Archive for the ‘editorial cartoons’ Category

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022

Editorial Cartoons: Len Norris, Master of Just About Everything

Len Norris

After the holidays, my pal Jo-Jo Baptista showed me a paperback book of political cartoons he picked up in a junk store when he was visiting his family. It was by a cartoonist I had never heard of before… Len Norris. The second I opened the book, I started to get excited. This guy had everything- great compositions, stylish design, solidly constructed characters, flawless perspective, funny drawings, great fabric folds, expressive hand poses, wild looking kids and animals- and he seemed to be able to draw anything from any angle. He caricatured automobiles and trains as well as the insides of gothic cathedrals and department stores, and depicted fabulous mansions as easily as he drew middle class living rooms. What a talent!

Len NorrisLen NorrisI did a little Googling and discovered that Norris worked as Art Director for Macleans magazines for a few years after WWII, then began a 27 year run as editorial cartoonist for the Vancouver Sun. Norris would lampoon stories from the paper, which he would refer to in a tiny box at the top or on the headline of a paper in a character’s hand. Today, without an understanding of the topical context, some of the gags are pretty puzzling. But it doesn’t matter- Norris’ drawings are spectacular.

It’s clear that Norris was inspired by the work of Ronald Searle, as are many current day animators. But Norris takes Searle’s ornamental line and wraps it around completely solid forms. This is exactly the sort of translation that a character designer would need to do if he wanted to adapt Searle’s style to an animatable model. But Norris isn’t just a Searle imitator. His characters are keenly observed and capture the spirit of Canadian culture in the 1950s. Look at these fantastic editorial cartoons and see if you don’t agree with Walt Kelly who was quoted as saying that Len Norris was “the best in the business”.

Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris
Len Norris

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resource

Editorial CartoonsEditorial Cartoons

This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Editorial Cartoons.

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Sunday, October 4th, 2020

RefPack036: Using Animation To Inform And Better The World

Reference Pack

Every other month, Animation Resources shares a new Reference Pack with its members. They consist of an e-book packed with high resolution scans and video downloads set up for still frame study. Make sure you download the Reference Packs before they’re updated. When it’s gone, it’s gone!


MEMBERS LOGIN To Download

JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Honore Daumier

Animation Resources has just posted its 36th RefPack! This time, all of our offerings follow the theme of educating and enlightening the world. First of all, we are sharing a rare edition of caricatures by Honoré Daumier, arguably the greatest caricaturist who ever lived. Daumier has been called "The Michelangelo of Caricature" and when you see his work, we think you will agree. He lived in one of the most important periods of human civilization, the decades following the French Revolution. He fought tirelessly for liberty and freedom of speech. Many cartoonists today who have never spoken out before are inspired to create satirical cartoons to comment on the political turmoil of our own times. Daumier is a shining example of the power and responsibility that cartoonists wield in society.

Honore Daumier


MEMBERS LOGIN To Download

JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Brotherhood of Man

And that is just the beginning… In RefPack036 we are also sharing one of the most important films in the history of modern animation, Bobe Cannon’s "The Brotherhood of Man". This film, designed to be shown to members of the United Auto Workers, was designed to promote racial tolerance and co-operation. During World War II, the military had established integrated units for the first time, and Black, Asian and Native American soldiers had distinguished themselves in service to the country. Segregation was beginning to crumble, so an effort was made to begin taking the first steps towards equality on the home front. This was a subject that had never been addressed in an animated film before. This film was revolutionary from a graphic standpoint as well. It employed a totally new design aesthetic. Simple, stylized characters and backgrounds based on line and solid shapes of bold color were employed, rather than rendered volumetric forms with realistic perspective. Babe Cannon established the house style for UPA that would dominate for the rest of its existence.

