Cartoons
Cartoons
are essentially topical devices designed to inject a note of levity into what
may otherwise be a perfectly serious situation. Although quite meaningless
when presented out of context, and when completely out of date, a couple of
samples are included here to demonstrate that all art is not necessarily serious
and boring. As is usually the case, these cartoons were prepared for
publication. They date back to flying days in the 1980s. That was
the time when this sort of work had not yet reached the computer stage, and
hand-art and transfer lettering was the norm. Hand-art techniques are
still the basis for most cartoon drawings, but digitizing the final results
makes for easier shadowing.
Individual artists have their favourite
methods for producing cartoons. The samples shown here are typical of the
pen/brush/colour-wash style. Some prefer varieties of felt pens; some use
charcoal. There is virtually no limit to the medium, as long as it is fast
to use, and easy to reproduce.
This
cartoon was made to illustrate an article describing a survey of Croydon
Airport
in England in 1943. It relates to an incident when the surveyor grabbed
his level and
ran, as a Miles Master taxied too close for his liking. Although written
in 1986, the
article was not published until 2003, and the cartoon was not used.
Cartoons by Albert Seaman
