Drawing Cartoon Tutorials – Humoristic Drawing

Is a humoristic drawing a cartoon? Does a cartoon have to be a humoristic drawing? Is there a difference between a humoristic drawing and a cartoon?

Personally, I see humoristic drawing as a specific branch of cartooning – whereby the drawing itself, and not necessarily the message, is the source of the humor. In the same way you can say something funny with a “play-on-words”, so can a drawing be a “play-on-lines”.

I invite you to view the work of Paul Flora:  http://www.paulflora.com , and Ronald Searle (especially his “cats”): http://www.ronaldsearle.co.uk These are two of my favorite drawing artists, and they are cartoonists.

Their work doesn’t rely on words or action or any recognizable stereotypical gag scenarios. They are caricatural, expressionistic drawings based on themes and subjects that lie close to their hearts.

The images can be simple or intricate, the humor light or dark, the themes basic or deep. Each artist has had a thought, a feeling, an emotion, and built this out into a sketch, a scribble, an artwork that reflects the humor that lies in the essence of humanity.

Humoristic drawing has no bounderies, no rules, no specific technique… it is the abstract expression of humor.

I intend to cover humoristic drawing  in more detail in later posts; for now though I just invite you to enjoy the work of these two extraordinary “cartoonists”, learn about the people they were inspired by, and enjoy the realization of just how immense the range of cartooning can be.