Cartoon

A cartoon is a type of illustration, possibly animated,

typically in a non-realistic or semi-realistic style. The specific
meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually
refers to either: an image or series of images intended for
satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on
a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who
creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist,[1] and
in the second sense they are usually called an animator.

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 – ironically at first – to
humorous illustrations in magazines and newspapers. In the
early 20th century, it began to refer to animated films which
resembled print cartoons.[2]

Contents Example of a modern cartoon. The text was

excerpted by cartoonist Greg Williams from the
Fine art
Wikipedia article on Dr. Seuss
Print media
Political cartoons
Scientific cartoons
Comic Books
Animation
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

Fine art
A cartoon (from Italian: cartone and Dutch: karton—words 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 a
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 colored, were followed with the eye by the weavers on the loom.[2][4]
Print media
In 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

John Leech, Cartoon no.1: Substance
cartoons, and comic strips.
and Shadow, 1843, satirized preparatory
cartoons for frescoes in the Palace of
Modern single-panel gag cartoons, found in magazines, generally
Westminster, creating the modern
meaning of "cartoon" consist of a single drawing with a typeset caption positioned beneath,
or—less often—a 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 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 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 strips—as well as comic
books and graphic novels—are 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
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.

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 Nast depicts the Tweed Ring: "Who stole
the people's money?" / "'Twas him."
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 such as xkcd have also found their place in the world of science, mathematics, and technology. Cartoons
related to chemistry are, for example, the Wonderlab, which looked 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.

Comic Books
Books with cartoons are usually magazine-format "comic books," or occasionally reprints of newspaper cartoons.

In Britain in the 1930s adventure magazines became quite popular, especially those published by DC Thomson; the
publisher sent observers around the country to talk to boys and learn what they wanted to read about. The story line in
magazines, comic books and cinema that most appealed to boys was the glamorous heroism of British soldiers fighting
wars that were exciting and just.[15] D.C. Thomson issued the first The Dandy Comic in December 1937. It had a
revolutionary design that broke away from the usual children's comics that were published broadsheet in size and not
very colourful. Thomson capitalized on its success with a similar product The Beano in 1938.[16]

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.

Animation
Because of the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated
movies, cartoon came to refer to animation, and the word cartoon is currently
used in reference to both animated cartoons and gag cartoons.[17] While
animation designates any style of illustrated images seen in rapid succession
to give the impression of movement, the word "cartoon" is most often used as
a descriptor for television programs and short films aimed at children,
possibly featuring anthropomorphized animals,[18] superheroes, the
adventures of child protagonists or related themes.
An animated cartoon horse,
In the 1980s, cartoon was shortened to toon, referring to characters in drawn by rotoscoping from
animated productions. This term was popularized in 1988 by the combined Eadweard Muybridge's 19th-
live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, followed in 1990 by the century photos
animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures.

See also
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
Caricature
Comics
Comics studies
Editorial cartoon
List of comic strips
List of cartoonists
List of editorial cartoonists

