"> Wz w

: _ TO
''

t Rlfilil
a " [!]O
A u THor

This Book ts Dedicated to Mary

HOW TO CREATE CARTOONS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

fo

in ony

(Of'm

JiY

xcpt whr brif tptc ore used In rviewa.

FIRST PRINTING
Copy,ight 1952
by Frank Tashlin

Som of the cartoons In this hook hove been reprint.d through the kind courtesy
of tit orlglnol publishrs and grateful oeknowled9ement is due

Simon ond Schuster, Inc., publisher of The World Thot Isn't

fotrot, Strous, publishers of The Possum That Didn't
E. P. Dutton and Co., publishers of The Bear Thot Wasn't
and to the
Bell Hewspa~r Syndicate
Benton and Bowle Advertising Agency

anc!
The Soturdoy Review of Literature

Publl,hed by th SCOTArt Publl,hing Ca.

11,1 South Beverly Drive, Los Angeles, Colifornio
Lithographed In the United States by the Antericon Offset Co.

vVhat the

Critics Say

PORKY PIG'S FEAT

ABOUT

WOOOS ARE FULL OF CUCKOOS

FRANK TASHLIN

YOU'RE AH EOUCATION
1n1eoious werr le Melodie.
One of the beat animation

hilarious Looney Tune: lots

ot laucbe

Jobs turned out.

Brilliant.

IVOOOMAH SPARE THAT TREE

ot the b
~rtoons.
Screen Gees
rt new an l 7 full or
.sheer deltcbf. es.,. a btt ot
One

wT:~

PORKY'S ROAO RACE

very cood Looney Tune. Better
entertainmeot.,. stands out.

WACKY WIGWAMS
Good color rhapsody,
done . , excellent.

HONOLULU AOVERTISER

PROVIOEHCE
(RHODE ISLANOj JOURNAL

van sorinC' a e\.tence ts

tn the islands,

Van Boriac never sa.,a a word

but appeals to old and 1ou.nc'

1th his pranks, otton wiit

tul and alwus cigcle-provoklnc..

PEORIA JOURNAL-TRANSCRIPT
van sortnc ls a new coato
personality who seems to have
lots of t1"',

LOU ISVILLE COURIER-JOUR~AL

olnc over the
van aorlng I 'iook tor bi flrat
tol) Readers
on i.he coaic oo.ge.

HEIV 0RLE:AN$

BR IOGEPORT POST

Veo 80

van aorina erlte place aaons

the top-notcher5 of the comics,

ver;r

TIME:$ PICAYIIHE:
r/"'-rJt
uoa..,, ta
ltelJ dre..,

LOS ANGELES TIMES

nd

van Borinc.

Every day tbla

lnialtable creation troai the

Pucktib lmacinatlon ot his

c reator Tleb Tash, will rtve
.rou a wholehearted laucb,..
or a er\-y a.buckle that wf ll
help 1ou start tbe day ott
rJ.ght. He'i Jiggled aod

s
o
Ill
I
C
tr
C

,,it

O"'"'

not\~~

Jo&eled his .,.., into the

'le.I\ p
hearts or thousands of reader&. co\C.

\t.f

' "\ ~v
t. ~o~\\
...,\.._\\\)
o\\f 0
\6

AKRON BEACON JOURNAL

Tith Tash bu the 1oolus to

t wist tbe boor out ot a

i p ________lt_"_t1__1_.___h_i._,__'... - iiL...__.l;t:,

Books

oood satire wttb ver1

u.us1n1 drawtaas,

PAJIENTS AOAZJ~'I!

Particularly &ausJns bo k
60lNBUROH
o
Sco;J.,nd

BVEHIHC NEI S

taebltn'a book baa 81 _

beyond tts te!t

1tttiaance
Plcturee or its

essa1e.

SATURDAY

OBNINO NUS

REVIEW DP LITERATURE

E119/1nd

............ ~Ju,, BEAR THAT WASN'T

h.lin tells b18 story witb
T...arrage ot 1ncendiar1

b
cartoon

DENVER POST
OD Mr. T&.sblJ
abo:rid tt coaes ou: a dtalnr

artous 88QUene:.s a
NEY YORI( ut:M.
"-Oa.11to TRIQUNg

blln ls a aad
frank TJth a puolt-i&b sense

Author hab11

an~tlcent J!b~as done a

Jf'f:ltJ{8~f"DJUOCURNAL
tn

ot the oet wry &Od

!rae
f' books to coae alone
one ttae.

PA&~ 8AGA.ZlNR

oon'

'&, "(,,

r>ro: er.,
l'sbiiQ r.ede;r,., :Jjor tbJa
boot

to be

\.~ "t.~et

\.. \.t>

,-, THE

WOR LD

I!e1; .."'Poaau
That Oidn' t'
llr, tash.Iin' 8

earlier aasterJ>tece Th
Bear That wa.sn' to
e

THAT

&Os

.f11

in

\t.\l

11S,A1'19,,,.s

!~~,>-v,,,,

Q.f

~./. .. 611
Q#. '<!~ .,.II
".,.~,$'..,.
61.t
P

<>"'>. "..~" ~i,~o

4 c1
,. "~\.teio<
eart8 18.,
"' \."Mr. Taahlin ates bla pen- >re r s '
q,,\
polnte sbrewdl7; be'a funny O#yt
as well as philosophical.
,,,,, Olti<>
ONIVERSlTY OF SCRANTON

their b

1"

t
,re
\S& \t ~,>ter,

,.~
1.e~\Og
LOS
._-.f#6'IJ;~
taebl1n ts erclleas in bis
t,1 t> JJ-_.
portrtlY&l of bvman tolblea
" 01 q
toda.:,. Book ts priceleae,

prank Tshl1n' ado1~~:o~~ a

clock sailes an
A reall7 funn .. book.
1 a of on& a. page.
"'
in u
JtlKE CONOLLY SuCOURlER .. EXPRESS
io< \\\.6
ViriIY
rr#to, N,w YorA \<,~ "$
Prtnlc
r1ebt r.a.ebJ fn h

RUALD exPR-6S

LOS ANGllLl!S

A'l'JON

UIU

artist
ot humor,

\l.'5-

'4'f v

4'4<,-"-1

..

