CARICATURE CARTOONS - BASED ON REALITY
This is Sullivant. His cartooning style is based on realistic caricatures. All his shapes and forms are accurate depictions of real anatomy. What he changes are the proportions. He makes big heads, small bodies and he caricatures the joints. He is caricaturing the contrasts that actually exist in real life.
This is Sullivant. His cartooning style is based on realistic caricatures. All his shapes and forms are accurate depictions of real anatomy. What he changes are the proportions. He makes big heads, small bodies and he caricatures the joints. He is caricaturing the contrasts that actually exist in real life.
Sullivant became a big influence on Disney in the 40s - when they started moving away from Freddie More's rubber hose type characters.http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2007/02/being-enslaved-to-someone-elses-style.html
http://www.animationarchive.org/2009/01/biography-father-of-cartooning-t-s.html
PURE CARTOON STYLE - SHAPES NOT BASED ON REALITY
Milt Gross is the more modern cartoon style. His drawings are made up almost entirely of unrealistic simple shapes. The eyes are ovals, the characters have no joints or anatomy. They are made of tubes and bulbs.
These drawings are from a brilliant novel that has no words. Gross tells the entire story in pictures and it's really funny.
http://mrdarbyshire.blogspot.com/2009/01/he-done-her-wrong-milt-gross.html
There is every type of variation of both styles and many styles that are somewhere in between. What they both have in common are that they are funny pictures - which makes them both "cartoons".
Pogo is mostly rubber hose cartoony, with some touches of anatomy. Dennis the Menace is a beautiful combination of the 2 schools of thought. Betty Boop is 100% cartoony. Mickey Mouse, Gerald McBoingBoing and Popeye too.
Bambi is mostly caricatured anatomy. Captain Hook - a combination.
Looney Tunes are somewhere in the middle, but aim at either pole depending on the time period and the director.
Whereas this is not a cartoon:
Even though it's a decent drawing and shares some of the same drawing tools and principles as the other 2 styles. It's just not supposed to be funny.
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2006/04/2-types-of-cartoonists-origin-of.html
21 comments:
What do you think of the Center for Cartoon Studies?
I understand your point, but aren't there more than one definition of cartoon?
Surely the Toth drawing is not a "funny drawing", but I think a more general term for cartoon should be "simple drawing" (which is closer to the older meaning of the word as a preliminary sketch).
I'm just saying is all.
That's too broad. It could mean anything. Your word "sketch" covers that.
A "cartoon" is a particular type of drawing, simple or complex - it's a "funny' drawing. Otherwise it's just a drawing period.
How about just "Fun Drawings"? Only two little letters are lost, and all the awesome of guys like Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby and Alex Toth are included.
Kirby can do cartoony drawings when he wants to, but in general his style is more illustration than cartoon. Like most "serious" superhero comics.
Then you have Mad artists like Jack Davis and Wally Wood that were sort of blends of illustrative and cartoony styles.
Since it isn't a cartoon in the definition of it then what is it? there has to be some kind of defined name for it, or do we call it comic?
Yes, I agree completely! Toth was an excellent draftsman and storyteller, but he surely wasn't a cartoonist. As good as he was, he just didn't have the cartoony spirit, the sense of humour, the wit and the absurdity.
On the other hand, there are artists like Tezuka who can't help being silly and cartoony even when dealing with serious subjects.
>>Since it isn't a cartoon in the definition of it then what is it? <<
It's superhero drawing, which is basically illustration.
I prefer cartoons although, I do admire a good illustration.
John, How about caricatures? I think caricatures can be both, but do you think caricatures SHOULD be funny?
Superhero drawings are not by their nature un cartoony, tho; see, for example, Not Brand Echh.
Lord help me, but I can't warm up to Milt Gross.
Language really is just a social institution where words are mostly defined through use – I think most people use the word "cartoon" to refer to drawn animation in general :l
Wow, I didn't mean to start a huge semantic debate.
But can't a drawing be funny and not cartoony? And isn't funny at least somewhat subjective?
Examples of drawings that are funny, but not cartoons (all by Brandon Bird, but with time I"m sure others can be found):
http://brandonbird.com/teshh.html
http://brandonbird.com/in_heaven.html
http://brandonbird.com/wooly_norris.html
Crap, maybe I did mean to start a semantic debate.
Would a combination of these two styles work well together, or are they strictly separate? Or does it really depend on how you blend them?
Well to turn a super hero drawing into a cartoon drawing, considering since some guys want to know how to make cartoon drawings but make super hero cartoons. Can you make a defined super hero drawing yet have some noticeable absurdity without it being chalked up to being strictly a cartoon? sort of like Toth's look, but your insanity?
Ah, yes, the great Sullivant.
>>How about caricatures? I think caricatures can be both, but do you think caricatures SHOULD be funny?
Caricatures absolutely MUST be funny. even if it's a kind of make him a superhero thing. It gets really weird when it's the superhero imagine Obama or McCain fighting Dick Cheney, it pretty much brings cartooniness upon itself. I hope I didn't double post right behind myself.
By the way, the post kind of complements Scott McCloud's Big Triangle: http://www.scottmccloud.com/inventions/triangle/triangle.html
I don't have that book!!!! Dang.
Check out these model sheets from "The Shmoo":
http://storyboredom.blogspot.com/2009/01/schmoo-part-1-possibly-nsfw.html
http://storyboredom.blogspot.com/2009/01/schmoo-part-2-rick-moranis.html
More 'He Done Her Wrong' posted.
http://mrdarbyshire.blogspot.com/2009/02/he-done-her-wrong-milt-gross-part-2.html
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