Okay, so, today I wanted to mess around with creating the Garfield logo. You know, the one with that lazy, lasagna-loving cat?
First, I had to think about what makes Garfield, well, Garfield. He’s lazy, he loves to eat, especially lasagna, and he hates Mondays. He’s also kind of a manipulator, always trying to get what he wants. I needed all of that to come through in the logo.
I started by searching for some info about this character. I discovered that Garfield was born on June 19, 1978, which is the same day the first comic strip was published. It’s funny, Jim Davis, the creator, named him after his grandfather. And, apparently, Garfield developed his love for lasagna as a kitten.
Then I dug into the design. I found out that the logo we know was actually hand-drawn by the art staff at Paws, which is Davis’s company. They based it on a bunch of old-school cartoon typefaces, then scanned it and digitized it. Pretty cool, right?
With all this in mind, I decided to try drawing my own version. I looked up a bunch of images from the comic strip to get a feel for his look. His expressions, his body shape, his color everything. I wanted to make it as accurate as possible, but still hand-drawn like the original.
Here’s how I did it:
- Sketching: I started with a rough sketch of Garfield sitting down, you know, his usual lazy pose.
- Refining: I used a thicker pen to define the lines, making sure to capture his iconic features like his big eyes, round belly, and striped tail.
- Coloring: I grabbed my orange markers and colored him in. That vibrant orange is just classic Garfield. I used a bit of yellow to add some highlights, you know, to give him some depth.
- Details: Lastly, I added the “GARFIELD” text below him, trying to mimic the font used in the actual logo. I just freehanded this with the orange marker.
It took a few tries, but I think I finally got it. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with how it turned out. It really captures the essence of Garfield, I think. It was a fun little project, and it made me appreciate the original design even more. Drawing him out like that, I got a real sense of his personality. And let me tell you, drawing those stripes was harder than it looks!
Well, that’s it for my little Garfield logo adventure. Maybe I’ll try drawing Odie next. Or maybe I’ll just go eat some lasagna and take a nap. Who knows?