". . .

...
brilliance ot wit that
ekes Mr. Tasblin one ot the
areatest drawing-board
satirists ot our da,.
CHICAGO TRIBUJ<E
A

ISN'T

oetictous coabln~tlon of

drawinss and te~

NEIS., .
(),t,,

ia a top~cartoontat.

scenes are the best.

ARGONAUT
Sn Frnclsco

11iB HBII YORK Tl9ES

This boy hos ,ally bn busy In oil bronctt., of tho cartoon tree, I romom!Mtr his first drowlng oppe,o,.
Ing In tho top humor magazines, Then he a.1orted turning out o ponto-mln comic at,lp Von 8otl"9, un<f the p.n
nomo of Tish Tosh which wo, syndlcotff In loodlno n.-wp,ol*' In thl country os well os folgn places,
After that he must hOYe a.lgned vp o centipede ond nollod his drowlnt boord to thei cet'ltlpe<lo' a back , , ,
b~ou,e Fronk started mo1ng ond liiept on the moe consto:ntly , from How Yatk to Collfornlo ond ffoffl tho
Aesop Foltl Anlmotod Ctoon Studio, to the Merri Melody Looney Toon Studloa., to the Screen G.m.,
Studio, to Wolt Dlsn~ Studios ond to oll tho oth... ffloYle studios that turn out the gollopl ng cellulolda. In
Technlcolo,,
Seem, like evOf)' thoot-ro I we nt It> Fron.It Toshfln'a nomo floshed on the actoen between Coming
Attroc1ion, and tho How1reel o onlmotot oncf dlrffl of Bvsi Bunny, Porky Pig, Oonold Duck, Mickey Mouse
ond Plutt>.
He wo. ol,o conduc-tlng cartoon classes for beglnnera., ond drawing advertisi ng cartoons, Wh-" did
slup7 Somehow, he atoyed awoke long enough to croot several very fine ond pen-1rotlng cartoon
books, thot curlously e...auoh though 1otl,os, wore .succe1sful ond found tronslotlon oll over the world In countrle whoa.e nome I cant ovon pronounce.
this

g")'

How Fronk 1.s writing and directing mo1ea. and 1elevl1ion film, whore hit lnote 9rophlc obilhy 11
u,ed to llluflrate cenos from his script f Bob Hop, R.d Skelton, Lucille Boll, th Morx B,othe,.., Ray
Roget and othot stms,
No human blng could possibly draw o.s Mony ccwtoon o F,onk ho drown , maybe he lsn'1 hvmon,
but I hove o &lrong suaplclon thot he la o humon as any cortoonlt con be , I think F,onSr; mua.t hew
o syatm of c:lrowlngi which noblea him to do a lot of wOJk In little elm,
I don't lo:now much about u4nt, leaaona Of teoch1n9 but I do know thot Fronlc To,hlln I the
only artist who ho, hod auch w1d ond avc.ce,af1;1I oxperlonce In so mony fl olda of cortoonln9, He'a. ben o top
r,otchff In oll of t horn, If ho ho something to ay about how to creote cortoon.s yoi.,'d bettff 11,tenl You're o
cinch to locwn ltowl
Beve,ly Hiiia, Collfa..nlo

with

this

N[ [

U O OK

Tho drowlng board lllu1trat.d 11 nlc to hove.~But It Is

oxpen1lv, Start out with on IMJCpenslv boord
you con hold In your lop and leon ogolnlt o table,
Plywood, Z.. 11 by 24 ! w111 do nicely; or

If you really wont to economize, uao

the kitchen breadboard.

t ........

a
v,1,1,.,'"I ~

-........................................... .

You con drow with on)' poncll; howov.,,

I r ecomme nd o pencil wfth hard load-H or 3, Thl1

wlll ,nc;,ko It ooslor to " your periclllln9 ofter you

Ink In the drawing and wlll not smudge tho po~r,

There oro two kind of drowl,ig paper-smooth surfaced

and rough surfaced, T,y both and which

you like best, I

u10

o slightly rough-surfaced

lllustrotlon boord, having found my ink behoves

better on this, You fl'OY lllico tho smooth surface paper
better, however, It' ont1roly up to you,

Thero is only one rule In buylnt Ink: It must be

(ot &lock and woter-p,ool o It will not run when woter
color point I oppllod. Higgens lndlo tnk 1 tondord,

DlAWING IJl' li

E.ror or fmportont1
Oo not u th <Wdlno,Y school eroef ol'I. tho
end of o poftc.11, YCM.J IJfust ue the ort g11m or kneoded
o,oser, Th eroso,rs ,emov pnc ll mork1 but will
not l n jur tho pope,.
Buy two pointed aobl-holred brushes.-ono small
(12 or #3) oMI one larger (#So, #6), Th ore usH
for filling In aolld b lacks and to touch vp your
cartoon with whlto point. M.ony cortoonls.ts
u o brush to Ink thelr enth co.ttoon fnsteod of using
o pen. See whot you Ilk bt-pen o, brush,
Remember to cloon out btushe In water lmmecllotoly
ofter using, Do not lt Ink or point dry on brush,

WJ.t11 <Olot

Like pencils you con cfrow with any penl A fountain

pen, bollpolnt pn, the pen your sister u to wr11 In
her diary, But o drowlng pen with o lle1tiblo pohtf
1 best. This wlll 9lvo o variety of line to your
cortOM, depending on whether you
down horcl or
lightly. After using piln, wipe Ink off. Do not let II
harden on the point,

DRA\VING

'E~ .................

pr

; I~

~ --

A white po1tr (opoquo) point It necessary,

o you wl lf on pages 20ond 21, With whhe point

you con cover '-'P ony ink llnes you cloclclo you
do not wont, point out mistake,, snop vp drawing ond
p11t hlghllghta In choroeto,,'
Reit1ember to koep lld on 10,
that point wlll romoln moist.

it,Z,?iik:4
s

s c
?

