Cartoon

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A cartoon is a type of visual art that is usually drawn and often animated. It can be a single image meant to be funny or satirical, or a moving picture made from many drawings. People who make the first kind are called cartoonists, and those who make the moving pictures are called animators.

Originating in the Middle Ages, a cartoon began as a full-size drawing used as a design for a larger work like a painting or a stained glass window. In the 1800s, the word began to mean humorous drawings in magazines, and later it came to include political cartoons and comic strips.

In fine art, a cartoon is a complete drawing on sturdy paper that serves as a model for painting, glass, or tapestry. Artists used methods like “pouncing” to transfer outlines onto another surface. Famous examples include Raphael’s cartoons and other historic drawings.

In print media, cartoons are usually humorous drawings. The term grew with Punch magazine in the 1840s, which featured satirical sketches. John Tenniel later drew many famous cartoons, including political ones. Cartoons can be single-panel gags or longer comic strips that tell a short story.

Cartoons come in different kinds. Gag or editorial cartoons aim to make you laugh or think and often use satire. Comic strips are a series of drawings that appear in sequence. Some well-known gag cartoonists include Peter Arno, Charles Addams, Charles Barsotti, Bill Watterson, and Gary Larson.

Political cartoons use humor to comment on current events and power, sometimes provoking strong reactions. Early pioneers include William Hogarth, James Gillray, and Honore Daumier. In the United States, Thomas Nast helped expose corruption through cartoons.

The world of cartoons also includes early comic books and children’s strips. In the 1930s, British titles like The Dandy and The Beano became very popular. Because cartoons and early animation share ideas and drawings, the term now also covers animated films and many children’s shows.

Today, the word cartoon can describe moving animated programs or short films for kids, as well as humorous or satirical drawings in magazines and online. Cartoons are also used to explain ideas in science and math, like in xkcd or Sidney Harris cartoons.