Famous Artists Cartoon Course Westport, Connecticut The comic head teen Rube Golaberg Milton Conift Al Copp Horry Haenigsen Willrd Molin Gurney Wiliams Dick Cova Whitney Darrow, J. Virgil Postch Borney TobeyThe comic head ‘When you meet sind the first thing you look at i his face, You 45, "You look fine” or “You look sick” or "You lok st ‘or "You look happy.” You recognize Joe or Bill or Mary by the {eyes oF nose or eats or hair. The good Lond ie am expert at put ting people together s0 you can identify them easily. Each of us| Insert features — even twins are not really identical ~ and, in addition, each of us has «definite and individual personality. ‘Asan observer and recoder ofthe human race, yout most have fan awareness not only ofthe surface differences beteeen people ‘hut alo of sehat makes them tick In genera. you muse become 4 piychologis. good undertanuling of the emotional dlfer fences between people wil help you to create cartoon characters that wll react propery to any’ sc of circumstances and leave no oubtin the reader's mind a to the type of people they are. From now on we want you to stat thinking like a caroonist tap looking at your friends a3 Joe, Bll or Maty, Instead, tink of them as Joe, the bigmouthed showol; Bil, the Lite mouse: Bind Mary, the gil tha’ afraid of her fsband, Kids al the family goldfish. Open your eyes and see the people around you Watch and sty their actions and rections, The painter hires smodels to pose for him, but you, 284 cartoonist, want no planned poses. You want your models to act naturally against a natural Dackground. So wherever you are, at work, at play oF at the sipermatlet, keep your eyer and your mind open — your eyes to rly the phsialeiferences and your mind to gain a under Sanding of your subjects personalities, Tecase the face andl head ae the most expresive parts of the figure, we naturally tke them up Gist. The meted we use to “draw them may appear sinple, bur plesse remember that every head of fae, from the simple exnggerated cartoon hesdl to the ery realistic hen of the illustration and adventurestripsype is built upon the same basie principles, ALI hesds ate shaped somenhat like a balloon and ave tna eye, twa eat, ne nose and one mouth. In the pure comic or highly sized eye, these features may be exaggerate or even placed in extreme positions in elation to exch othe, but the basi principles of end con suricton ave still the sime as those usel to draw the realistic type. Page 10 illustrates this basie relationship of all cartoon hens. Sty it creully sn note how each ofthe dierent ne hha made nse ofthe kime base principles and features to ereate is own individual characters In starting to draw the cartoon head, think off a beng Hike a chiles balloon — something that has shicknem aswell a eight tind width. The photo of the balloon on the opposite page will demonstrate what we mean. ‘The balloon has depth ~a third Uimenion, Ifyou let youre think of ax 2 at cele, you wil fend up with alot of characters drawer ith any teeing of soliity. Remember sha the head is sphere and, when the fx tyes ate placed om ts surface properly hey will give the elect ‘of being drawn om a curve rather than fat plane Get in the lubic of dashing your balloons off rely. Let your pencil go aroun the balloon shape Uhee or four nes. Don't tay to make perfect sngletine ballon aF ov, or draw the Balloon scith a compas. Do them freehand. The pencil work is ‘nly s guide upon which you wil on ities tele lopridest or bumps out on the se, done worry about it Sometimes these ieegulaities will get an enttely new ype of character you. Alo, when dasting the Balloon ot Tine, do not gee in dhe habit of bearing own too hey with your pencil. In Later lessons. to finish your cartoons yu will go Over their outlines in ink: if your penciing is too dark, ie wil be almost ipoatbleto eras alter inking “The important thing to remember when drawing ny cattoon Isto keep it simple. The simple, direct approach of eattanning has an instantaneous effect upon an aualience. Because of is ct the cartoon bead. If directness and clarity, the cartoon as become well established in every Bld of visual communication, including television and advertising, Keepin mind the importance of the simple, direct Approach when you drae the carton Hes for this lesan. Strive constantly 10 capture. in as few ands simple lines a8 possible, the personality und feeling of the character you are drawing Avold overdatving or shading. particulsty in the eartoon face Rementber that too many fine lines instead of strengthening