WHAT 1$._ THE SCOT ART T ECHNIQUE OF DRAWING?

It is the technique I hove used .through the years in drawing my Animated Cartoons, Comic Strip
and Cartoon Books.
CAN ANYONE CREATE CARTOONS USI NG TH E sco,:ART TECHNIQUE OF DRAWING?
Yes, anyone can create cartoons using the SCOT Art

Technique.

WHAT DOES SCOT ART MEAN?

SCOT Art means

Yes, if you can draw a Square, o Circle, on Oval and Triangles, you con create original cartoons.
IS IT THAT SI MPLE?
Yes, it is that simple! These five simple geometric forms ore the basis for oil my cartoons.
However, if for some reason or other (and I cannot imagine a reason) you cannot draw o Square,
o Circle, on Oval or T riongles, do not buy this book. Put it down ond sove your money-you'll
need it to pay loxes. But if you can draw these forms, toke it . . . this is the easy path to
cartooning!
You see there is no secret to creating cartoons. It is os eosy as pie . .. or rather as easy as

drowingo Squore,A Circle, on Oval ond Triangles. In other words, as easy os the SCOT Art
Technique of Drawing.
On the next page I hove illustrated the five steps in creating comic heads. Read the instructions
carefully and even more important look at my step by step drawings carefully. You will see t~e
simplicity of the SCOT Art Technique of Drawing. It works!!

1..___ _ _
FIRST STEP:

1.

1.

Drow the Square, Circle, Oval ond two Triangles in light pencil.

Z-~--~ J.,.

'),,

2,.

SECOND STEP: Now add the eyes and eyebrows in penci I as I have.

..______,

THIRD STEP:

3.

3.

Pencil in the noses as shown above.

FOURTH STEP: Sti II using your penci I add the 'mouth and cheek lines.

s.
FIFTH STEP:
\

s.

Add the hair ond ears. When this is done ond you are sotislied with your com ic
faoes, go over your penci I lines with pen and ink, careful not to ink in tho ports
of the basic SCOT Art forms you no longer need. (Indicated in dotted lines.)
When the ink is dry, erase the pencil lines and your cartoon head is complete.
Easy, isn't it?

. . . . . . #d

S_
r

See how simple h Is

to create .,. fo,

comic faces, Al the

.,.., ore bosod on the

SCOTArt fOfms of

Squore, Clrcle, Oval,

ond Trlontl
H., I hov drown 14 comic hoda
oll ol theM bo .d on the bolc
Circle formi Notice thot even though

they oll atorted with o Circle,

when c~ploted they oll loolt
different

...... ~

The Squor. wo, the etortfng oH place

for these 10 cortoon heocl,..

Copy the, then u,tng the Sq110re
creole )'our own,

....... ~

@#ourh
No

Mott.,

whot

eKp,lon you wont

cortoon mouth con
olo be dotl9ned 1.11lng
th Squor, Clrcl,
Ovol ond T rlongl

fo-rmt.

He,re l used lS Ovo1

ond ended up whh flfte" dlffet11nt
comic head, .
Try fifteen youraelf,

......

Triangle hoods, The eigh t hoods on

top use the Triangle form tnoklng the
hood c ome to o point, Notice how

different top Trlongle heod1 ore from

the ,even hoods b elow where the

Triangle lo,m wo, Inverted. Yet both

aets of heads ore boaicolly Trlongles,

....... ~
9

Befor w go 011y further allow m to dstroy o myth prvolent In

most books devoted to teaching the beginner how to draw cartoons:
lnvoriobly, these books hove o page devoted to the proportions of
the cartoon httod. They us~lly state that the eyes ore in t he
:ii:oct center of the head; that the bottom of the nose is 1/ 4 the
distonce from the chin ond 3/4 the dlstonc from the top of the
heod t Tho t the ar are the some length o, the nose ond fit in the
Mod ot the some lvI thot the nose does; thot the mouth is 1/3
the distance from the bottotn of the nose to the chin1 etc.
These proportions ore fine If you ore interested in becoming o
reolit.tic illustrator Of pointer. In that cose you should to to ort
,chool ond leorn to drow from a,odels.
Hoving bought this hook, however, I osaume you ore interested in
b.coming o cartoonist/ That you or. interested in creating comic
choroctora with FUHHY FACES/II

If you sticlt to the cliche m.thod of head proportions s hown obove1

you will l;mJt you, ron9e of comic heads. Observe what 1 hove done
on the next poge. There thirteen Circle heads with Ovol eyes,
aTriongle no1e1 and o smiling mouth. Note that although the some
Circle, O.,ol and Trlongle1 hove been used, eoch face look$
different than ti, otbersl

Why?
Because 1 hove placed the eyes, noses and mouths in different
oreos within the circle head.
In ot h.r words by not observing the so,c olled rules of proportion,,
l hove created thirteen different comic heads using the some 1lted
Circle with the some shaped nose,# eyes and mouths.
Try some yourself. But remember-put the eyes 1 noses ond mouth,
wherever you wont to put them within the confines of the circle.
Try drawing some heads of your own ond see how many different
heods you con make based on the some basic SCOT Art forms.
10

11

12

_boOieS____
Cortoon bodies oa oy to
crot o cartoon heacf, using the

SCOTA,t Technique of O,owlng.

