Regarding the tools for cartooning, I think the best way to find out is to actually try them. Don’t beleive everything that you read in cartooning books when it comes to cartooning tools. I’m a beginner myself, and eventhough I read that using a brush and ink might be difficult to start with, I gave it a try right away and fell in love with my #2 brush! I then tried Windsor & Newton colored inks to do some translucent washes in the background and also this is less difficult than it sounds. I find a brush loaded with pitch black ink is very ‘aggresive’ and instantly adds character to your drawings, nomatter if the lines are prefect or not. Don’t think too much about the stroke you’ll make — let your gut feeling guide you and you’ll be surprised how natural it feels after a while. Another thing is that I find that the size of the cartoon plays a big role for me when I use a brush. If the size is too small, I feel like I’m ‘restrained’ while I draw. If its too big, I feel like my drawing is not ‘balanced’ well and that I have difficulty putting some ‘emphasis’ in my lines where its needed most. For me, a size of 7inx7in works well with a #2 brush. Also, try different mediums, and experiment with them. Sometimes when I don’t know where to start, I just dip my brush in the ink and draw different kind of lines to strenghten my eye-hand coordination, or try to do lettering of different shape and sizes (that’s how I got the letter ‘A’ on my website).

That’s my 0.02$ (CAD) Cheers!
Andre