In the olden days –the first half of the 20th century-- if you wanted to become a cartoonist you would find few places that offered formal training in comic art (Unlike today. Now students can study cartooning, animation or the aesthetics of the graphic novel at a variety of institutions including the Center for Cartoon Studies, CalArts and the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art).
Young hopefuls used to rely on correspondence art schools such as the Landon School of Illustration and Cartooning, Correspondence Institute of America, W.L.Evans School of Cartooning or they purchased one of the many how-to instruction booklets.
Below is a sampling from my archives of some early cartoon instruction books:
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| This one is by George Lichty 1944 |
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| This series is by the great George Carlson |
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Dorman H. Smith was a fine editorial cartoonist.
He lived out the latter years of his life right here in Fairfax, Ca. |
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| 1938 |
Billy Hon from 1927
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| A caricature of Billy Hon by San Francisco cartoonist Douglas Rodger |
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| Someone left clear evidence of the cartooning student learning curve. |
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| Frank Webb 1948 |
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Chuck Thorndike published numerous such booklets.
This one is from 1936 |
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Ed Cullen's ultra-strange Kartoon Kadoodler concept.
It comes with a plastic "Kadoodler" template. 1951
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by J.A. Patterson
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| from Cartoonist's Exchange 1941 |
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| by Gerald Findler. Published in London. |
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| by Charles Stoner 1941 |
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by veteran Chas. Kuhn the creator of the Grandma comic strip.
This one is from 1921
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