Back when Mickey Mouse was drawn by Walt Disney in 1928, it was all pencil and paper, and the frequent use of the ever dependable eraser. More than 80 years has passed and yet we still see Mickey Mouse cartoons all around the world.

That 80+ years has also brought advances in computer technology and software which now allows us to move away from the pencil, paper and the ever dependable eraser, to advanced drawing applications and input (drawing) devices. In this edition/article, we’ll be featuring the best 40+ tutorials on drawing cartoons with Adobe Illustrator and we hope it would expand your creativity and imagination to be the next Walt Disney.

Here are some related post you might be interested:

• 12 Sites To Create Cartoon Characters of Yourself
• 50 Websites For Free Vector Images Download
• Free Unique Cartoon and Comic Fonts

Full list after jump.

Happy Sun Character
Learn how to create fun sun character tutorial in Illustrator. This intermediate tutorial is great for logos, children illustrations, and other projects relating to climate change. Moreover, you can easily apply this tutorial to other illustrations, logos, and projects!

Cute Baby Seal
Simple tutorial to teach you how to create a super cute baby seal. At the end of tutorial you will get really nice, cute cartoon seal character.

Cartoon Duck
This tutorial will take you through basic shapes, using basic tools ie pathfinder, knife and eyedropper tools to create a cute duck character.

Furry Vector Monster
Follow these steps in Adobe Illustrator to create your very own super cute fuzzy monster character. We’ll be working with the basic shapes to start, then use a variety of gradients to add depth. We can then finish it off with some detailed fur effects to really lift the design from the screen.

Stinking Zombie Flesh-Eater
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a cartoon zombie in Illustrator. Starting by creating a fresh corpse, we will then ‘yuck’ it up using a number of techniques.

Cute Hippo
This tutorial will show you how to create cute Hippo Character using simple shapes and a really simple effective drawing technique . This technique has been adopted from recent addition to the store of Animal Head Graphic Set , latest addition to the store.

Owl DiNG
In this tutorial we will walk through taking a pencil sketch into Illustrator and creating vector artwork. Then we’ll bounce over to Photoshop and add some details and give it a washed look.

LeBron James Cartoon Character
In this tutorial, you will learn how using Adobe Illustrator create vector cartoons. Learn how to create Lebron James Cartoon Character.

Leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day
Create yourself a wee Leprechaun for St. Patricks Day 2009 with this Illustrator tutorial. Easy and interesting Illustrator tutorial.

Cartoon Character with Expressive Lines
This tutorial covers the necessary steps for creating a colored multicolor cartoon character that includes shadings.

Cute Emo Kid

In this tutorial we will go through the process of drawing cute cartoon character. The concept is based on the Emo trend, we will go trough all the steps from sketch to full color vector.

Cute Panda Bear Face Icon
How to create a cute panda bear face icon all from ellipses. The great part about this tutorial, is that you can easily apply the techniques to other icons, illustrations, logos, or other projects.

Gang of Vector Ninjas

Constructing a group of cool vector ninja characters using just the basic shapes and a variety of simple tools, making it a good start for Illustrator beginners.

Cute Bunny Vector Character
This tutorial uses simple shapes and gradients that are easy to apply to other character illustrations.

Cartoon Snail
Lean how to draw snail in Adobe Illustrator with some easy steps. Learn how to with Illustrator basic tools create cute snail.

Killer Chainsaw Bunny Character
This tutorial shows you how to build a Bucket ‘o’ Thought character and add a dynamic background effect.

Cute Vector Monster
Follow this Adobe Illustrator walkthrough on the creation of a cute little vector monster character, beginning with a quick pencil sketch on paper.

Grumpy Dude
Create grumpy dude in Adobe Illustrator with the brush tool. In this tutorial you will learn some digital drawing tips and how to fix little mistakes after you’ve drawn your stroke.

Fat Cat Vector
This tutorial aims to guide you from sketchbook to screen; a “Fat Cat” doodled with biro translated into a neat vector caricature. Intermediate knowledge of Adobe Illustrator is advised.

Freddy the Fish
Follow this tutorial to create your own vector character – Freddy the Fish.

Vector Pirate Cartoon Character
By firstly using the power of pen and paper a character design is created, which is then scanned into the computer to use as a base for tracing with Adobe Illustrator. The final outcome is a colourful cartoon character in vector format!

Twisted Monkey Studio Mascot
In this tutorial author will explain the process that he followed at the time of designing by order the mascot in vector format for Twisted Monkey Studios, producers of horror films.

Blob Monster – The Scream
It is really simple to create Blob Monster and doesn’t take long to complete. This technique can also be used for nearly any type of simple shape / monster.

How to Create a Web Site Mascot
In this tutorial, author will give an overview of how developed a character from the initial brief through to the final site mascot and then to go on to create several poses for different parts of the site.

Create Your Own Monster
In this Adobe Illustrator tutorial author will take you through the process of creating a completely unique, memorable monster that’s not at all humanoid in form.

Adding Dimension to Your Characters
In this tutorial author will show you how to add the illusion of dimension to your vector illustrations by combining the effects of Adobe Illustrator’s versatile linear and radial gradients.

Creating Bart Simpson Vector Character in Illustrator
This is a short beginner tutorial. You will use Layers, utilize the Pen Tool and its sister tools, such as the Convert Anchor Point Tool, Direct Selection Tool, etc, to draw and colorize a vector Bart Simpson in Adobe Illustrator.

How to Create a Vector Illustration and Prepare it for Micro-Stock Sale
This tutorial details a professional workflow for creating vector illustrations and prepping the artwork for Micro-Stock Sales. Author also included a bunch of time-saving tools and tips as well.

Creating Convincing Characters
In this tutorial, you’ll learn some basic skills for converting your character from a pencil doodle to a complete, fully-coloured image – learning some crucial Illustrator skills along the way.

Symmetrical Illustration: Thug Bunny!
This tutorial will go through the method of using symmetry in your artwork. Learn how to do half the work but still get the full benefit from your artwork. We’ll also feature a plugin for AI that speeds up your build time and cover the topic of “Opacity Masks.”

Patch Illustration 2
The following tutorial will show how author go about creating a set of NBA licensed embroidery patches featuring portraits of many of the leagues greatest players.

Basic Shading and Lighting
This tutorial goes over the elementary fundamentals when it comes to shading and lighting within a digital illustration.

Create A Vector Art Twitter Bird Character Icon In Adobe Illustrator
This tutorial will walk you through the steps from sketch to vector in creating an original cartoon-style character vector illustration.

Vector Tutorial: Anime Coloring
In this tutorial will be detailed explain how in Adobe Illustrator coloring sketches, in this tutorial author will use anime sketch.

Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Bug Tutorial
Here is one more cartoon characters tutorial in Illustrator. This time you will learn how to create nice fly cartoon.

Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Tutorial with a Wacom Tablet
In this Illustrator tutorial author will explain how using Wacom tablet you can at first draw cartoon sketch and than create vector cartoon.

Adding Gradients to Illustrations in Adobe Illustrator
In this tutorial you will learn how to use gradient tool in Illustrator. Author will explain how to add gradient to illustrations.

Monster Character Series Part 1
First of two Spoongraphics mini-series of tutorials on how to create a set of simple monster characters. This is very simple tutorial, so if you beginner of Illustrator, you can learn some basic tools.

Monster Character Series Part 2
Here is second Illustrator tutorial from Spoongraphics mini-series of monsters tutorials where you will take a look at the Dumb Blue Sucker Monster! Again, using mostly the basic tools and shapes making the tutorial suitable for beginners to Illustrator.

Create a Twitter Style Bird Mascot
Using some basic shapes, effects, and gradients author will show you how to create a Twitter mascot for your blog or website.

Maintaining Rhythm and Flow in Vector Character Design
In this tutorial you will break down the basic process of creating a character from sketching through to the final vector file. Whether you’re interested in creating vector mascots for branding design, or making interesting characters to use in your animations, you’ll find these techniques helpful.

Create a Traditional Japanese Koi Carp Illustration
Koi Carp have been painted and illustrated by the Japanese for centuries and are familiar to people all over the world. This tutorial will take the intermediate Adobe Illustrator user through the techniques and processes needed to imitate what the Japanese have perfected.

A Cow As Chinese New Year Zodiac For 2009
At the begining of 2009 – Cow year, Kailoon.com create special new year Illustrator tutorial, where you can learn how to draw 2009 year symbol – Cow. Very interesting tutorial and result is amazing – very cute Cow .

The Making of a Chocolate Bar Character.
In this tutorial Author take the concept from sketch through to vector final. You will learn how to create sweet cartoon character – Chocolate bar character.

Character Illustration
The following tutorial will walk you through a project, a character design for Fanta soda to use in their Halloween promotion.

Ilias Sounas’ Condomunity Member Illustration Tutorial
It’s basically a character design tutorial like many others out there – just that Author wanted it to be more like an illustration and possibly also an rss icon. Author picked 5 illustrators to hand in an artwork in their own typical style.

How to Create a Cute, 3D, Vector Robot
If you want to learn how to create a rounded robot character from sketch to finished vector art, then we have an awesome tutorial for you.