References
1. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.
2. Becker 1959
3. Constable 1954, p. 115.
4. Adelson 1994, p. 330.
5. Punch.co.uk. "History of the Cartoon" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071111013522/http://www.punch.co.uk/carto
onhistory02.html). Archived from the original (http://punch.co.uk/cartoonhistory02.html) on 2007-11-11. Retrieved
2007-11-01.
6. Adler & Hill 2008, p. 30.
7. Bishop 2009, p. 92.
8. Press 1981, p. 34.
9. Chris Upton. "Birth of England's pocket cartoon" (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Birth+of+England%27s+pocket+ca
rtoon%3B+LOCAL+HISTORY+Smile+awhile+through...-a0153110971). The Free Library.
10. Rowson 2015.
11. Adler & Hill 2008, p. 24.
12. Adler & Hill 2008, pp. 49–50.
13. Morris & Tenniel 2005, p. 344.
14. Samuel S. Hyde, "'Please, Sir, he called me “Jimmy!' Political Cartooning before the Law: 'Black Friday,' J.H.
Thomas, and the Communist Libel Trial of 1921," Contemporary British History (2011) 25#4 pp 521-550
15. Ernest Sackville Turner, Boys Will Be Boys: The Story of Sweeney Todd, Deadwood Dick, Sexton Blake, Billy
Bunter, Dick Barton et al. (3rd ed. 1975).
16. M. Keith Booker (2014). Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [4 volumes]: A History of
Icons, Idols, and Ideas (https://books.google.com/books?id=hnuQBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA74). p. 74.
17. Walasek 2009, p. 116.
18. Wells 2008, p. 41.
Bibliography
Adelson, Candace (1994). European tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=qjPrAAAAMAAJ). Minnesota: Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Adler, John; Hill, Draper (2008). Doomed by Cartoon: How Cartoonist Thomas Nast and the New York Times
Brought Down Boss Tweed and His Ring of Thieves (https://books.google.com/books?id=z6YjB5FnKgwC).
Morgan James Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60037-443-2.
Becker, Stephen D.; Goldberg, Rube (1959). Comic Art in America: A Social History of the Funnies, the Political
Cartoons, Magazine Humor, Sporting Cartoons, and Animated Cartoons. Simon & Schuster.
Bishop, Franklin (2009). Cartoonist's Bible: An Essential Reference for Practicing Artist. London: Chartwell Books.
ISBN 978-0-7858-2085-7.
Blackbeard, Bill, ed. (1977). The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Smithsonian Inst. Press.
Constable, William George (1954). The Painter's Workshop (https://books.google.com/books?id=jz6xYIn0_oQC&
pg=PA115). Courier Dover Publications. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
Horn, Maurice (1976). The World Encyclopedia of Comics. Chelsea House.
Morris, Frankie; Tenniel, Sir John (2005). Artist Of Wonderland: The Life, Political Cartoons, And Illustrations Of
Tenniel (https://books.google.com/books?id=iO1l532dx_YC). University of Virginia Press.
Press, Charles (1981). The Political Cartoon (https://books.google.com/books?id=fwzWAAAAMAAJ). Fairleigh
Dickinson University Press.
Robinson, Jerry (1974). The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Rowson, Martin (21 March 2015). "Satire, sewers and statesmen: why James Gillray was king of the cartoon" (htt
ps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/21/satire-sewers-and-statesmen-james-gillray-king-of-
cartoon). The Guardian.
Walasek, Helen (2009). The Best of Punch Cartoons: 2,000 Humor Classics. England: Overlook Press. ISBN 1-
5902-0308-9.
Wells, Paul (November 28, 2008). The Animated Bestiary: Animals, Cartoons, and Culture. Rutgers University
Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4643-8.
Yockey, Steve (2008). Cartoon. Samuel French. ISBN 978-0-573-66383-3.

External links
Dan Becker, History of Cartoons (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA96/PUCK/intro.html)
Marchand collection (https://web.archive.org/web/20110225195334/http://historyproject.ucdavis.edu/ic/index.php?
region=-1&topic=-1&standard_cal=-1&collection=-1&index=0&per_page=24&query=cartoon) cartoons and photos
Stamp Act 1765 (http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog04/index.html) with British and American
cartoons
Harper's Weekly (https://web.archive.org/web/20100731045026/http://www.harpweek.com/) 150 cartoons on
elections 1860-1912; Reconstruction topics; Chinese exclusion; plus American Political Prints from the Library of
Congress, 1766–1876
"Graphic Witness" political caricatures in history (http://graphicwitness.org/ineye/sitemap.htm)
Keppler cartoons (http://graphicwitness.org/group/keppler.htm)
current editorial cartoons (http://cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/analysis/)
Index of cartoonists in the Fred Waring Collection (https://web.archive.org/web/20091210212540/http://www.librari
es.psu.edu/waringcollections/cartoons/toon.html#index)
International Society for Humor Studies (https://web.archive.org/web/20080517145807/http://www.hnu.edu/ishs/in
dex.htm)
Fiore, R. (2010-01-31). "Adventures in Nomenclature: Literal, Liberal and Freestyle" (http://classic.tcj.com/blog/ad
ventures-in-nomenclature-literal-liberal-and-freestyle/). The Comics Journal. Fantagraphics Books. Retrieved
2013-02-05.

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