Welcome! We have:- Sample art from cartoony comics you can read online for free,
- A short piece about what makes a comic "cartoony,"
- A little information about each comic, to help you pick your next favorite.
About Cartoony
Cartoony Comics: a comic art style characterized by animation mannerisms: bouncy walks, flexibility instead of rigidity in commonplace items, stretching of the laws of physics and a degree of three dimensionality achieved through shading and anatomic comic techniques. Generally, curves are emphasized over straight lines and right angles and arrangements are often wonky.*
More than anything, "Cartoony" comics are FUN. Bouncy, colorful, round (given a hint of 3D) and very commonly featuring kids and animals.
Though often associated with kids, cartoonies on the web are usually written for adults, but are usually fine for older kids.
Classic cartoony comics take their stylistic cues from color newspaper comics and kids' comic books from about the 1940s - 1970's. Charlton, Gold Key, Harvey and Dell are big influences, and to a lesser extent, Saturday morning cartoons, especially Bullwinkle and Popeye.
Newfangled cartoony comics are heavily influenced by more recent kids' cartoons, like Dexter's Laboratory and Ren and Stimpy.
"Transitional" comics are in between styles. The greater the realism, the less the cartooniness. Think of the contrast between Bob Hodgkins and Roger Rabbit in "Who Killed Roger Rabbit?"
All are at least partly humorous and in color. Some, like Zip, are both poignant and humorous. Comics inspired by newspaper comics may be less cartoony than those inspired by comic books. You will be tempted to question entries on my list. My suggestion is to look at whether they are rubbery and/or 3D, without being computer 3D. In the end, it comes down to opinion with some titles.
Note that watercolors use color instead of design to create a 3D effect, and are partly in, partly out.
Here is our cartoony comics definition:
Cartoony Comics: a comic art style characterized by animation mannerisms: bouncy walks, flexibility instead of rigidity in commonplace items ("rubberyness"), stretching of the laws of physics and a degree of three dimensionality achieved through shading and anatomic comic techniques. Generally, curves are emphasized over straight lines and right angles and arrangements are often wonky (as wonky is defined here).
Another go at a definition, via a list, offers:
- Rubbery;
- Bouncy;
- Bouncy walks;
- Highly expressive faces;
- Colorful;
- Curvy;
- Stretch the law of 3D via shading and breaking rules of physics;
- Wonky arrangements and landscapes;
- Use of slapstick conventions;
- Common illustration conventions such as cars that hover above their wheels;
- Resilient terrain
Few comics fit perfectly, but even if they identify with another genre, the "cartoony" label can help draw fans of the style and provide more descriptive support.
This list is always growing. Send suggestions to ScratchinPost (AT) gmail (DOT) com.
1. Classic Cartoony Style Webcomics
2. Transitional
3. Newfangled Cartoony Style Webcomics
Of interest:
Links of possible interest:
