. It is nothing serious but is slightly discomforting.

• I believe I may have also altered my digestion. This would make the odd issue with the restroom and having to poo every few hours make sense. I think I need more roughage in my diet.

• My dog went into heat, which I thought odd considering her age. She was "leaking" all over the floor and causing a mess. Because of this I have not been "allowing" her to sleep in my room. It is for hygiene and my own sanity.

Blog News

• Been a little distracted with some new stuff I'm trying. Watching some downloaded anime on my comp as this is my PC and I've more then enough space. I will discuss some of them later and might give the subject its own "Link Cluster" under "Anime". Of course it will get the "keyword-tag" of "Cartoons" but a new one of "Anime" will also be added.

• Some of the current "Link Cluster" either have been split or will be split here soon. I have also started to include multiple "Link Clusters" if they both/all are relevant to the post in some manner. This might start to happen when things are on multiple media or are bridged between them. An example of this would be linking game sequels with TV shows and/or comic books.

• There is a personal debate about finding another writer with similar views and tastes to mine to post on the blog but that would be/is difficult. Especially with the current amount of readers and the fact that there is only one Dudel on the planet, that I know of.

• I have included a recent posts widget down near the site record and keyword-tag list. All of these things have similar functions so they have been grouped together.

• Subscription Options have been tweaked a little more from before. The follower widget has been "re-added" as the problem I seemed to have with it has magically fixed itself. The option near the top to sign in will remain there regardless of the subscription option changes. It is a permanent addition to Solve Unamusement.
  

• I have tagged this post with some new, and slightly random, keyword-tags in order to "remind" myself that I can use them later. I may or may not remove them after the tags have been used, which will not be for a few days.
  

• Expect one of my next posts to be about a rather old and odd but very good Anime. It is a short series with only six episodes. This will, of course, be after two other posts which have been inspired or suggested by my readers.
  

I would like to also thank the seven people who have subscribed to my blog. That makes me smile, it does! Please keep reading my nonsense and being amused and I'll keep the blog moving forward with things that help solve the problem. For those of you who are not subscribed there are options at the bottom of this page or you may go here.

Cartoons (How To)

This isn't going to be an actual "How To" on drawing cartoons but more of what to focus on. The idea of most cartoons is to get their point across quickly and simply. This means making general shapes for objects be they animate or otherwise and using simple phrases. There are those, mostly in the "business" of comic books that over complicate things in order to make something "eye dropping" but this was not the original purpose of the cartoon.

Materials

• Pencil
• Paper
• Eraser
• Outline Pen
  
• Color Pencils

Cartoons and drawing them is all about being to the point. You've a statement to make, even if it a silly or stupid one. This statement must be clear and obtained fast. The easiest way is through a cartoon. The most common of these would be the cartoons in your newspaper on political issues. The images are drawn free hand and their subject is directly to the point.

Now we've the gist on what our purpose is, where to start? A majority of artist start with the focal point of whatever the image is. In cartoons this is usually the eyes or head of the character. There are the exceptions, of course, in which case on object is enlarged to bring emphasis on it but usually the point is the face of the character when drawing. The eyes, face and head of a character, when drawing cartoons, do not need to actually proportionate to anything. As this is a distortion of reality there is no need to sick the character in it. Personally I like to make the eyes rather big and obvious, not in the manner of some Japanese cartoons but still bigger.

After the eyes are placed the head gets drawn around it, this is odd as most draw the head and then the eyes inside. A lot like to keep the head and eyes within certain proportions but as this is cartooning, there is no need for that. Once the head is around the eyes, the shape isn't relevant and can be anything from circular to octagonal, the nose is placed. The nose is a simple line between the eyes and is only there to show that the character is "humanoid". Without the "nose line" you start making things look animal like. That is, of course, okay if that is the intention.

The eyes, head and nose are all in place now comes the mouth and eyebrows. These should flow with each other. If a character is all smiles then the eyebrows show if the smiles is for good intentions or not. Eyebrows do not go on the eyes but above them. There should never be a time when the eyebrow is over the shape you have made for the eye unless you are trying to "blur" their lines. If that is the case then the eyes will look partially closed regardless of what you try. The mouth should be the startings of the characters sex. If female the lips should be a little bigger or at least "fuller" then if male. There should also be an "air" about the eyebrows and, unless going for a butch type chick, should be thin.

Right now we've a floating head with no hair, so lets toss some hair on top, any type. The hair and clothes sell the characters sex, usually. As with most things there are exceptions but nine times out of ten the character will be deemed either male or female by the clothes it is wearing, especially in cartoons. There is a simple rule, females have longer hair and wear more "flowing" clothes. It is a stereotype but you'll have no confusion about what characters of yours are female and others male. Hands on the body are usually limited to three fingers but you may draw as many or less as you wish. On a personal line, I rarely draw toes and sometimes "hide" feet altogether.

Now we've a character in empty space, give them something in the background. The easiest of these is the simple horizon. A straight line from one side of the paper to the other which "breaks" behind the character. This line becomes the horizion, the top the sky and the bottom the ground/earth. This is simply to keep the character within a world, rather then have them floating in the middle of nothing. Once the ground and sky are established you have a choice.

To color or not to color, that is a big question. I will leave it up to you. Color pencils work the best for cartoons. I suggest outlineing your character before you actual start to color, however. Trace the lines you have drawn, even some mistakes, and the character POPs from their paper prison.

Now that you are done, why not share what you've got? Hit the image at photobucket and post the link in a comment, here.