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Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice [Paperback]

Ivan Brunetti
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 29, 2011

The best cartooning is efficient visual storytelling—it is as much a matter of writing as it is of drawing. In this book, noted cartoonist and illustrator Ivan Brunetti presents fifteen distinct lessons on the art of cartooning, guiding his readers through wittily written passages on cartooning terminology, techniques, tools, and theory. Supplemented by Brunetti's own illustrations, prepared specially for this book, these lessons move the reader from spontaneous drawings to single-panel strips and complicated multipage stories.

Through simple, creative exercises and assignments, Brunetti offers an unintimidating approach to a complex art form. He looks at the rhythms of storytelling, the challenges of character design, and the formal elements of comics while composing pages in his own iconic style and experimenting with a variety of tools, media, and approaches. By following the author's sophisticated and engaging perspective on the art of cartooning, aspiring cartoonists of all ages will hone their craft, create their personal style, and discover their own visual language.


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Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice + Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the best book ever written, as far as I'm concerned. . . . It's the best book I've ever read on cartooning, and it's so generous. It's like, anybody can do this. The book is so good."—Lynda Barry, cartoonist
(Lynda Barry )

"Brunetti has given the cartooning world something very similar to what Strunk & White gave to prose with their Elements of Style. . . . keep it right next to your desk where you can find it at a moment's notice."—Tim O'Neil, PopMatters.com
(Tim O'Neil PopMatters.com )

“A simple yet sophisticated guide . . . inculcate[s] a sense of cartoons as an essentially literary form.”—Wall Street Journal
(Wall Street Journal )

“Not everyone can be Charles Schulz or Ivan Brunetti, but if you give your time and best efforts to the program laid out in Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice, you might be more of yourself.”—Bob Duggan, Big Think
(Bob Duggan Big Think )

About the Author

Ivan Brunetti has published several graphic novels and taught courses on editorial illustration and comics at the University of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago. His drawings have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and McSweeney's, among other publications, and he served as editor for Yale University Press's two-volume Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 88 pages
  • Publisher: Yale University Press; Reprint edition (March 29, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0300170998
  • ISBN-13: 978-0300170993
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.3 x 7.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what you think - better March 19, 2011
Format:Paperback
The obvious parts of graphic fiction come to mind first: long-legged manga babes in shortie skirts, muscled superheroes, snide political satires in the op-ed section, or dynamic page layouts and bursting word balloons. Beginning artists spend a lot of time developing their visual style or brand, too. And then there's the all-important mastery of computer skills needed to make art in today's world.

Phooey. All you need, at least to start, is a pencil, a notebook, and the ability to tell a story in pictures. Look at the artwork in some of the most popular comics ever: Dilbert, for example, or Charlie Brown. The imagery has been stripped to the bare minimum, but expression, character, and plot come through intensely even with minimalist drawing. That's what Brunetti presents, in this outline for a 15-week course in cartooning. Various exercises show how to make use of tiny distinctions in marks, or to explore the world of ideas and assemble its found objects into works of art.

When it comes to the cartoonist's tools, Brunetti emphasizes that only the very best will do - and the one tool that matter's is the creative mind. Musicians play scales, athletes exercise, and actors rehearse. How could anyone think that visual storytelling could demand any less of its practitioners? Get ready for some hard work, not in creating works of wit or beauty, but in building yourself up to be the person who can.

- wiredweird
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I teach introductory graphic design and typography courses at the college level. I found this book fascinating and excellent for improving my courses. The author has been teaching this cartooning course for years, and he has simply and succinctly condensed a 15-week course into a 75 page book. He starts with a complete syllabus and annotated supply list, then moves on to the assignments. They start very basic, and each assignment builds on the last. The focus throughout is on technique, craft, and storytelling. This approach would be helpful for any art or design student, and I bet the course could be helpful for any professional communicator or marketer, regardless of artistic skill. The author does a great job of encouraging students' creativity while keeping them honest in terms of technique and craft. Reading this book is helping me immensely in planning my next course.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE IT!! April 2, 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very approachable book with wonderful activities!! I've purchased this book for a few of my art students who have shown interest in comics.
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