Cartooning

Who started wearing t-shirts and how did they become so cool? It all started in the early 1900s durring WWI. U.S. soldiers realized the Europeans had comfortable looking cotton shirts on and they figured those must be much better than the wool uniforms they were wearing. Next thing you know cotton shirts shaped like the letter T emerged into the battlefield.

Another claim is that t-shirts were first worn by U.S. Navy sailors out on sea. It’s no surprise that there are various claims of the t-shirt’s origin. Either way, t-shirts were originally just worn as undershirts and weren’t considered fashionable at all. They were even specially produced for a college football team to be used as sweat absorbers.

Most would agree that the shirts were given the name t-shirt because of their shape, but even in this case there are other claims. Some claim they were refered to as “training shirts” as they were worn by training soldiers. Another crazy claim is that tee is short for “amputee” refering to the short sleeves. It’s crazy how all of these claims kind of make sense but no one knows the definite truth. One thing’s for sure; for a while t-shirts were worn as undershirts and for the specific purpose of staying cool.

Funny thing is, it was actually considered shocking to see someone wearing a t-shirt as an overshirt. It was unacceptable to society and the equivalent of walking down the block with nothing but boxers on. Not until after WWII did people begin to accept the t-shirt completely, as t-shirts were used durring presidential campaigns.

The t-shirt didn’t become so popular until it was worn by pop culture figures like James Dean and Marlon Brando on the big screen. It all of a sudden became a status symbol and everybody wanted to be like these guys.

Soon enough people started making t-shirts with all types of designs and images on them, and the assortment ranged from tourist tees to popular cartoon character tees. The popularity of the t-shirt continued to soar as famous rock bands and other celebs wore them normally. Some trends like tye dying emerged in the 1960s, followed by a more current and ongoing trend of message t-shirts, which started in the UK in the late 80s, and the more recent all over prints. Some t-shirts even have LED lights integrated into them.

Now the t-shirt is one of the most common articles of clothing, and arguably the most worn garment in the world. Thousands of t-shirts are created each day, thanks to today’s technology, and a t-shirt lover or entrepreneur is born every minute. The t-shirt’s rise to fame will continue for ages, eventually making it the undisputed best apparel product of all time.

Originally published here.

T-Shirt Magazine is the premier source for everything surrounding the t-shirt culture. Published weekly as a free online magazine, T- Shirt Magazine is also a web community of t-shirt fans and collectors as well as designers and entrepreneurs.

Chris Hart’s Humongous Book of Cartooning is a great value book covering everything the beginner needs to master cartooning. It teaches how to draw cartoon people, fantasy characters, layouts, background design and much more. This latest cartoon title from Chris Hart, the world’s bestselling author of drawing and cartooning books, packs a wallop. It’s the cartooning book that has it all: cartoon people, animals, retro-style “toons’”, funny robots (no one has ever done cartoon robots in a how-to book before, and movies like “Wall-E” and “Robots” were smash hits and prove their appeal), fantasy characters and even sections on cartoon costumes, character design, and cartoon backgrounds and composition.
 
The Humongous Book of Cartooning is humongous, not only because it’s so big, but also because it includes a huge amount of original eye-catching characters and copious visual “side hints” that Chris is famous for. There is more actual instruction in this book than in any other of Chris’ cartooning titles. In short, if you want to know how to draw cartoons, Chris Hart’s Humongous Book of Cartooning is for you.

Humongous Book of Cartooning

Cartoons are an effective device for advertising because they are colorful and popular. Since they are entertaining they tend to leave prospects in a happy, receptive mood. Here are some ideas on how you can effectively use cartoons for your ad campaigns.

Newspaper advertising – Years ago when I started out as a cartoonist I read a survey which revealed that, among newspaper readers, 91 percent read the comics whereas only 65 percent read the sports and 27 percent read the news. This was years ago and the statistics may have changed somewhat but it does reveal how popular cartoons are for newspaper readers. Considering this an advertiser might do well to create a series of ads in a cartoon format. Years ago, for example, one of the loan companies in my home town came up with a cartoon series called “The Loan Arranger”, a takeoff on the popular comic character, The Lone Ranger. It was a single panel cartoon that appeared frequently and each episode promoted the services of this loan company. Newspapers carry so many ads, this is one way for an advertiser to make sure his ad stands out in the crowd.

Direct mail advertising – I recently received a direct mail ad from the publishers of the Saturday Evening Post. The ad was to promote new subscriptions to their magazine. On the outside of the envelope they published a cartoon, much like the ones you see in their magazine. I often throw my junk mail away without even opening it, but the cartoon enticed me to open the envelope and read the advertising. Other advertisers could do the same thing to entice more attention to their direct mail pieces. A cartoon on a flyer handout would also be an effective way of getting people to read the flyers.

Store displays – I remember reading some time back about a shoe store owner who had cartoons blown up and displayed them in his store window nestled between the shoes he had on display. People would stop and look at the cartoons in the window, and then notice the shoes that were on sale. Here again is a creative way of using cartoons to attract attention to an advertising message.

These are just some of the advertising tricks I’ve seen used during my 40 years as a cartoonist. Next time you start to plan your ad campaigns, you may want to consider this type of art in your planning. Cartoons are generally no more expensive than any other type of photos or artwork you may choose and there are many cartoonists who will create custom work for you and you can find them with a quick search on the internet. Or, if you want to save money, you can often license cartoons from a cartoonist’s stock inventory, which will fit nicely into your advertising message. Either way you have a fun and effective device for getting your message to prospective buyers.

Originally published here.

Ron Coleman has been a freelance cartoonist and writer for over 40 years. His work has appeared in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, books and on the internet. Samples of his work can be seen at his website:
http://www.colemantoons.com