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Cassie McLeod

Mrs. Miller

English 12

14 February 2023

The Art of Cartoon Showrunning

For generations, animated cartoons have persisted in being a staple source of

entertainment due to advancements in the animation industry. Although cartoons are

often seen as childlike play, the modern process of making an animated cartoon is,

altogether, a form of art. Cartoon showrunning is a collaboration of design, writing, and

animation to tell an impactful story. “It takes every form of art into it between movement,

design, timing, music, acting, voice acting…” (Wade). It is because of these skills that

we have shows we remember from our childhoods.

Designing is the first step taken in the overall process of creating a cartoon.

“Many artists have gone through rigorous hours of work to design characters,

environments, landscapes, and creatures for their ideas to come alive on the big screen

and for us to be entertained.” (ZAMZAMIN 8). Before creating anything, one must

understand the plans to be achieved. To do this, a theme must be developed. A good

theme incorporates a general mood and personality. Mood gives the story’s atmosphere

an aesthetic and should be clear to the audience. By creating a mood, the series gains a

sense of personality the audience remembers. Visual aspects, such as color schemes and

shapes can support these concepts. When designing, one must also develop characters,
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which is an intricate process that uses details such as posing, shaping, and styling, to

develop the portrayal of a character. The use of shapes in a character’s design creates a

visual sense of personality, which can be felt by the audience even without prior

knowledge of the character. Styling also includes posing, coloring, and the addition of

identifying features, so that a character becomes recognizable. “When you choose the

overall style or styles, it’s time to add details that will bring that shape to life. Depending

on the character, this may include adding clothes and hair, facial styles, and props.”

(Enchev 2021). Designing environments is another way a creator can develop a theme.

Environments for both natural and man-made settings must be designed to support the

theme the story will tell. The design of natural elements often incorporates techniques

such as color schemes, action, and environmental effects. Man-made elements follow a

similar design process as natural elements, but often need to consider societal impacts,

such as generational eras and general human behavior.

The second primary concept in the cartooning process is writing. Once the

material is understood and an idea is decided, a story can be written. “Whenever you’re

writing a story, whether for TV or film, the key is determining whether or not you’re

writing something you’d like to watch. You can never start out thinking about what other

people are going to want to see or read — you can tweak your idea to those specifications

later.” (Gaines 33). When deciding how to relate to the audience, it is important to know

how to connect with the audience. This requires using emotional factors such as humor

and drama. Personal connections are important as well to form a bond between the

audience and the show. Professional writers incorporate these elements into their writing,

which makes the cartoons we watch memorable. “We can get information from
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uncomfortable situations, fun situations…” (Smith). To create successful writing is to

connect the dots in the story being told. The creativity used in writing unique problems is

what draws attention to a series. By solving these unusual problems in unique ways, a

goal can be met, which pulls the story together. The main goal of writing is to create a

story that will impact the audience through methods that create both short-term and

long-term gratification. Shows with writing focused on comedy or everyday life may be

aimed toward an audience that seeks short-term gratification. Stories written based

around drama and serious topics are typically targeted toward an audience that seeks

long-term gratification.

Animation is the final and most noticeable step of the cartooning process.

Animation is where the messy work comes into play, like technical skills such as drawing

accuracy and inventive improvisation. Dedication and Persistence drive these processes.

In the animation field, animators sometimes have to use frame-by-frame animation,

which incorporates many principles needed to simulate movement. It is also important to

understand the intricacy of holding model proportions while animating. Creative

improvisation is vital during the animation process because the animator has free control

over the specific movement of a character. Animators have to think outside the box by

using techniques such as smudge framing and squash and stretch, which exaggerates

character movement through arcs. “Arcs, as the Disney animators were well aware, give

animation a more natural appearance.” (Jones). Along with the technical skills animators

have and use, dedication and persistence are the most important aspect of their work. An

animator has to be patient and willing to create thousands of frames just to make a single
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minute of content. "There are twenty-four frames in one second of animation.” (Walt).

The process overall is incredibly tedious and requires lots of time.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of individual artists in the industry, Cartoon

showrunning is a work of art alone. Design, Writing, and Animation roles are the key

artistic factors that make the industry so successful. Despite the intricate work put into

animation, it is often taken for granted by large corporations and individuals. It should be

understood that realistically, making cartoons is a complicated process and deserves

respect as a career.
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Works Cited

Enchev, Lyudmil. “The Basics of Character Design Process: Insights and Examples | GM Blog.”

GraphicMama, 2021, https://graphicmama.com/blog/character-design-process/. Accessed

18 January 2023.

Gaines, Taylor. So You Want to Write a Screenplay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing for Film,

Video, and Television. Illustrate ed., vol. 1, Atlantic Publishing Group Inc, 2017. 1 vols.

Jones, D. Keith, and Deborah Moore-Russo. “Animation and CGI.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of

Science, May 2022. EBSCOhost,

discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=cdf9305f-d8af-3272-b1a1-79e68017a463.

Smith, Sandi M, director. How We Make 2D Cartoons. YouTube, Nickelodeon, 21 Nov. 2020,

https://youtu.be/PFZAFvGrqqY. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Wade, Neil, et al., directors. Developing and Pitching Your Cartoon, Nickelodeon, 26 Dec. 2020,

https://youtu.be/5ZUPw_Unc8g. Accessed 5 Mar. 2023.

Walt Disney Animation Studios. “Filmmaking Process.” Walt Disney Animation Studios,

https://disneyanimation.com/process/. Accessed 1 March 2023.

ZAMZAMIN, Adi Bunyamin, et al. “Technological Advancement through Character Design:

Darth Vader as Case Study.” Annales: Series Historia et Sociologia, vol. 27, no. 1, Jan.

2017, pp. 1–10. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.19233/ASHS.2017.01.