a0 ‘expression, will olten kil i Make simplicity your watehword ‘Many times throughout your Course we will remind you of the importance of practice. We particulary sues i here because the cartoon head 30 basic, By practice we donot mean that You ate to spend only ten oF Altern minutes a day at your sues. We mean that you should draw every chance you gu orm right now the abit of carrying a sketch, pac with you wherever you go. Sketch pads come inal ues, and there is Small size that wil fe i 3 oat pocket of a handbag. Every time you see an interesting face, jt st done in «quick sketch. Don't fuitlen up and make work of itor worry abont producing a dean, Gnished pencil drawing. Yow are interened in captain ' chiracter ora exprenion andl a fe sketch wil often do that letter than a painstaking draveng, Tf you areal alone in the dencis’s wating room and there ae no mols present just daw faces from memory. The important point i t keep drawing Learning to draw carioons i a serious busines. Fortunate however, there is just as much please int as there is work Cartooning has often been cled “the happy art” and dancing ‘comic eats one ofthe happiest parte ait. So grab a pencil and start swinging them io, Don’t expect every head you draw to be a manerpiece— but do expect them to get beter 2 you five them more ime and thought and, above all, have Fun Arawing them For this ret lesson, all the materials you nee sre some soft pencils (28 or 3B), some 8y4 x H-inch Bond typing paper. and fn Arigumn or kneaded rubber eraser, and you ate ready too to work, Remember, when buying supplies, dhat a goad crafts man likes to use goed tool, Lackily forthe catooniet, pencils te inexpenive, When one ges too short for cornfor, throw it array or give it o the ladies bridge cub.Lesion “If Fomous Atise Conon Course The comic head Drawing the balloon head Before beginning to draw cartoon heads, you must learn to draw the balloon shape freely and quickly. Never use compas. To form yur balloon, wing the pencil around several times on the paper. The freely drawn balloon ill be only a guide for the feneral shape of the head, so make it lght — you cam strengthen the outline later. Practice drawing balloons about the sie shown here, because most of your work 2s cartoonist will call for heads this size or smaller “After yous have gotten the hang of drawing the balloons and can dash them of exsily, you are ready t0 sing the to guide Jines a. Sketch these lines as chough they go completely around the balloon. ‘This wil give the head solid, ehreedimensinal quality and keep you from drawing fat, pancaketype faces ‘Then sare drawing in the eyes, nose, mouth and ears, following the principles demonstrated bere f - ™N Ste Side viewtenon I Fomovs Arts Corton Cours The comie head Turning the head ( fast ad you should have little trouble lo. cating the fetizes properly no matter at Which angle the heid i ted or turned,6 tenon I Fomovs Artie Corton Cote The comic head Changing the shape of the balloon 1 everyone had his or her hair shaved off, you would ste that there is as much variety in the human head as there isin the tops of « range of mountains. Human heads come in almost every shape, from lima beaa 19 a toy top —and so do cartoon heads. The round balloon head is only the beginning. Tagine that yo are grasping a ty balloon in your hands. [Now squceze ic hard. The balloon changes its shape but i till keeps is three dimensions. The same thing must be true of the diferentshaped cartoon beads you draw. Regardless of the form, your centerline must follow the cuve of that form. Ii does, you can place the features correctly in relation 4 the ‘center line and maintain the three dimensional eet. CChanging the shape ofthe basic balloon head is dhe Bey to cre sting many different cartoon types. As you see her, jus couple fof varied shapes can be the start of a whole cast of interesting Characters Milquetonsts and mogs, debutantes and dowagers, seadogs and swansVarying the location of the features While the eye Line is usually halfway beewoen the op of the ea andthe chin, itering carton arcs of many ent types can be created by raising or lowering thie line, Even sith Ballons of the ame shape nif in the eye line cn be the start of a new character. Keepin mind, howet the features ate evenly balanced om each se oft {his line serves a a fixed guide for loeating them, Hair on the head and faco 1m the simple cartoon head, hair makes the head male or female. “When ie comes to hair, anything goes ~ from the last precious few of the almost bald gent tothe weird