Cartoon
A
cartoon is any of several forms of art, with varied meanings that evolved from one to another.
In its original historical meaning, a cartoon (from the
Italian cartone, meaning "big paper") is a full-size
drawing made on
paper as a study for a further artwork, such as a
painting or
tapestry. Cartoons were typically used in the production of
frescoes, to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted onto
plaster over a series of days. Such cartoons often have pinpricks where the outline of the design has been picked out in the plaster. Cartoons by
painters such as
Raphael and
Leonardo da Vinci are highly prized in their own right. A world-renowned collection of
Peter Paul Rubens cartoons for huge tapestries is displayed in the collection of the
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in
Sarasota, Florida.
 |
"Cartoon no.1: Substance and Shadow", an illustration by John Leech that satirizes the preparatory cartoons for frescoes in the new Palace of Westminster (1843), and which created the modern meaning of the word "cartoon" |
In modern print media, a cartoon is an illustration, usually humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843 when
Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings in its pages, particularly sketches by John Leech. 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 pencillings and the new title "cartoon" was intended to be ironic, a reference to the self-aggrandising posturing of Westminster politicians.
Modern
gag cartoons are found in magazines and newspapers and generally consist of a single drawing with a caption immediately beneath or (less often) a
speech balloon. Many consider
New Yorker cartoonist
Peter Arno the father of the modern gag cartoon (as did Arno himself). Gag cartoonists of note include
Charles Addams,
Gary Larson,
Charles Barsotti,
Chon Day and
Mel Calman.
Editorial cartoons are a variation of this, found almost exclusively in news publications. 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, multiple panels.
Editorial cartoonists of note include
Herblock,
Mike Peters,
David Low and
Gerald Scarfe.India is a land of cartoonists.
R.K.Lakshman,
shankar,
Madhan,
Unni,
KeshavYesudasan,
S.Jithesh,
Ajih Ninan are some of them.
Comic strips, also known as "strip cartoons" 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 as commonly called "cartoons" themselves, but rather "comics" or "funnies". Nonetheless, the creators of comic strips - as well as
comic books and
graphic novels - are referred to as "
cartoonists". Although humor is the most prevalent subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented in this medium. Noteworthy cartoonists in this sense include
Charles Schulz,
Bill Watterson,
Scott Adams,
Mort Walker,
Steve Bell.
Because of the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated movies, "cartoon" came to refer to
animation, and this is the sense in which "cartoon" is most commonly used today. These are usually shown on
television or in
cinemas and are created by showing illustrated images in rapid succession to give the impression of movement. (In this meaning, the word cartoon is sometimes shortened to "
toon " and was popularized by the movie
Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Although the term can be applied to any animated presentation, it is most often used in reference to programs for children, featuring
anthropomorphized animals,
superheroes, the adventures of child protagonists, and other related genres. Animated material which does not fit the traditional conventions of Western animation, such as Japanese
anime are often confused with the definition of cartoons. Anime comprises an entirely different genre in and of itself, giving it a distinguishable quality setting it apart from cartoons.
The term "cartoon" is sometimes used in a scientific context to mean a diagram, particularly one that depicts a generalised occurrence rather than a specific example.
*
Anime *
Animation*
Animated cartoon*
Cartoon characters named after people*
Cartoon Network*
Cartoon pornography*
Censorship*
Comics*
Editorial cartoon*
Figure drawing*
List of cartoonists*
Manga*
Multi-Sketch*
Free cartoon tutorials on video to download*
Example of a website devoted to laughter*
CartoonStock database of gag, editorial and historic cartoons*
Punch website's history of cartoons*
New Yorker's Cartoon Bank*
Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index*
Don Markenstein's Toonopedia*
Big Cartoon Database*
Golden Age of Cartoons*
A free cartoons directory : The Cartoon Spot*
Toon-Cycle: Cartoon community and media resources*
Russian animated cartoons and World Day of Animated cartoon
