[HN Gopher] Points on Cartooning (1937)
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       Points on Cartooning (1937)
        
       Author : dxs
       Score  : 58 points
       Date   : 2023-04-12 13:38 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com)
        
       | nielsbot wrote:
       | I love the approach and drawing style.. but note that some of the
       | caricatures are definitely dated, even though the text advises:
       | 
       | "When picturing any certain type try to bring out the humorous
       | qualities first and be careful not to poke fun in a manner to
       | offend any particular nationality or creed."
        
         | dmonitor wrote:
         | genuinely confused how the author/illustrator can include that
         | sentence under their depiction of a black person. the lack of
         | awareness is incredible.
        
           | khazhoux wrote:
           | I see these pictures and think "How did they possibly think
           | black people's lips were that big??"
           | 
           | But here's a different take: this is a visual language, and
           | non-realistic by definition. Nobody's nose is shaped like a
           | finger, as in every one of these cartoons. No one's eyes are
           | blank disks. Heads aren't that big and bellies aren't that
           | round. Yet we all understand how to read these cartoons.
           | 
           | Maybe that's just how it was then too, and was just meant to
           | convey "this is a black person." No ill will, no hate, no
           | judgement.
        
       | amelius wrote:
       | This is from 1937, but in 2037 a similar book will probably go
       | like "use this prompt to get this effect, use that prompt to get
       | that effect, ..."
        
       | dylan604 wrote:
       | maybe this can be used to train stable diffusion to learn how to
       | create hands
        
         | nielsbot wrote:
         | The latest Midjourney claims to render credible hands
         | 
         | cf. https://petapixel.com/2023/03/17/midjourney-v5-creates-
         | photo...
        
           | dylan604 wrote:
           | making claims with no visual evidence seems suspect to me for
           | a product that makes visual things
        
       | clsec wrote:
       | My parents had a lot of old music and art books like this. It's
       | where (along with strong influences from Don Martin & Antonio
       | Prohias - MAD) I learned cartooning.
       | 
       | Also, from dmonitor: >genuinely confused how the
       | author/illustrator can include that sentence under their
       | depiction of a black person. the lack of awareness is incredible.
       | 
       | It was 1937. I was born in the 60's and Song of the South
       | regularly played on the Sunday night Disney show. Racism was
       | blatent back in the day, but also considered normal.
        
         | 082349872349872 wrote:
         | [dead]
        
       | daralthus wrote:
       | In a similar vein, the much much more elaborate book: Scott
       | McCloud's - Making Comics, teaches more about visual
       | communication than any other I came across.
       | 
       | To single out an example: the chapter about picking which moments
       | to frame, if you have 6 frames for a story, really did change the
       | way I remember events from then on.
        
         | 082349872349872 wrote:
         | McCloud's distinction (in "Understanding Comics"?) between
         | beginners seeing art style and aficionados seeing storytelling
         | really hit home for me when viewed against computing: the
         | aspects one considers relevant change with experience.
        
       | unfairly4820 wrote:
       | Awesome find! Haha this is like the bible for cartoonists. It was
       | one of the first books on the topic: Was one of the first books
       | ever published on the art of cartooning. At the time of its
       | publication, cartooning was not yet considered a serious art
       | form, but the book helped to change that perception. It
       | definitely features a lot of humor, like the author's humor is
       | evident throughout the book, and he uses humorous illustrations
       | to help explain his points. It's still relevant today, despite
       | being published over 80 years ago, many of the tips and
       | techniques in "Points on Cartooning" are still relevant to
       | aspiring cartoonists today.
        
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       (page generated 2023-04-12 23:02 UTC)