All of th comic ftgwr ho b,een
create-ct, using Circles for o bo1la,

Mote the ,moll block dlosrroma which

Illustrate the vorlova al of
Clrclea ua.d In constructing th

flgvr

AU of these bodlel were creot.d,

based on $Cf'lor of vorlou1 alx
few the orlglnol foundotlon of
the choroctera.

% 1nk{eA
Wrinkles con be
simple If you wlll
reMemb.r to pvt

the

wrinkles wliere tlie

clothl"9 bends-such
oa 01 the elbow,. the

knee, oNJ 1,1nd,

the Ml'!t.
Those c:ottoon choroetera were
drown ond c:onsttuc-ted on Oval, of
different alaos, Ovall ore beat
for creating pretty girls,

- ~

Othr wrtnlitles oppeor

clothing Is

wh,

p1.1lld tight, whr the

buttor.a hold
wh,
th ...,olst 1 pulled In.

"

vTmOLS
Note thot collors, ti
lopI, hots, hot,
bow ond vets o,e oll
based on Trlongl
forms,

Tha,a c:Qmlc figure, ore oil bo.aed on

Trlonglas. Not1'.;e how these aata

of flou,.a differ one from the other,

bo,N on what type of SCOTArt
~

wo1 u1ed oa o basis,

'fl
13

,,~,,
..

....

-~

~
..
.....

..

;c,t 8> II e
SCOTArt FORMS MIXED UP!
On the preceding pages you ho ,een how to create
1ndividuol comic figur entirely consttvcted of Squares,

Circles, Ovals ond Triangle,.

~,

......._.

On thes two pages I hove drown 33 cartoon choractorsea.ch ba1.d on a variety of SCOT Art forms to molce up eoch
individual figure.
Study them and you will observe, for instonce, that one
figure is mode up out of a Circle head, o Square body and
orms and lttgs of Triangles; while anothet figure is bo1,ed on
o Square head, on Oval chest, Circle hips, and Triangle
arms and Square legs, etc.

Again the block dtogroms beside the figures show what

forms were used to create each character. Copy my figures

to ~t tho swing of mlx1ng up the SCOTArt forms then

start originating chorocters of your own.
REMEMBER to first drow the SCOT Ast forms In light
pencil, then odd heod details, the eyes, nose, mouth, hoir
ond ear,. Noxt odd c lothtng, remembering the rule on
where to place wrinkles. When you have sketched in the
hands ond ft.et ond the drawing is complet e in pencil, ink
it in. After ink dries erase all pencil fines.

Before you go on to t he following pages make tur you

have absorbed everything you have read and seen in this
book so 1... If you hove diligently 1tudied the SCOT Art
Technique of Orow1ng and applied it's principles you con
at this point creote oti9inol cartoon c#torocfers of your own!

ti
~
....

..

14

~i.~j--~
~-,,.~'
"..,
~,
JI
.,.,

~- ~

.....

,.,,

i'
,,
....

..
. / _...._
...

1.

"
\

...\

...',

15

16

Whotvr field of cartooning you go into., be It comic

,trips, mogazln cartoon,, animated movie cortoon1 1
...c., you will find that knowing how to mok your
d,o,octers mov is important. Vry lmportontl
Moklng your chorocters move is not difficult! On th.
preceding page I h~ used fouT SCOTArt figures to
illustrate the elments of action in five simpl phos

FIGURES (1) A,e normal walklng poses, Hatlee l>oth

fe.&t of my characters or on the ground.
The orm-1 ore relatively straight., not
l>.nt at th I bows,
FIGURES (2) Tho liguru are walking laster, How one
foot is oll the ground. Hot ice how this
makes the choroc-ters seem to be moving
mOfe brialcly. The o_
r ms ore ongulo:r
starting to bel\d at the elbows.
FIGURES (3) The cartoon people are running. Both
Ifft ore oll the 9round, Hands are
cll\ched into fists., the fingers no longer
extnded. Elbows ore bent even mOfe,
Hot that the shadows beneath people
remain at th .som ground lvI. Speed
liM& ore odded1 giving the appearance
of even greater movement.
FIGURES (') The characters ore running foster. Thoy
are higher off the ground. Bodies ore
tilted to o mOfe extreme angle. More
speed lines ore odded. Clothing is starting to loosen up-ties, hot, etc.
FIGURES (5) The chorocter are racing, Notice they
e higher off the ground. Hots a.re flying off their heods. There ore more
speed lines. Hoir is dishevelled.

Here ore 24' $C01 Art chorocte, In vorlous

octlon po E1eomine t1iem, Then draw your
own SCOT Art figure ond put them thl"ough

their paces , , everything from o normal

wolk too fo.-t run. Watch people os they
move-your fotnlly ond friends-get your
oc:tlon ldeoJ from real llfe; then exo9gerate
It, Stond before o mirror and pose yourself to
o\s.erve your own action. Remembtr to exog..

gefote-exoggerotlon meona funnier action.

6'~"%~;:,ef

17

In creoting expressions for your comic

focs lceep In mind that certain parts
of the foce ore movable. These ports
ore the #toir, eyebrows, eyes, cheeks
and moufl,.

By the movements of these ports you

con create any expression:
The Happy Expression.
Notice that in this drawing oll the
lines of the face turn up when the
character is happy.

The Angry Expression.

Notice that oil the lines of tho foce
turn down when the chorocter is ons,ry.
The angry exprssion Is just the
opposite of the happy expression.
Hotice how different the some choroc
ter loolc.s when his ex pre ts ion chonges.

The Sad, Sick or Worried Expression.

All the lines of the foce droop. The
eye'S ore heavy lidd.d giving o list
less look. How this f.llow Is
indecisive ond doesn't know what to
do. Com pore tho three express ions.
Study them.

