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Filip Stojanovski
Contemporary Storytelling: Comics and Animation
Small Glossary of Terms
| Dictionary
Definitions |
CARTOON
Pronunciation: kär-'tün Function: noun
Etymology: Italian cartone pasteboard, cartoon, augmentative of
carta leaf of paper -- more at CARD
Date: 1671
1 : a preparatory design, drawing, or painting (as for a fresco)
2 a : a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor <a
political cartoon>
b : COMIC STRIP
3 : ANIMATED CARTOON
4 : a ludicrously simplistic, unrealistic, or one-dimensional
portrayal or version <the film's villain is an entertaining cartoon>
COMIC STRIP
Function: noun
Date: 1920
: a group of cartoons in narrative sequence
COMIC
Function: noun
Date: 1581
1 : COMEDIAN
2 : the comic element
3 a : COMIC STRIP b : COMIC BOOK c plural : the part of a newspaper
devoted to comic strips
ANIMATION
Pronunciation: "a-n&-'mA-sh&n
Function: noun
Date: 1597
1 : the act of animating : the state of being animate or animated
2 a : a motion picture made by photographing successive positions of
inanimate objects (as puppets or mechanical parts) b : ANIMATED
CARTOON
3 : the preparation of animated cartoons |
"In the beginning was the Word," claims the
Gospel of John (Jn, 1:1, Buttkick et al, 1952). I find it at least
hypothetically useful to start an argument with a set of definitions.
They can be upgraded during the course of the discussion, as new
information comes along, but such as they are, they provide a starting
point for gaining insight. The terms used in this paper seem quite
common. I will define them in brief, using the
"Merriam-Webster
Dictionary of the English language" (online edition) as a base.
The basic term is cartoon: a single drawing, often
humorous, a caricature. The etymological roots of the word lie in the
Italian word "cartone," which is a piece of paper used for
preparatory drawings, sketches for other art works, such as great
frescos and paintings of the Renaissance. It seems that this
"auxiliary" role in the world of art followed the simple
drawing until today, without proper recognition of worth among the
general populace.
The "Merriam-Webster dictionary" defines
the comic strip as "a group of cartoons in narrative
sequence." The term first appeared in 1920, although this art form
was used to amuse the readers for quite some time before it.
Subsequently, this art form evolved to tell stories from other genres,
but retained the core of its name.
The term used today is comics, which
is defined by the theorist Scot McCloud (1993, p.9) as "Juxtaposed
pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey
information and or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer."
Comics, just like trousers, exist in plural form only. The key element
is the sequence, its composition not from one, but at least two
drawings, telling a story.
Another branch growing from the word cartoon is the
animated cartoon. The "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" documents
the term as first appearing in 1915 with the meaning "a motion
picture made from a series of drawings simulating motion by means of
slight progressive changes in the drawings."
It is related to animation, the act of
endowing a soul (latin "anima") upon something otherwise
lifeless. Besides the actual process, the word animation also stands for
its own product, "a motion picture made by photographing successive
positions of inanimate objects (as puppets or mechanical parts)."
Contents
| Foreword |
Glossary |
Works Cited
Comics: Bits of History |
Modern Age |
Great Adventurers |
Vocabulary
| Grammar: Closure
Animation: Origins |
An Early Animator |
Classical Animation |
Making an Animation
| Epilogue
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