EDITORIAL

CA RTOOnI ng

JESHREL B. PLAZA
MADRID NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
MADRID , SURIGAO DELSUR
 An editorial cartoon is a strong advertising
techniquewhendesignedproperly. Everygoodcartoon
hasseveralthingsin common.Aneffectivecartoonis a
visualcommunicationstool.
 Characteristics of a Good
Editorial Cartoon
Itdoesthejobquickly

Itgetsattention

it is convincing

Itissimple
An editorial cartoons’ job is to communicate your
information quickly and efficiently. Aneffective poster

will help youengagecolleaguesin conversationandget

yourmainpoint(s)acrossto asmanypeopleas possible.

Acartoonis notjustastandardresearchpaperstucktoaboard.

Aneffectivecartoonusesadifferent,visualgrammar.

Itshows,nottells.

Itavoidsvisualchaos,withmanyjaggededgesorvarious-sized
boards that distract the viewer. Instead, it guides the viewer by

usingavisuallogic,withanhierarchicalstructurethatemphasizes

themainpoints.
As mentioned, you do not want to include too much

informationinyoureditorialcartooning.However,you

havetogive your readersenoughtoconvince themthat

whatyouaresayingis accurate.Useshortbutstrong

statementstobackupyourclaims.
Aneffectivecartoonis...

Focused.Focusedonasingle message.

Graphic.Letgraphsandimagestell thestory;usestext
sparingly.

Ordered.Keepsthesequencewell-orderedandobvious.
Someofthemosteffectivecartoonsaresurprisingly

simple.Somecartoonsdonotevenhaveanytextatall,

justsomewell placedimagesandstrategicallychosen

colors.
 Complexity into Simplicity
• Aneditorialcartoontypically onlyhasoneframeinwhichtogetits
messageacross, so you'l needto turn somethingthat could be
quitecomplicatedintoasimple drawingthatis understandable to
mostreaders.

• Ithelpsif you'vegotaclear ideaofthepointyou'retryingtomake

-- andmakesure it is just onepoint -- otherwise your cartoon
could becomecluttered andtoo complexby trying to saymany
thingsatonce.
 Aesthetic elements
• You don't haveto create a masterpiece every time youdraw an
editorialcartoon,butyourillustrationdoesneedtobeaccessible and
aesthetically pleasingtosomeextent.AssuggestedbytheUnion of
ConcernedScientists,considerthelinesandshapesyouuse, which
shouldreflectareasonablestandardofdrawingandbeeasytofollow
toavoidreadersbeingputoff bythecartoon.
 Go f o r emotion
• Howeveryouchoosetodrawtheimageandwhateveryourmessage,you've
got to aim to trigger anemotional response of somekind in the reader. An

editorialcartoonthatcauses noreactiondoesn'tsaymuchabout your abilities

inthefield.

• Typically,acartoonistwillaimtomakereaderslaughthroughhercreation,so

it's worthinjecting humorinto yourwork;buteditorial cartoonsalso canbe

designedtocausecontroversy,if theissueinvolvedispolarizing.
 t A r G e t l o c A l news
• Many editorial cartoonists draw inspiration for their work from
national news, but since these are events that affect the whole
country,it meansyou'l beupagainstplentyof stiff competitionif
you're also trying to base cartoons on these subjects If you're
lookingtogetyourworknoticed,tryinsteadtodrawcartoons based
aroundthenewsinyourarea.Youmightdrawaboutlocal politicians
orscandals,forexample.AstheMacKayEditorial Cartoonswebsite
suggests, local newspapers need content, and this gives youan
opportunitytoprovideit andgetpublished.
 Originality

• Anycartoonmustbeoriginal,andthisis especialythecaseif

you'recommentingonastatewideornationalissuethat'slikelyto

beaddressedbymultipleothercartoonists.Evenif yourviewis

similartomanyotherpeople's,youneedtofindyourowntakeon

anynews.
EDITORIAL CARTOONING SYMBOLS
Pencil/Pen/Newspaper
= journalism, media
Dove = peace, freedom
Salakot = Juan dela Cruz representing a Filipino citizen
Chain = maltreatment
Syringe = death sentence, drug addiction
Crocodile = abusive person of authority
Beggar = poverty
Mallet = justice
blindfolded woman carrying a weighing scale = justice
big waves = hindrances, advertises
mask = deceiver
eagle = bravery, strength
high rising building = development, progress
key = success
huge rock = tough situation, obstacle
rising sun = hope
multi-tattooed man = criminal, bad man
skull with crossed bones = danger or death