A cartoon is any of several forms of art, with varied meanings that evolved from one to another.

Historical

The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist, a cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci

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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (621x842, 118 KB) Leonardo da Vinci File links The following pages link to this file: Cartoon The Virgin and Child with St. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (621x842, 118 KB) Leonardo da Vinci File links The following pages link to this file: Cartoon The Virgin and Child with St. ... The Virgin and Child with St. ... Drawing is one of many ways to making an image; it is the process of making marks on a surface by applying pressure from or moving a tool on the surface. ... Piece of paper Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ... The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best-known artistic painting in the Western world. ... This article is about tapestry the textile. ... A XIV Century fresco featuring Saint Sebastian Note: Fresco is the NATO reporting name of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. ... This article is about the building material. ... A painter is a person who paints woodwork, walls, etc. ... Self-portrait by Raphael. ... Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter. ...

Print media

The cartoon by John Leech that satirizes the preparatory cartoons for frescoes in the new Palace of Westminster (1843)

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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1392x1103, 539 KB) The first cartoon Substanse and Shadow(1843) by John Leech . ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1392x1103, 539 KB) The first cartoon Substanse and Shadow(1843) by John Leech . ... John Leech (August 29, 1817–October 29, 1864), was an English caricaturist. ... Punch was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002. ... John Leech (August 29, 1817–October 29, 1864), was an English caricaturist. ... The Palace of Westminster lies on the bank of the River Thames in the heart of London. ...

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, Charles Barsotti, Chon Day and Mel Calman. A Gag Cartoon is a single-panel cartoon, usually including a written caption that appears beneath the drawing. ... Four different shapes of speech or thought balloons Speech balloons (also speech bubbles or word balloons) are a graphic convention used in comic books, strips, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing the speech or thoughts of a given character in the... The New Yorkers first cover, which is reprinted each year on the magazines anniversary. ... Peter Arno (1904 - 1968) was a U.S. cartoonist. ... Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 - September 28, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his particularly black humor and macabre characters. ...

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 and Mike Peters. This early political cartoon by Ben Franklin was originally written for the French and Indian War, but was later recycled during the Revolutionary War An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message. ... // Defining irony Irony is a form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. ... Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... Herbert Lawrence Block, called Herblock (October 13, 1909 - October 7, 2001), was a U.S. editorial cartoonist. ... Mike Peters photo by Greg Preston Mike Peters is an American cartoonist. ...

Comic strips are found daily in newspapers worldwide, and are usually a short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence. 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, Jim Davis, Scott Adams, and Mort Walker. This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Graphic novel (sometimes abbreviated GN) is a term for a kind of book, usually telling an extended story with sequential art ( comics). ... A cartoonist at work. ... Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 - February 12, 2000) was a 20th-century American cartoonist best known for his Peanuts comic strip. ... rightJim Davis with Odie on the left and Garfield on the right Jim Davis (born July 28, 1945), is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield in 1978; Garfield is now one of the most popular cartoon characters in the world. ... Scott Adams (born June 8, 1957) is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several business commentaries, social satires, and experimental philosophy books. ... Mort Walker (born September 3, 1923) is a U.S. comic artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. ...

Motion pictures

A stereotypical mad scientist cartoon

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 (which may be a corruption of "Looney Tunes" 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 is less often called a "cartoon", but this varies. Likewise, the term is sometimes avoided in reference to material intended for adult viewers (such as pornographic hentai), to make clear that it is not appropriate for children. Image File history File links Caricature of a mad scientist drawn by User:J.J.. Converted to PNG by Wapcaplet. ... Image File history File links Caricature of a mad scientist drawn by User:J.J.. Converted to PNG by Wapcaplet. ... They LAUGHED at my theories at the institute! Fools! Ill destroy them all! Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of mad scientist. ... Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a... Toon is a contraction of cartoon, probably popularized by the name of the Looney Tunes series of animated shorts by Warner Brothers (though the spelling is different). ... Looney Tunes logo, featuring Bugs Bunny. ... Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 motion picture produced by The Walt Disney Company and Amblin Entertainment that combines animation and live action. ... This dog has been dressed in human accessories for humorous effect. ... Superman (left) and Batman, two of the most recognizable and influential superheroes. ... A scene from Cowboy Bebop (1998) Anime (アニメ) is Japanese animation, sometimes referred to in the Western world by the portmanteau Japanimation. ... Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφια pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) (also informally referred to as porn or porno) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ... Hentai (変態) is a Japanese word used outside of Japan, mostly in western countries and several English-speaking countries, to refer to Japanese animation (H anime), comic-book-style magazines (H manga), and computer games (bishōjo games, hentai games) with explicit sexual or pornographic artwork (see Japanese pornography). ...

See also

• Comics
• Animation
• Figure drawing
• List of cartoonists
• List of comic and cartoon pairs

Comics (sometimes spelled comix) are combinations of words and images into a medium for telling stories. ... Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a... Figure drawing, also known as life drawing, is an exercise in drawing the human body in its various shapes and positions. ... See also: list of comic strips // Notable Cartoonists Notable cartoonists include: B. Kliban Ben Wicks, well known Canadian cartoonist and illustrator. ... This is a list of cartoon, comic or animated characters who appear together as a pair or are pitched against each other. ...

External links

Look up Cartoon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• 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
• Toon-Cycle: Cartoon community and media resources