To discover all the intricate ond ,ubtle expressions the face is capable oi, get fore that mirror ogoln and s tart
making faces at your1elf. Do this when you ore alone or your friends will think thot you hove eith.er falle n in love
with younelf, or that you hove gone Insane.
On the next page ore t he expressions I got from my own mirror.
Notice how the action of the body fits the various expressions. The body must ossumo o pose thot fits In with the
xpression on the foe:e. fOf Instance you wouldn't place the "Frightened" heod I hove d1own on the " Shy" body,
It wouldn't m.oke sense. The fociol expression ond body pose wouldn't fit togther.
Notice the action of the hondt and how they odd to tho total overall exPfession. Also the hair when the
character is calm the lv,ir lies flat. When the chorocto, is upset the )lair ts wild,
Wo,k on foc:lol expressions . This is what will give "pers onolity .. to your choroc:ters. Wotch people around you
see what happens to their foe-es os their oxprossions change and when you're not doing t hat, stay in front
of that mirror, but draw, draw, draw until you con draw any exprossionl

18

PoMpous

Srern
19

...
Tbe wonderful effects you c&n achieve with a brush full of white paint when it
is applied correctly to a solld black area is indeed 1118Jlcal,
Though putting white lines on a black background is Just tbe reverse of ordinary
Inking which is of course, black lines on a white background, the final reault
is tar more than that.
The decoration I have drawn on this page Is much more interesting with the building details and the crowds or people outlined in white on black than if I had
drawn It black on white,
White paint, however, comes into its own with the illustrations on the op-posite
page, NOtice the effects created.
Drawin9 1. THE INDIAN

auF

I flrst inked In the Chief and teepees in solid black ink. Then rlth white
I painted In all the details, The feathers, folds In the blanket, fringe on
the blanket and leggings, designs on the teepees and the grass, Notica how
sharply he stands out,
Drawing 2. SAHrA CLAUS

Old Santa first received the solid black treatment, then tbe white was added
tor details. Notice how soft his beard and the fur on his clothing seems.
A close examination will show this "softness" was created by breaking up
the solid b1ack lines with short white lines crossing theui. A good trick to
remember hen you asake up your OO'n Christmas cards this year,
Drawing 3. 'niE PRINCESS

,See bow the white applied to her hair and clothing 11akes her COiie to life,
All the intricate detail ot her costume is brought out clearly. Examine the
cutle and the easy way to suggest brick walls.
Drow/n9 4. THE GUARO

The same thing here. Detail all done In 11h!te on black- NOtice the different
treatment his beard received c<>11pared to Santa's above.
Try this white on black technique yourself. You can either use ink and brush In
the black area or purchase some inexpensive black paper, and apply your white
paint.
Create SOile SCOTArt figurn in this manner. You will be pleased and amazed at the
effects you achieve, Try a night seen& with snow tailing and lights shining out
of windows.

21

Ther ore mony cortooni1t1 who con draw on exce llent fig~ In outllne but when it comes to
shading the figure ond giving it shape and dimension they foll short.
Light and shadow rondfting is slmplo if yo.u will remember that there nttd be only three tones In
shading ony drawing.
First, 11 the side of the character or tho obJec:t that the llght shines on.

Tb;, side clo.sest to the source ol //ght Is loft wliitel

Then there Is th,e tide of th character Of obfect that is farthest from the source of llght. This side
lorthHt from the //9ht Is tho dorkutl
In between tho "lig.ht" aide and the

11

dorlc." aide shade in the lnbetween tone.

Thia ia the grey middle tone. Tlifs oreo /nbetween is 9roy/

That's all thoro i. to shoding , o light, o dotk ond o middle lone. ObHrvo tho 5 basic SCOTAn
forms below. All of them hove depth an-d solid form with o white side, grey area and dork side.

Study tf..o some thrtt to.not used in shading the comic faces on tho bottom of the pag. The some
rule applies.

On th. opposite page study tho effect of llght on the some charoctft.
Fig. 1. Light comes from left making right tide of charoctor dork.
Fig. 2. Light comes ltom upper right making lower left of character clork.
fig. 3. Light cllrc-tly above puts the shadows under hat brim, under nose, under chin, etc .
Fi9 .(. Li9ht front lower ltft causes block shadow on upper right wall.
Fig. 5. Light 11, hidden dlrec:tly behind character and only illt.1mlnote1 the outline of character.
fig. 6. Light from th front and below throws ahodow on wall behind chorocter.

22

1.

'

~.::~.........

3.

23

HORtZON LINE OR EVE LEVEL

VAlltSHtlH,~
POINT

Consldr th fact that you ore drowing o pictu,. on o llat piece ol popet and that on this some flat plc of paper
you wont to gt the illusion of depth, You wont port of your drawing to b. nor ond you want port of It to appear to
be miles away. How do you get the effect of dpth on o flat pic of paper?

By using tit rules of pr1pec:tivel Ys, perspective hos definite rules that never change. Only by learning th
rules and using them con you ever )(pect to draw a cartoon tho1 has dlmnalon. It's easy. Hr or th ruls.
First, you draw a straight line 01 I hove above. This ii called the Horfzon Lin the Ey Level. In othr word1,
this line 11 ot your eye level ond Is the angle from which you view the scene. Both
of this line ore known 01
the Vanishing Points.

ml,

How draw o wrtlcol line across the Hori

zon Line 01 I hove illustrated. The lngth
of this vertical line will determine the
height of the neore1t object In your
pect1ve drawing.

.,,,p,

.,..,.sp

How rule perspoctlve lines as I have done

frOffl both Vanishing Paints ta the top and
bottom of the vertical line.

Thn, lightly slctch In your charactr and

buildings. S.e how the drawing is !:,,ought
into "'perspectiv'' by allowing the pen
pective line, that come from both Vani,h ..
ing Points to f04'm the shape of the man's
heod, shoulders, 1atc.hel1 and form the
roof line1 1 window, and doors of the
buildings. Notice in this picture th
Horiion Line or Eye Level cuts through
the man's middle as If you were viewing
the scene from o bent ~nee position.

