“He told a joke and it made her laugh so loud!
It was of course a lie ’cause he was too proud!
He was sad but to hide that was his usual style
All he wanted to do was to make her smile…”
When you start sketching you will realise that if you sketch someone who is known to be good looking or even recognizable then if you do not get the proportions right then you will get an embarrassing sketch!
Then again you can take that sketch with the long nose or the disproportionate eyes or the bad nose and mention that it was supposed to be a cartoon or funny sketch of the person! That is one sure fire way of saving whatever little grace you have left!
Of course it may not work all the time and like me if your natural tendency is to get the proportions wrong then it is a difficult task to make the sketch as real and unfunny as possible!
If you think about it though, some of most talented artists like my favorite RK Laxman used their funny sketches to actually tell you the truth! In fact they are like the jesters of the kings who use fun and humor to tell the truth! Jesters like Tenali Raman (yes, I am called Raman by many! But then!…); were actually super intelligent beings who would challenge the kings and even brave punishments to tell the truth!
So the question ‘Who drew the first cartoon?’ can never be answered as the comic and satirical art can be traced back to ancient times as above!
But you can search Google with the question ‘Who drew the first comic or satirical drawing to be called a cartoon?’ and it is possible that you will come across this amazing sketch by John Leech!
It is also possible to date this drawing to July 15th, 1843, when it was published in Punch magazine with the caption: ‘Cartoon No.1: Substance and Shadow’. John Leech was also the first artist to be called a ‘cartoonist’!
The irony is that the sketch tells how you can read the first page for free but if you do not subscribe then the next pages will be in Latin; and the webpage which you click also does the same 200 years later! It will show the home page but you need to subscribe to read more! This really cracked me up!
Founded in 1841, the magazine’s name was hit upon at an early meeting – an attendee remarked that the publication should be like a good Punch mixture – nothing without Lemon, referring to editor Mark Lemon, whereupon founder Henry Mayhew declared ‘A capital idea! Let us call the paper Punch!’ The title was also inspired by the provocative glove puppet, Mr. Punch, of Punch and Judy!
Acclaimed for its acerbic wit, Punch captured life during the 19th and 20th centuries in astute detail and became one of the most illustrious publications of its time. Staff met every Wednesday to discuss material for the next edition, which was decided over a convivial dinner. The drawings, also referred to as cartoons or ‘cuts’ had to be completed by Friday night, when they were sent to the engravers.
Punch is credited with coining the term ‘cartoon’ as we know it today. In addition, the periodical also attracted great comic writers and poets over the years, including William Thackeray and my favorite (till I realized that he only wrote about the Upper society and about a certain ‘Group’ of people…) P.G. Wodehouse!
This also gets us to the recent trend of stand up comedy! Now I am a big fan of this genre but if you are going on the stage and only using expletives to tell a joke and talk dirty to be funny then it is just akin to a small kid tell “Butt” jokes! If you cannot tell a clean joke to make everyone laugh then it is not funny, it is just embarrassing and dirty humor which of course is a big rage now!
Then again these shows get you to laugh and that is regenerative to your body and mind right there! Laughter is a good medicine (yes, it is not the best!); and you must take it as and when you can! Good comedy reminds me of Birthday celebrity Jagdeep and since it is a comedian, also allowed me some leverage to draw the sketch a tad cartoonish!
Now stop watching the reels which make you smile and sleep!
Shubh Ratri!
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