One
of the first comic strips I ever made detailed the friendship between a hay-bale
called Hera and a raindrop called Regina. I’m almost certain the idea came from
me picking the first two things I saw looking out of my window, but I have come
to the conclusion that it was also to do with the fact that it is far easier to
draw both a block and a tear drop shape with arms and legs than anatomically
correct human beings. For this project however, I have created an anthropomorphised
racoon inspired by my course tutor, Andrew.
This example of
anthropomorphism would be classed as ‘animalistic animal’ on the ‘Sliding Scale
of Anthropomorphism’,[1] although I would personally think it more of an
animal/human hybrid where a human head has been fused to an animal body. This
image may be used as a caricature or to comment on the character of the person
in a social satire, maybe implying they are sneaky, or a thief; a tool which is
popular in political satire.
 |
| Andrew Racoon number one- an 'Animalistic Animal' |
 |
| Copyright Steve Bell |
This
was a comment on both the fact that the Edinburgh Zoo panda was unable to
conceive and that maybe the Labour leader Ed Milliband is also not particularly
inspiring and is unable to conceive any ideas. By portraying him as a panda
Bell is also commenting on the fact that pandas are not particularly pro-active
creatures, or maybe that in a world where politicians are bears, an animal that
is usually feared and are known for being bloody thirsty, compared to them
Milliband is seen as less as a threat and is instead branded as the cuddliest
and laziest of the bear species.
If I were to create an
anthropomorphised character that would be more at home in a narrative text or a
children’s book, I would take more care with the design of his body frame and
stance. The following image focuses much more on the more human aspect and
would be at the other end of the scale at “Borderline Little Bit Beastly’[2].
Instead of completely ‘Little Bit Beastly’[3] where an animal head has been
plonked on a human body (in other words the complete opposite of the first
image) with little reference to fur or biologically correct feet and paws, my
Andrew Raccoon has raccoon ears, tail and feet. The hands are fairly human as
they are holding a poster exactly as a human would, however raccoons are known
to handle items in a very humanoid way anwyay. However, like the previous image, although
stylised it still holds onto some realism.
 |
| Andrew Raccoon number two- 'Borderline Little Bit Beastly' |
Maybe
he would be stylized even further if I were to use him as a character in a
cartoon strip or graphic novel. Here he is more of a funny animal[4], a Donald
duck type character where he can walk and talk like a human but still has his
ears and tail. The face, which was once a bearded man, has now been simplified
completely to a cloud shape, which can now be either seen as facial hair or
bushy fur. His once clawed feet are now completely flat on the ground like a
humans’, and are encased in shoes, implying that his bodily structure is now
completely humanoid.
 |
| Andrew Raccoon number 3- 'Funny Animal' |
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| Andrew Raccoon number 4- 'Funny Animal' with bonus cuteness |
References:
1.TV
TROPES, 2010
2.TV
TROPES, 2010
3.TV
TROPES, 2010
4.TV
TROPES, 2010
Bibliography
TV
TROPES. 2010. Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism. [Online]. [Accessed 9 March
2015]. Available from:
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