V.P.

Here Is t ... aome man drown in pe1s,-ctive

but from a lower Eye Level.
The Horiaon Line ond Vanishing Points

ot low at the lvol of hi, Mt as if

you wo, viewing tho aeon from o
lyin9 down position.

Now tho som,e man aoen frOM o highe,

point of viow. Tho Horii.on Line ond
Voniahing Polnt.. ar high ot the lovI
of tho man"a hat oa if you were th. aom.e
hel9ht as tho man, viewlhg the scene ftom
a standing position.

Here with the rlslnt crote,Perspective

drawing is lllustrotecl from th,.. points
of viw.
Fig. 1. The ctote 1.. below th. Horiaon

Lin and the Eye level of the

viewer. You con se the top of

tit crote.
Fig. 2. The crate ls being raised up.
It Is now iust in the middle of
the Horizon Line. You cannot
see ti>. top ol tbe crate now.
Fig. 3. The crafe Is higher. It hos
Leen raised oboff the Horizon
Line. Yo11 can tho bottom
of tire crot. now.
Hot. that in these th,.. views of the
rising crot tho perspective lines all
converged to the saffl.e two Vanishing
Points.
Just rememlet this: Whon you wont to

look down at any obiect or figu-re, make

your Horizon Line bigltl When you wont
to look up at any obfect or fi9ure, make
your Horizon LIM low! That's all there
Is to it.

25

Here 11 th low Eye Level perspctlv ogoln.

S.. how seporote obiects in the room, th, pictures

on the wall, the windows, the ceiling oil fit Into
per1pe,ctive by running Pfftpectlve lines from
the Vaniahin9 Points to the ol>jeds,

Here even more obiect, 01 well 0 .1 the choroc..

tfts ore held together 01 o single unit by
pective lines. Note In this drawing the Horizon
Line run, through the center of the drawing.

pe,,.

- ----

'
- ,,,;:.......
...
.\.~ ~ -

A conct pianlat ond his Instrument drawn from

o low Eye Level.

This Is on example of 1 point Perspective.

Instead of 2 Vanishing Points 01 in the oth

drawings thi1 drawing hos only 1 Vonlshir'lg
Point ond all the perspective lines in the draw
Ing converge to this 1 Point. The next time you
ore near o railroad, stand in the middle of tlw
ties, look down the tracks and you'll see how
they converge and ditoppea, just 01 they do In
my drawing.

26

.......

it. Every cartoon you drow

will hove some perspective in it. Get it set in your mind now

Wor at perspc,ctive until you master

At first glance this drawing oppeors to be o very complicated

offo1r, but if you oberve tho Horii.on Line, Vanishing Points ond
fMrspectlve lines I hove drown in ovr the drO'Wlng you will see
t hot this perspective drawing is quite simple. You will be oble to
do drawings like this if you remember the basic rul of the
Horizon Line and Vanishing Points.

He,- is an xample of p&r$pee tlve drowii,9 from my cartoon book

.. The World That Isn't."

When you wont to bring speclol attention too certoln port of o cor
toon c:horoi;t er, you vse wflot Is known os Foreshottenln9 to empho.
sl thot portlculor port.
For lnstonc, If you were doing on odvertlln9 d rowln9 for o shoe
s tore you might wont to bring speclol attention to the shoes by usrng
Fo,..sho,t~lng oncf feot ure th shoes moklng them lorger thon the
recat of the figure,
Forehorten1ng Is where o port of the ffgu,- I drown lo,9et In o
dltted kind of pe,apectle thon the re.st of the figure. Study the
Fore1hortened figures I hc,ve drown, Notice the port, thcrt Ofe ForeshortenN.

Flo. 1. TM 111ori's cl11

flt, 2, TM u1t1brllo
Fit, 3. The on, t1ose
Fl9 , ,. The usicio11', hotlds o,w4
on4 flute

.s. The tlo or 11. ...

Flo, 6. The hofJd ond eot of the
eovesdropf*t'
Fi11, 7. TM Or1.1M Mojo,n'
t,.,tOf\ ond bO'ton tos,el,
Flo, 8. TM Ft of tM lP
Flt, 9, The bowllr-g boll
Flt, 10, The fi,eon' hos
no,.te
Flt, 11. TM rloht let of the
d11t1elnt , 1,1 ..
fft. 12. TM f!larble , "" hoM
Flo,

or ,t. t.oy

Flt, 13, T ... cop, ho.,d

Pit, 1.4. Th<t
hond,
Fit, 1.S. Tb. shoe OM lee, of 1M

0
0

28

w-o"'
""""' "11 "'"

Flo, 16, The ptpe or.d hond of

!he-,

Fl9, 17. 'rM !'Id of tM h'-'ntr't.

F"lc,, 18.
F-19. 19.

Fig, 20,

,Hie
TM ortitt 0 s "-ond otllf
lw\lah
The lliow of the on
The c-tt, hol'l6, ,oll
s.holt,
f')1,,, P-0"
TJ,. boll plopr' 1>~

0,..,

F19, 21,
Fit, 22, T.he fil4er' 9love
Fi9. 23, Tb. eolf-,.' ctut.
Flw, 2-', The c-hor' ,evolv,
Flo, 25, 'rM .__on' L , F19. 26. Tlw ,wwsp,ope, o.l'ld
tod ... 't. hoMt.
Flt, 27. Tht footboll rl11y,

hoe oM bol
Frv, 28. The lioc:k 1119 ond foo,
of the wolkl nt 111011
Flt, 29. The of the W-Cll'I

Solid block Is used 1n cortoons for two reoO"nf,

One, l to bring attention to the partlculor port of the
conoon you wont feat1i1rflld ond , Two, ia to bolonc.e th.e
drawing,
That la to balance o block oroo against o whit orea in
p,o~r portion.

