Cartoon
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/* See also */ added List of editorial cartoonists
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[[Image:Dr. Seuss WikiWorld.png|right|thumb|Example of a modern cartoon. The text was excerpted by cartoonist Greg Williams from the Wikipedia article [[Dr. Seuss]].]]
The word '''cartoon''' has various meanings, based on several very different forms of [[visual art]] and [[illustration]]. The term has evolved over time.
The original meaning was in fine art, and there cartoon meant a preparatory [[drawing]] for a piece of art such as a painting.
The somewhat more modern meaning was that of humorous illustrations in [[magazine]]s and [[newspaper]]s. Even more recently there are now several contemporary meanings, including creative visual work for print media, for electronic media, and even [[animation|animated]] films and animated digital media.
When the word cartoon is applied to print media, it most often refers to a humorous single-panel drawing or [[gag cartoon]], most of which have captions and do not use speech balloons. The word cartoon is not often used to refer to a [[comic strip]].
The artists who draw cartoons are known as [[cartoonists]].
==Art==
A cartoon (from the [[Italian language|Italian]] "cartone" and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word "karton", meaning strong, heavy paper or pasteboard) is a full-size [[drawing]] made on [[paper]] as a study for further drawings, such as a [[painting]] or [[tapestry]]. Cartoons were typically used in the production of [[fresco]]es, to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted onto [[plaster]] over a series of days. Such cartoons often have pinpricks along the outlines of the design; a bag of soot was then rubbed over the cartoon, held against the wall to leave black dots on the plaster ("pouncing"). Cartoons by [[painter]]s such as the [[Raphael Cartoons]] in London and examples by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] are highly prized in their own right. Tapestry cartoons, usually coloured, were followed by eye by the [[weaving|weavers]] on the [[loom]].
==Print media==<!-- This section is linked from [[Stoke-on-Trent]] -->
[[Image:SubstanceandShadow.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Cartoon no.1: Substance and Shadow", an illustration by [[John Leech (caricaturist)|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 a piece of art, usually humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843 when ''[[Punch magazine|Punch]]'' magazine applied the term to satirical drawings in its pages,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Punch.co.uk|title=History of the Cartoon|url=http://punch.co.uk/cartoonhistory02.html}}</ref> 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 face is the letter Q'' and the new title "cartoon" was intended to be ironic, a reference to the self-aggrandising posturing of Westminster politicians.
Modern single-panel cartoons or [[gag cartoon]]s, found in magazines and newspapers, generally consist of a single drawing with a caption immediately beneath or (much less often) a [[speech balloon]]. Many consider ''[[The New Yorker|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]], [[Chauncey (Chon) Day|Chon Day]] and [[Mel Calman]].
[[Editorial cartoons]] are a type of gag cartoon 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 and/or political topics. Editorial cartoons often include speech balloons and, sometimes, multiple panels. [[Editorial cartoonist]]s of note include [[Herblock]], [[Mike Peters]], [[David Low]], [[Jeff MacNelly]] and [[Gerald Scarfe]].
[[Comic strip]]s, 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 as commonly called "cartoons" themselves, but rather "comics" or "funnies". Nonetheless, the creators of comic strips—as well as [[comic book]]s and [[graphic novel]]s—are referred to as "[[cartoonist]]s". 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 (cartoonist)|Steve Bell]].
==Motion pictures==
{{main|Animated cartoon}}
[[Image:Animhorse.gif|right|thumb|200px|An [[animated cartoon]] horse, drawn by [[rotoscoping]] from [[Edweard Muybridge]]'s 19th century photos.]]
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 [[movie theater|cinema]]s 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]]'', which 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 [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] animals, [[superhero]]es, the adventures of child protagonists, and other related genres.
==See also==
*[[Caricature]]
*[[Cartoon Research Library]]
*[[Editorial cartoon]]
*[[List of comic strips]]
*[[List of editorial cartoonists]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.libraries.psu.edu/waring/cartoons/toon.html Index of cartoonists in the Fred Waring Collection]
*[http://www.reuben.org National Cartoonist Society]
*[http://editorialcartoonists.com American Association of Editorial Cartoonists]
*[http://funniestwebsites.blogspot.com Humor techniques]
*[http://www.hnu.edu/ishs/index.htm International Society for Humor Studies]
{{Wiktionary}}
[[Category:Art genres]]
[[Category:Cartooning]]
[[Category:Film and video terminology]]
[[Category:Film genres]]
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