Komik Strip Kartoonz: The latest querry on 'toons. three versus four?

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My name is Tim Winstead and I've been drawing cartoons of one sort or the other for as long as I can recall. No formal training whatsoever and even less listened to advice just provided more of a reason for me to try and realize my goal of cartooning for a living, albeit....life itself did pose some hurdles...... which I stumbled over countless times. I still don't 'toon for a living, but strangely enough I have been very fortunate to encounter certain people who have left an indelible impression on me. First and foremost is Phil Yeh, a highly creative person with volumes of very colorful and imaginative illustrations and experiences that very few will ever know. This profoundly creative man has enough energy to light up a stadium and the kind of commitment to a craft that is rare by today's standards and it's HIS commitment to our craft ,which is a quality I have always admired.
I have also 'met' some other great artists as well via social networking. Off the top is a highly talented graphic artist, who by day .....dons the guise of a school teacher, Mr. Johnny Hamm. The work this man can produce is exceptional and though we have never met...I have known him for quite a long time.The kind of art he produces is unlike the mainstream stuff we all see. I call him a mixed media maestro. I am blown away by the composition of his work. Now, we shift to another exceptional cartoonist, Mr. Coleman York, who is the creator of HUGO comics. Outstanding in his own right, he has always struck me as someone of class and style. A very humble attitude mixed in with a little sage advice and a bit of ' We all gotta look out for one another' persona.Then there is Karl Zorowski, who is a devout priest....and a very exceptional person and..... just so happens to be the creator of ' Church Mice'. I have never met Karl, but he is another of the great people I know from the message board I mentioned earlier. And last but not least, there is Andrew Bos, who employs his cartoons in ways I hadn't seen before. A huge talent, of which I hope to see more of. In between all of the tiny little, gaps in my life, which are way way too many to try and list here....one thing has ALWAYS been a constant. That is I love to draw cartoons. Always have....always will, and chances are I may NEVER make a living drawing cartoons, but one thing is sure.....I will ALWAYS love my drawing cartoons and even though my life didn't exactly play out as planned, I'm very grateful that it took the direction it did. My life in ' toons has been....creative. But then again....aren't we ALL creative in our own way ? Please feel free to visit any time and should you have a question about cartoons/cartooning, or any of the topics you've seen on this blog.... please let me know at otb666tw@gmail.com and Ill post your question with an answer. If I can't answer it. I'll find somebody who can. If you have a topic of your own, I'll be more than happy to post it, and see what kind of responses we get. That's pretty much the crux of this blog. My aim is to provide a forum for anything and everything 'toon. Thanks and come back often.

Monday, March 17, 2014

The latest querry on 'toons. three versus four?

Hello again and welcome back. The latest question it seems, from what I've gathered from a few scant posts on Facebook is a poser I've often thought of but never really addressed as to the true reason for.....3 fingers vs. 4 ? Why is it that 98 percent of cartoonists, animators,and comic strip artists draw only 3 fingers and the thumb on a characters hand as opposed to 4? From the responses of those in the know to those who think they know to those who have no idea....the consenus is that it all involves the 'look' of the hand and the time saved involved with drawing in only 3 as opposed to the 4. If you look at two examples of a cartoon hand, each drawn in their respective three or four fingered glory....the overall look of the three fingered one has a better appearance than that of the four fingered. I myself have always tried to render my characters using the 3 finger method for no other reason than I happen to like the way the hand(s) look. What I want to do is hear from anyone who has used this method and why or anyone who opts for four and why? Any pros out there wanna take a stab at this one? Anybody who knows when this practice began and why ...is welcome to reply to this post and set the record straight. Who was it that decided that drawings with the missing digit would in fact better the artwork? Was it some big shot in the industry? or some head honcho animator somewhere who favored saving time which equaled saving money? Or perhaps it was just some lazy cartoonist somewhere who thought.." Hmm...who's gonna notice ? ". So..c'mon people...chime in on this one. Lets hear from you. That's just about all I have for today, but I'll be back with what I hope to be more insightful topics.