Notice how block "naps up" o draw1ng, In the flgur

obove I hOYO first drown the man ond wOftlan In oYIUne.
11,en I hove odd.d oreos of block to the om ftgur
Yovr eye will tell you that In comporl,on the outllne drow,
Ing i onemlc looking and without interest, while the aome
flgutes touched up with block ,een'I to corne to life. Use
block In yo1.1, cortoon, ond make It count.
Below Is o hofflc: scene I drew for my boo1c " The World

Th01 1,n't. 0

Notice how the blacli streets balance the su"oundln9

white oroos malilng tho cars- ond figures stand out.

Thero o.re times when solid block silhou.ttes with

<Wt ony dotoll ore beat t o put over on ido, Only

th outlines of the five women from .. The World ,

" wos Important.

Th dinner table scene from rho World , is

on exomple of using o touch of block to bring th
roder' attention to the centers of infere.st. In
this cote, It Is th poor husband, whoe solid
bloclc suspendet's make him stand out. Tho block
hoir of his nogging wife mokes her stond out,

The Tox Collectors squoeiing John Q. Public

from "The World , '' is on instance where
solid block silhouettes ond oddod whit. detoil
sold the idea. Th honds frisking the clothing of
John Q. are cleorly shown, blaclc against whito.

In my drawing from uThe Possum Who Didn't"

attention was brought to the possum by making
him tho only dorlt. li9ure in the pictur. Note thot
the four people oll looking up ot tho possum odd to
moking him th center of Interest.

The effects of Snow, Rain, Sunshino, Clouds.,

Smoke, etc., lend gtoat value to your dtowing when
e xecutod corrctly.

Rain that really looks wet, clouds that really look

soft, sun thot ,eolly seems to shlno, oll odd to the
final profe11ionol oppeoronco of your cartoon.
Reproduced on these two poges ore examples. of
these elements from my books.

Tho effoct of th explo1ion of tho Atom Bomb

from "The World '' wos created in this monnor.
Fig, 1 shows how I first inked in the billowing
mushroom shape. Fig. 2, I hove oddod whito lines
breolclng up tho solid block linos. Noto how o soft
cloudli~e offoct is ochiovod by this cro11hotchin9
of whit on block.
:1..

The Possum below is happy in a gentle rain.

Noto tho slant of tho rain and the rain drops
dripping from the leaves and flowort. Over dork
areas the effect of rain is ochlved by pointing
in the rain lines with white point.

32

;..s.

' ,.1111 I

.-.-..:zr.,!!!11"""',..,~~i:;
;;~;

.,

Even though the sun itself is not visible you can

tell thot It is shining behind the trees by th. sunroys emanating upward. The bottom of th clouds
ore light with dork shocfows on the top side of the

clouds. While this off.ct suggested the 'Possum's

homecoming at sunrise, it could illustrate o sunset as well.

A hoovy block curtain of clouds from "The World

u. The round shop of the clouds is suggested

by only having th. rolling e dg .. of tho cloud, high

lighted.
Horo the 'Possum is in a heavy rain. Notice tho
way tho shot s eems to really be wet. This offocf
is created by drawing o reflection of the ttreot
light, buildings ond gorboge cons on the pavement.

Fodo,y smoke reproduced from "The Bor , ....

S.o how ,Imply smoke con bo drown, Almost o
doodle-Ilk curlecue line.

33

/J:.l.w

tt>r~le UllfJ Lik Gor.dThirgs

ike fasy Way
Drowing cortoons for odvrtisers offr o lucrative
field for the cartoonist who con create Ideas that
will bring ottntion too product. The nowspopers
ond mogoxines contain many exomples of odver
tising cartoons, Study them.

--,----,,--.. _..,.._,
------..,...,

___

-- '"'"O
...... -.. ~......
_.,......,.,,,__._,
_ _ c__.

......
_. . ,...-flMl!t.-.....,

_ _ _ ... - i ... _ . . _

Usually the Art Director of the advertising ogency

knows exactly whcrt he wonts for o po.rtlculor com
polgn. This wos true in the case of my advertising
cartoon, reproduced her J merely dr.w up the
.,gags" that lllush'at.d the Art Director's basic
idea.

"fur~le UJlfJ Lik Gor.dThirgs

ike fasy Way

_
_.. . ....._____...__
..-............_..,.,

___ ______ _
__.

--~---~-,,
...-..,
. -.... ____ _
=-~-----.
.
.
.
.
,e_. __ .,_............. __,
... -..--.-,....,
,,,_

_,..,.. __ ... _

___

............_->

....,_ _ _ ,..~ -... -="

:--: :;: -_; : : .,-

----.
. . . .... kt,.,.,._'
--.. ....,,-----e-...
v.._...,.. ___ _

fl~;I

.......... ~

~ GoodG&.
-<9v,W

34

.,...-

InstantAfaxWe//House
loo,r~

VAN BORING

( Ht ontr a&)' w.d)

BUY
Xf'IV{f

SERL!

As In odveriising cortoon1 your nowsstond

offers countltss exomple1 of comic strips
for study and exominotion.

BU\

XMR>
SE: ALf

On of the moln points t o rmomber where

comic strips ore concerned Is to draw them
s.imply s.o thot they will reJ)focfuco well on
now1poper stoc~.

Se. how 1imply I drew my comic strip or

rathr my comic ponel.

Von 80,ing, tho main character is cloorly

outlined ond olwoy1 woo,1 o solid block
coot, which makes him the center of
interest no matter what situation he is In.

VAN BORING

( He HY a&JI a word)

11.II

35

In all my books the drawings. that seem to interest

and fascinate the reoders the most ore the pages
I hove devoted to la.rge crowd scenes.

