Let's get deep

Cartoons are drawn in two dimensions, so it is hard to think of the a panel as a three-dimensional space.

Our cartoons come to life when we can add that third dimension.

So how do we show depth?

In real life, there are several things that indicate depth to our eyes and brains. Some of them are harder to depict in cartoons than others.

Focus

In the real world, things that are different distances from our eye are never in focus at the same time. When our eye moves from one element to another, we tend to shift our focus to whatever is at the center of our vision.

The greater the depth, the more difference there is in focus.

In photography, we call this Depth of Field.

Greater depth of field means that more of the depth of what is seen is in focus. While this looks nice, it takes away from the idea of great distance.

In some cases, we can exaggerate the level of depth to fool the viewer. This is called Tilt Shift photography.

By only allowing a tiny amount of the image to be in focus, everything tends to look toylike and fake. Even if it's actually real...

http://jalopnik.com/5681748/nascar-through-tilt+shift-lenses

Focus is very difficult to draw. Cartoonists traditionally have not had this tool available to us.

We can attempt to incorporate focus by using Photoshop to blur things that are at different distances.

Another way to add depth is via 3-D effects (glasses not included)

Forced Perspective

A simple way to increase depth is via forced perspective. Simply things that are closer to the eye look larger and things that are farther away look smaller. We don't have to use focus or follow the rules of perspective. Simply draw the closer things bigger. and the things further away smaller.

"Girl and Dog #52" by John Peters

Layers

So as cartoonists, we need to consider other tools to add depth to our work.

Remember, our characters exist in environment. There is more to the scenery than just "background."

By overlapping elements, we add depth.

We can add multiple layers via doors, walls and windows to show more depth

By putting things between the reader and the viewer, we make them more alive.

A horizon adds infinite depth to our illustrations.

Let's combine some effects

"Girl and Dog #52" by John Peters

Original image... Forced Perspective

Focus on foreground object

Focus on background object

Focus on middle object

Persrspective added with shadows

Let's try some of this for real now...

Index | In Class Activity | Suggested Reading | Color in Cartoons | Perspective | Final Assignment

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