POINTERS FOR EDITORIAL
CARTOONING
1. Be most concerned with the originality and clarity of your
cartoon's ideas.
2. Select news stories of major continuing interest -- what's
news in December may not be news in March.
3. Study some professionally drawn editorial cartoons
closely before trying to create one of your own. Remember,
study them, but don't copy them.
4. Don't clutter your cartoon with too many different ideas.
Decide on a single point you want to make.
5. Draw in bold lines. Keep lettering large and legible.
6. Draw your cartoons in a horizontal, not vertical,
format.
7. Don't create a cartoon that is just a slogan ("Don't
Smoke", "Watch Less TV", etc.)
8. Be funny or thought provoking. Or both.
HATCHING
The most basic method of creating
value in ink drawing is linear
hatching. Fine parallel lines fill an
area, so that from just a slight
distance, we have the illusion of
value. The closer the lines are, the
less white paper shows, and the
darker the value appears. Heavier
line weight also gives a darker
appearance.
CROSSHATCHING
Crosshatching is the drawing of two layers of
hatching at right-angles to create a mesh-like
pattern. Multiple layers in varying directions can
be used to create textures. Crosshatching is often
used to create tonal effects, by varying the
spacing of lines or by adding additional layers of
lines. Crosshatching is used in pencil drawing, but
is particularly useful with pen and ink drawing, to
create the impression of areas of tone, since the
pen can only create a solid black line.
STIPPLING
Stippling uses tiny dots to create value. The
closer together the dots, the darker the tone.
Larger dots create a denser tonal value more
quickly, but can look coarse.
SCUMBLING
Scumbling, often called the 'brillo
pad' technique, uses layers of small
calligraphic, scribbled marks to
build up value and texture. Varying
the direction and shape adds more
interest than a simple circular
scribble.
SMOOTH SHADING
Smooth shading can use
combinations of circular
shading and contour lines to
bring more depth into your
drawing. Practicing this
technique is imperative to
create realistic shade, and
allows you to use ultimate
scope of tonal values with the
highest degree of accuracy.