There is o reason for thisl It is because o drawing

filled w1th detail and hundreds of peopl is rarely
soon. Most cartoonists wilt not de vote the time or
haven't the time to spend on such Intricate drawings.
But these drawings of mine do not toke a.n oxces
1ive amount of timo. Why? Bocouse of the SCOT
Art Technique of Orowing. This system gets o
crowd scone done in a third of the time you would
ordinorily spend on It.
Try o SCOTArt crowd scene yourself. Drow the
street corner nearest your home or draw your
living..foom when all your in-lows ore os1,embled .

Examine tho Night Club drawing below. Noto

how simply each individual choroct is drown
ond then study the occumulotive effect achieved
when oil theao simple chorocters ore crowded to ..
gether. In other words, units of $imiplicity iom ..
m.d together give on effoct that is anything but
simple.

..,~~

~~ -:~~

/.

~~~

Ther are over twenty gags tn The Big City" scene obove. Can you find them?
Note thcrt the four central figures are inked in a heavier
line t o make them stand out from the crowd.

Ll\St Wo(le ~Solli7 [s:~11\111

Because SCOTArt i# the lost word when it com to a 1lmplifld method of creotlng cartoons. On fh two
poo I hove token choract.rs publlshltd in my books and comic strip and have illusttoted the rough SCOT Art fo,mt
that hove gone into tho basic consh'uction of these characters.

Hatlee thot In the final drowlng of th choractctrs the basic form, hove In some cases completely dlsoppeor.d.
In the final drawing of the ' Possum, for instance you are not conscious thot his head is based on a Triangle form.
R-,nember th primary use ol the SCOTArt lorms is to give you a wo,lcing blueprint to build yorJr lino/ drawing on.

Kffp drawing and using SCOTA,t putting one form on onothe-r and erecting your characters. lt's like playing with
blocks when you put th aeotntric symbols together. Overlapping one form over another your cortoon wlll hove
a flow and unified appearance. The four characters at the bottom of this page illustrate this perfedly. S.e how
the foundation of SCOTA.rt forms is completely hidden in the flnal completed drawing. Notice the unity of the four
people. Jhey ore oil ir, one piece, so to speak, This unity con be orr,ived ot only when th basic construct/on
Itself hos a unity ol lorms. Rea,,emb.r that with o Square, Circl, Oval and Triangles you con er.ate any and all
cartoons you wish.

38

39

START A MORGUE
A '"morgue" is merely o morbid word used

by

cartoonists to describe

o Iii ing cabinet.

But no matter what you coll it you do need o place to keep the clippings you will cut out of newspapers, magazines, etc., of unfamiliar
things you may be called upon to draw.

If you were asked to draw a character wearing a Medieval Costume

you might be hard put to remember just what a Medieval Costume
looks like. However, if your file was kepi up-to-date you would look
under the letter "M" for Medieval Costumes.
Under "A" you would hove filed Airplanes, Aard-Vorks, Armadillos.
Under "B" Bears, Bees, Birds, etc. Under each letter of the alphabet you could find exactly what you wont.
Let the clippings you file away be photographs and realistic draw
ings. 00 H OT SAVE CARTOONS drown by other cartoonists. You
might unconsciously imitate their style of cartooning and lose your

own original ity and individual way al drawing.

!!

~c

Frank Tashlin had achieved recognition as a children's writer when he entered the film industry to
work in the animation units at Disney and Warner Bros. Both of these early careers would have decisive
import for the major films that Tashlin would direct in the 1950s. This early experience allowed Tashlin to
see everyday life as a visually surreal experience, as a kind of cartoon itself, and gave him a faith in the
potential for natural experience to resist the increased mechanization of everyday life. Tashlin's films of the
1950s are great displays of cinematic technique, particularly as it developed in a TV-fearing

Hollywood.

They featured a wide-screen sensibility, radiant color, frenetic editing, and a deliberate recognition of film
as film. Tashlin's films often resemble live versions of the Warners cartoons. Jerry

Lewis, who acted in

many of Tashlin's films, seemed perfect for such a visual universe with his reversions to a primal animality,
his deformations of physicality, and his sheer irrationality. Tashlin's films are also concerned with the ways
the modern world is becoming more and more artificial; the films

are often filled with icons of the new

mass culture (rock and roll, comic books, television, muscle men,

Jayne Mansfield, Hollywood) and are

quite explicit about the ways such icons are mechanically produced
example, in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, the successful romance of

within a consumer society. For

Rita Marlow (Jayne Mansfield)

causes other women to engage in dangerous bust-expanding exercises to the point of nervous exhaustion.
Yet the very critique of mass culture by an artist working in a

commercial industry creates the central

contradiction of Tashlin's cinema: if the danger of modern life is its increasing threat of mechanization, then
what is the critical potential of an art based on mechanization? Significantly, Tashlin's films can be viewed
as a critique of the ostentatious vulgarity of the new plastic age while they simultaneously seem to revel in
creating ever better and more spectacular displays of sheer technique to call attention to that age. The Girl
Can't Help It, for instance, chronicles the making of a non-talent (Jayne Mansfield) into a star, viewing the
process with a certain cynicism but at the same time participating in that process. These films are vehicles
for Mansfield as Mansfield, and are thus somewhat biographical. As with Jerry Lewis, serious treatment of
Tashlin began in France, especially in the pages of Positif, which has always had an attraction to the comic
film as an investigator
Andrew Sarris in

of the Absurd. Anglo-American criticism tended to dismiss Tashlin; for example,

American Cinema called him "vulgar". In such a context, Claire Johnston and Paul

Willemen's Frank Tashlin had the force of a breakthrough, providing translations from French journals and
analyses of the cinematic and ideological implications of tashlin's work. DANA B. POLAN