rele of mild’ latest vidi tothe beauty parlor. EveryGirls’ headstaxon I Fomour Artis Conoon Coun ‘The comic head Facial expression 1 cartoon character i wo be animated and interesting to the reader, it must expres exictly the right emotion, Later in the Course we will how you how the whole fg tre canbe used to express emotions, but, for now, we are foneerned with the head and face. Joy, worrom, ange, And other moods ate shown chieiy nthe face and you Should len all you eam about how to draw thet, “A good way to begin i to study the faces of the people aroured you, 21d the dilerent moods they express Ako, Set up a mirror and study your own features as you rege ter various emotions. Se what happens to eyes, eyebrows mouth corners, ete, and practice drawing what you se ‘A good cartoonist does just think hie ‘expressions and emotions — he Jel them, Thi sive his characters conviction. Watch even the mont ex petienced cartoonist at work and you will note that when The draws an unusual expression on the face of a chat acer his own face unconsciously aeeumes that expression, Head gestures Give the facial expression more pone and drama by Arawing the headin an atitade of gesture that matches the emotion expressed by the features. Again, stand in front of a miaror and try out some of the basi expres sions. Note how naturally the Head takes a pesiion that ‘comrespond othe expression, When you lugh, the head goes back. When you look dejected, it goes down. For early every facial expresion there is head. gesture Practice these gestures and apply them in your work, Pefced tend dpe10 All cartoon characters are based on real peopleFAVDUS ARTISTS CARTOCN COURS Student Work ‘Lesson 2. Zo study and practice ‘The purpose of this first lesson ic to start you draving the cartoon head in ite simplest fom, and to teach you how to place the features correctly. The method wwe give you for locating the features fron all views is a eure-fire, time-tested way of creating funny faces, It is basic and it vorks. For practice, cover sheets of paper with balloon head shabes and swing those bal- ‘loons 4n frecly. Use the conter and eye lines for locating the features. Strive for new combinations of features and draw the heads fron different angles. Carry f pencil and peper with you and have fun with then during odd moments. Keep your eyes open for people sround you with unusual features. Using the balioon and guide lines, try to capture those features in their simplest fora on your paper: the best cartoon heads are based on observation of zeal people, Don't copy the hheads in the text for these assignments and don't just dash off six heads and rush ‘then to the post office -- practice until you are Sure you understand and can use the teaching in the lesson. When you feel you can draw heads upside-down and side- ways according to the rules, send your assignmente along. ‘Your work for this lesson vill be criticized and graded on the basis of how well you have understood and used the method given for drawing the conic head. assTgMent 1 0a a piece of 6 1/2 x 11-inch bond typewriter paper, draw in peneil four heade about 2 inches high. Draw one each of the following views: 1. Front view of the head of a man or girl 2. Bide view of a pretty girl 3. Three-quarter front view of a wonan's head tilted slightly forward so that it 4s looking down 4, Three-quarter front view of @ man's head tipped slightly back s0 that it is looleing up Yary the expressions to suit yourself but make then as lively and aninated fas Possible. Use the balloon vith center and eye lines to help you drav then correctly and leave these Lines in the drawing (do not erase!) 20 that we can see you understand their use. TM@ORTANT -- Mark this sheet ASSIGNENT 1. Assromen” 2 on another piece of 8 1/2 x 11-inch bond typewriter paper, create 2 conic heads of men or women of any age and of various shapes, using the principles explained on page 6+ Use your ingenuity and inagination, and be sure to let us see the center and eye Lines fs you did in Assigrment 1. Before you ake these dravings reetudy page 6. TDBORDAMT -- Yark this sheet ASSTOMenT 2, Present your assignments in the sane clean, professional manner you would use if you were subnitting then to the cartoon buyer of a publication. Letter your ane, address and student number carefully in the lever left-hand comer of each page. in the lower right ‘omer, place the Lesson Nunber and Assigaent Number, (Vou should do thie with all the ‘assigments you send in.) Mail to: [FAMOUS ARTISTS CARTOON COURSE Westport, Connecticut