EC - Creating an Editorial Cartoon Lesson

Creating an Editorial Cartoon Lesson

Introduction

In the previous lesson, we discussed some of the major tools used within an editorial cartoon. Now you will have the opportunity to create your own editorial cartoon. Before you begin working:

What is going to be the topic of your cartoon? Why have you chosen this as your topic? What do you want readers to learn from your reading your cartoon?

 

A good editorial cartoon is simple and easy for people to understand. It evokes emotions; it could make people laugh, or it could make them angry. Regardless of the emotion it induces, cartoons always have a point of view.

The following steps will help you in this process as you begin creating your editorial cartoon:

  1. Think about a current topic of discussion whether it is in your school, your community, or the world. For example, people holding seats for their friends in the cafeteria.
  2. Now describe a point that you might want to make about the event. You can choose to show your support or you could present an opposing point of view. For example, people who get to the cafeteria first should be able to hold seats for their friends---first come, first serve.
  3. Include some of the techniques and terms used by other editorial cartoonists. For example, a scene where ten people are crowded into booth that fits four.

Review

From a journalistic perspective, editorial cartoons inspire readers to think about their own opinions. They make issues accessible to the public. They also focus on a single idea and a specific point of view even though the issue may be a rather complex one. As an artistic medium, editorial cartoons draw attention to news items with visuals rather than with words. The shape, texture, and images are selected to cause an emotional response. Look back again in the beginning of the module at the image drawn by Benjamin Franklin. It looks like a clumsily drawn snake; however, it is still able to transmit his point of view—the importance of colonial unity. The labeling you see of the different colonies further draws attention to just how important this issue is to those colonies.

 

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