04/24/99

Cartooning on the Web

To recognize the value of humor in our lives and to highlight the art of cartooning (America's most popular art form), the National Cartoonist Society has designated May 5 Cartoonists Day. So pick up your pencils and get out your paper, we're gonna learn how to draw cartoons!

Cartoon-a-Matic

Built as a demonstration of the nFX graphics engine, Cartoon-a-Matic can be played online or downloaded and played offline on any Windows computer. Starting with an existing cartoon face, your mission is to change the characteristics of the features. Want the eyes further apart? How about making the ears bigger? You can even work with the character's facial expression, changing it from mad to sad or from a frown to a smile. When you've perfected your masterpiece, add a caption and hang it in the online gallery. Attention budding cartoonists: nFX is looking for additional cartoon faces to add to the Cartoon-a-Matic. Click on Send Us Your Face for more details.

Draw and Color with Uncle Fred

"Uncle Fred" Laswell has been drawing the syndicated comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith for fifty years. At his popular Web site, he teaches us how to draw "cartoonys" ù simple cartoon characters that can be drawn in about twelve steps. Choose to learn how to draw a bunny rabbit, a chef, or a happy puppy from the list of twelve lessons. Or simply start at the first lesson (a surfer) and continue through to the end (a penguin.)

Emmett Scott's Art Studio

Emmett Scott has been teaching cartooning to kids for many years, and in his terrific online lessons he shares this secret: "Simply enough, the secret to cartooning is EMOTION. Showing emotion in a cartoon face is the key to giving characters personality. Think of many of the famous cartoon characters and you can easily recall some emotions they have expressed. The way a cartoonist shows emotion is with the FOUR basic features of the face: they are the EYES, EYEBROWS, EYELIDS, and MOUTH. The nose and ears and chin and hair and cheeks are very nice to look at. However, they don't show the reader emotions like the four basic facial features do."

How to Draw a Cartoon Character

Each month, children's book author and illustrator Gary Harbo presents a new character for us to draw. Presented in ten not-exactly-easy steps, they can be followed on screen, or printed out for later use. In addition to the lessons, Gary offers an assortment of his online illustrations free to schools. Anyone responsible for a school Web site should take a look at these fun graphics, each available in two sizes.

Warner Brothers Animation 101

"How does an animated project get from a writer's brain to the screen?" Animation 101 shows you each step, from the story conferences where the writers gather to brainstorm ideas, to the Foley artists that produce the special sound effects (splat! zing! splosh!) This is a fascinating and detailed behind-the-scenes look at professional animation, but I was disappointed that not a single online animation was used to liven it up.

Please send questions or comments to feldman@surfnetkids.com.