Academic Catalog

GID 37: CARTOON & COMIC ILLUSTRATION I

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2025
Units: 4
Hours: 3 lecture, 3 laboratory per week (72 total per quarter)
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in GID 72 or GRDS 73A.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • The student will be able to create cartoon illustrations utilizing verbal or non verbal humor
  • The student will demonstrate facility with hand tool, rendering surfaces using drawing equipment
  • The student will demonstrate and understanding of contemporary style trends

Description

Fundamentals of drawing cartoons and comics for mass communication in a variety of styles and techniques. Emphasis on skills, concepts, humor, and design related to visual storytelling and character design for cartoons and comics, with exploration of career opportunities.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Produce cartoon illustrations, utilizing verbal or non-verbal humor
  2. Employ emotional expression, clarity of ideas, and a definite point of view
  3. Demonstrate facility with hand tools and rendering surfaces
  4. Utilize contemporary style trends
  5. Display familiarity with cartooning occupations
  6. Show a sensitivity to multi-cultural populations responding to cartoons
  7. Critically evaluate, define, and discuss their own projects and the projects of student peers

Course Content

  1. Rendering cartoons and comics illustrations
    1. Utilize verbal or non-verbal humor
    2. Demonstrate facility with hand tools and rendering surfaces
    3. Utilize contemporary style trends
  2. Employ emotional expression
    1. Clarity of ideas and a definite point of view
    2. Show a sensitivity to multi-cultural populations responding to cartoons and comics
  3. Hand skills with pen, marker, and brush
    1. Lines and tones
    2. Shape language and silhouette shapes
  4. Character design and story development
    1. Staging and design
    2. Character development
    3. Caricatures
    4. Storyboards for cartoons and comics
    5. Pacing of story
  5. Cartooning as an occupation
    1. Display familiarity with cartooning occupations
      1. Comic books
      2. Newspaper strips and panels
      3. Political cartoons
      4. Books and magazines
      5. Greeting cards
      6. Posters and advertising
      7. Animation
    2. Gag-writing and humor
  6. Culturally-diverse readership
    1. Visual storytelling for a culturally-diverse global audience
    2. Visual storytelling inclusive of diverse cultures, affinity groups, ethnicities, and backgrounds
  7. Critique and presentation
    1. Presenting works of art for peer review
    2. Evaluation of content, context, form, and technique

Lab Content

  1. Cartoon drawing assignments
  2. Character sketches
  3. Model sheets
  4. Drawing cartoons in TV, film, video, and panel layout formats

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. Drawing tables and a light table.
2. When taught via Foothill Global Access: on-going access to computer with email software and capabilities; email address; JavaScript-enabled internet browsing software.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Evaluation of cartoons produced. Evaluation of each project is determined by how completely it fulfills the parameters and goals of the assignment
Participation in group discussions and critiques
Reading, research, and writing assignments

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture
Discussion
Electronic discussions/chat
Laboratory
Demonstration
Class critiques

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Blair, Preston. Cartoon Animation (Collector's Series). 1994.

Although this text is older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, it remains a seminal text in this area of study.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Examples of outside of class assignments:
    1. This assignment is based on industry studio and/or real-world practicums and applications. Working from photograph references (either of yourself or of friends), use yourself and three (3) additional childhood friends to create a Rough Character Model Sheet for an action and adventure Saturday morning cartoon series for children. A total of four (4) characters.
    2. Sketch at least ten (10) diverse body types in action poses. The poses may be the character running, jumping, leaning against a wall, or any other pose that depicts movement, expression, or action.

Discipline(s)

Graphic Arts