Cartoon

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For other uses, see Cartoon (disambiguation).

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Example of a modern cartoon. The text was excerpted by cartoonist Greg Williams from the
Wikipedia article on Dr. Seuss

A cartoon is a type of two-dimensional illustration, possibly animated. While the specific

definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to (a) a typically non-realistic or
semi-realistic artistic style of drawing or painting, (b) an image or series of images intended
for satire, caricature, or humor, or (c) a motion picture that relies on a sequence of
illustrations for its animation. An artist who creates cartoons is called a cartoonist.[1]

The concept originated in the Middle Ages and first described a preparatory drawing for a
piece of art, such as a painting, fresco, tapestry, or stained glass window. In the 19th
century, it came to refer to humorous illustrations in magazines and newspapers, and after
the early 20th century, it referred to comic strips and animated films.[2]

Contents
 1 Fine art
2 Print media
o 2.1 Political cartoons
o 2.2 Scientific cartoons
o 2.3 Books
3 Animation
4 See also
5 References
o 5.1 Bibliography
6 External links

Fine art
Main article: Modello

A cartoon (from Italian: cartone and Dutch: kartonwords describing strong, heavy paper
or pasteboard) is a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a study or modello for a
painting, stained glass or tapestry. Cartoons were typically used in the production of
frescoes, to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted on damp
plaster over a series of days (giornate).[3]

Such cartoons often have pinpricks along the outlines of the design so that a bag of soot
patted or "pounced" over the cartoon, held against the wall, would leave black dots on the
plaster ("pouncing"). Cartoons by painters, such as the Raphael Cartoons in London, and
examples by Leonardo da Vinci, are highly prized in their own right. Tapestry cartoons,
usually coloured, were followed with the eye by the weavers on the loom.[2][4]

Print media

John Leech, Cartoon no.1: Substance and Shadow, 1843, satirized preparatory cartoons for
frescoes in the Palace of Westminster, creating the modern meaning of "cartoon"

In modern print media, a cartoon is an illustration or series of illustrations, usually

humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843, when Punch magazine applied the term to
satirical drawings in its pages,[5] particularly sketches by John Leech.[6] The first of these
parodied the preparatory cartoons for grand historical frescoes in the then-new Palace of
Westminster. The original title for these drawings was Mr Punch's face is the letter Q and
the new title "cartoon" was intended to be ironic, a reference to the self-aggrandizing
posturing of Westminster politicians.

Cartoons can be divided into gag cartoons, which include editorial cartoons, and comic
strips.

Modern single-panel gag cartoons, found in magazines, generally consist of a single

drawing with a typeset caption positioned beneath, ormuch less oftena speech
balloon.[7] Newspaper syndicates have also distributed single-panel gag cartoons by Mel
Calman, Bill Holman, Gary Larson, George Lichty, Fred Neher and others. Many consider
New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno the father of the modern gag cartoon (as did Arno
himself). The roster of magazine gag cartoonists includes names like Charles Addams,
Charles Barsotti and Chon Day.

Bill Hoest, Jerry Marcus and Virgil Partch began as magazine gag cartoonists and moved to
syndicated comic strips. Richard Thompson is noteworthy in the area of newspaper cartoon
illustration; he illustrated numerous feature articles in The Washington Post before creating
his Cul de Sac comic strip. The sports section of newspapers usually featured cartoons,
sometimes including syndicated features such as Chester "Chet" Brown's All in Sport.

Editorial cartoons are found almost exclusively in news publications and news websites.
Although they also employ humor, they are more serious in tone, commonly using irony or
satire. The art usually acts as a visual metaphor to illustrate a point of view on current
social and/or political topics. Editorial cartoons often include speech balloons and
sometimes use multiple panels. Editorial cartoonists of note include Herblock, David Low,
Jeff MacNelly, Mike Peters and Gerald Scarfe.[2]

Comic strips, also known as cartoon strips in the United Kingdom, are found daily in
newspapers worldwide, and are usually a short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence. In
the United States, they are not commonly called "cartoons" themselves, but rather "comics"
or "funnies". Nonetheless, the creators of comic stripsas well as comic books and graphic
novelsare usually referred to as "cartoonists". Although humor is the most prevalent
subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented in this medium. Some noteworthy
cartoonists of humorous comic strips are Scott Adams, Steve Bell, Charles Schulz, E. C.
Segar, Mort Walker and Bill Watterson.[2]

Political cartoons
Main article: Editorial cartoon

Political cartoons are like illustrated editorial that serve visual commentaries on political
events. They offer subtle criticism which are cleverly quoted with humour and satire to the
extent that the criticized does not get embitered.
The pictorial satire of William Hogarth is regarded as a precursor to the development of
political cartoons in 18th century England.[8] George Townshend produced some of the first
overtly political cartoons and caricatures in the 1750s.[8][9] The medium began to develop in
the latter part of the 18th century under the direction of its great exponents, James Gillray
and Thomas Rowlandson, both from London. Gillray explored the use of the medium for
lampooning and caricature, and has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.[10]
By calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account for their behaviour, many of
Gillray's satires were directed against George III, depicting him as a pretentious buffoon,
while the bulk of his work was dedicated to ridiculing the ambitions of revolutionary
France and Napoleon.[10] George Cruikshank became the leading cartoonist in the period
following Gillray, from 1815 until the 1840s. His career was renowned for his social
caricatures of English life for popular publications.

Nast depicts the Tweed Ring: "Who stole the people's money?" / "'Twas him."

By the mid 19th century, major political newspapers in many other countries featured
cartoons commenting on the politics of the day. Thomas Nast, in New York City, showed
how realistic German drawing techniques could redefine American cartooning.[11] His 160
cartoons relentlessly pursued the criminal characteristic of the Tweed machine in New
York City, and helped bring it down. Indeed, Tweed was arrested in Spain when police
identified him from Nast's cartoons.[12] Sir John Tenniel was the toast of London.[13]

Political cartoons can be humorous or satirical, sometimes with piercing effect. The target
of the humor may complain, but they can seldom fight back. Lawsuits have been very rare;
the first successful lawsuit against a cartoonist in over a century in Britain came in 1921,
when J. H. Thomas, the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), initiated libel
proceedings against the magazine of the British Communist Party. Thomas claimed
defamation in the form of cartoons and words depicting the events of "Black Friday", when
he allegedly betrayed the locked-out Miners' Federation. To Thomas, the framing of his
image by the far left threatened to grievously degrade his character in the popular
imagination. Soviet-inspired communism was a new element in European politics, and
cartoonists unrestrained by tradition tested the boundaries of libel law. Thomas won the
lawsuit and restored his reputation.[14]
Scientific cartoons

Cartoons have also found their place in the world of science, mathematics and technology.
Cartoons related to chemistry are, for example, xkcd, which varies its subject matter, and
the Wonderlab, which looks at daily life in the lab. In the U.S., one well-known cartoonist
for these fields is Sidney Harris. Not all, but many of Gary Larson's cartoons have a
scientific flavor.

Books

Books with cartoons are usually reprints of newspaper cartoons.

On some occasions, new gag cartoons have been created for book publication, as was the
case with Think Small, a 1967 promotional book distributed as a giveaway by Volkswagen
dealers. Bill Hoest and other cartoonists of that decade drew cartoons showing
Volkswagens, and these were published along with humorous automotive essays by such
humorists as H. Allen Smith, Roger Price and Jean Shepherd. The book's design juxtaposed
each cartoon alongside a photograph of the cartoon's creator.