Brotherhood of Man


MEMBERS LOGIN To Download

JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Educational Films

Animation is not only an entertainment medium, it can also educate. When educational films are overly didactic and dense with content, they often fail to get the ideas across. But animation engages the audience and presents information in a clear symbolic way that remains in the mind long after the film is over. RefPack036 also includes a series of cartoons produced by the Disney Studios to educate school age children on the subject of physiology. Titled "You Are A Human Animal", these films point out the differences between humankind and the animal kingdom, the five senses, eyesight, nutrition, the systems of the body, hearing, the sense of touch, and smelling and tasting. The limited animation techniques employed in these films are directly applicable to modern internet animation, and the appealing imagery and color shows how careful design and compositional planning can make a film look simple and appealing.

Educational Film


MEMBERS LOGIN To Download

JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Presenting Rear Admiral

Our bonus download this month is a pair of WWII training films from the collection of Paul Fennell. In a previous Reference Pack, we presented a film called "Night Battle", produced by the First Motion Picture Unit to train sailors in the Navy about strategic operations in the Pacific. This time we include a film called "Presenting Rear Admiral A. S. Merrill USN”, which appears to be a truncated version of the earlier film. Also included in this month’s Reference Pack is a training film on the battle of Okinawa, which includes some impeccably designed map graphics by John Hubley that trace the details of the Allied forces’ success there.

Okinawa


MEMBERS LOGIN To Download

JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Honore Daumier

At Animation Resources, our Advisory Board includes great artists and animators like Ralph Bakshi, Will Finn, J.J. Sedelmaier and Sherm Cohen. They’ve let us know the things that they use in their own self study so we can share them with you. That’s experience you just can’t find anywhere else. The most important information isn’t what you already know… It’s the information you should know about, but don’t know yet. We bring that to you every other month.


MEMBERS LOGIN To Download

JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


Haven’t Joined Yet?

Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

Sample RefPack

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD a sample RefPack!

Animation Resources is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing self study material to the worldwide animation community. If you are a creative person working in animation, cartooning or illustration, you owe it to yourself to be a member of Animation Resources.

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Tuesday, February 25th, 2020

E-Book: Jugend Magazine 1918

Every other month, members of Animation Resources are given access to an exclusive Members Only Reference Pack. In April 2015, they were able to download this wonderful e-book of illustrations from 1918 issues of the German magazine, Jugend. Our Reference Packs change every two months, so if you weren’t a member back then, you missed out on it. But you can still buy a copy of this great e-book in our E-Book and Video Store. Our downloadable PDF files are packed with high resolution images on a variety of educational subjects, and we also offer rare animated cartoons from the collection of Animation Resources as downloadable DVD quality video files. If you aren’t a member yet, please consider JOINING ANIMATION RESOURCES. It’s well worth it.


CLICK to Buy This E-Book


PDF E-BOOK:
Jugend

Jugend Magazine
Download Page
January – June 1918

The late 19th century marked the beginning of one of the greatest explosions of culture in modern times. Two forces were colliding- modern industrial technology, and a revolution in hand made arts and crafts. At first, these two things seem to be mutually exclusive, but they came together perfectly in a Geman magazine called Jugend. Titled after the German word for “youth”, Jugend was at the forefront of the arts and crafts movement. In fact, in Germany, art nouveau came to be known as “jugend-stil” (Jugend style). Utilizing state of the art color printing techniques to reproduce hand drawn lettering and beautiful sketches and paintings, Jugend set a standard in graphic design that continues to be felt to this day.

This PDF e-book contains all of the major illustrations from the first six issues published in 1918, and includes an introduction by Stephen Worth. This PDF e-book is optimized for display on the iPad or printing two up with a cover on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.

REFBONUS001: JUGEND 1918 PDF
Download Page
Adobe PDF File / 267 Pages
245 MB Download


CLICK to Buy This E-Book


Jugend
Jugend
Jugend
Jugend
Jugend


CLICK to Buy This E-Book


Not A Member Yet? Want A Free Sample?

Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

Sample RefPack


JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather