I can explain how my understanding of the artistic techniques used to create political cartoons helps me to understand the author's message.
I can evaluate the ways in which an artist uses artistic forms of figurative language (e.g., irony, symbolism, exaggeration) to persuade or manipulate the viewer.
I can create my own political cartoon based on my research
How to Make a Political Cartoon from Wikihow
Do you want to know how to make good political cartoons? Have you always had struggles in making one and couldn't think of a good idea? Whether you're doing this for fun or for school, we can help you make a great political cartoon!
Steps
Tips
Things You'll Need
Editorial page cartoons often provide a humorous comment about a current issue. If a person is not familiar about topics in the news, it may be more difficult to understand the meaning of a political or editorial cartoon. Many cartoons use symbols, caricatures and a few words to convey an idea. You can be sure that a cartoon on the editorial page is linked to the news.
The first thing to do is to pick an issue, a person, or something that you are interested in and want to satirize in a cartoon. Choose an event or issue from the assigned time period. Why is it significant to the time period? What are the important details? What would your classmates need to know to understand your cartoon? Gather some ammunition (I mean, information) about the subject. You may already know enough about your subject to create an effective cartoon but you may want to look up some more information in order to make it more effective. Think about what is really bothering you about your selected issue or person. Next, think about what tone you want your cartoon to have.
Are there any real people in your event or issue?
What symbols could you use? What would they represent?
What is your opinon about about the topic?
What action will take place in the cartoon.
Will you use words in the cartoon explain the symbols? Which words?
What is the message of your cartoon? What statement do you want to make or what position do you want to take? Do you want to be critical or sarcastic, or do you want to motivate readers?
Who are the people who might agree with the cartoon? What might be the public’s reaction to this cartoon?
“The strength of an editorial cartoon lies in its analogy. The best editorial cartoonists do not depict a problem in literal terms. They liken it to something else and invite readers to stretch their imaginations.” -Cartoonist Roy Paul
Essentials of a Good Editorial Cartoon:
• Good editorial Cartoons express the cartoonist’s opinion on a topic and provoke readers to think and clarify their own opinions.
• Thinking skills are much more important than drawing skills in creating a good cartoon.
• A good cartoon is always simple and limited. It never tries to tell everything the cartoonist knows about a topic. • Drawing should be uncluttered. Heavy, cleaner lines are better for the newspaper than many light lines.
• Any words used (captions, dialogue balloons or words that are part of the drawing itself) should be large, clear and easily recognized.
• Don’t be too much of a perfectionist. If your cartoon is clever and gets across your opinion, you’ve done a good job!
Don't create a cartoon that is just a slogan ("Don't Smoke", "Watch Less TV", etc.). Be funny or thought provoking. Or both.