Caricature and Realism

When talking about animation there are two different types that are typically used. These two types are realism and caricature. Both have their advantages when it comes to animation, but it typically all comes down to the type of audience that you are trying to attract. In realism, artists are focused on creating scenes and characters that are to represent the subject matter truthfully. Typically the characters and landscapes in these animations look very real and contain a lot of detail. Paying attention to the fine details is a key part of creating a realist animation. In caricature, we see the opposite. These drawings typically heavily exaggerate a part of the character that we see. For example, when a character gets angry in an animation we may see smoke coming out of his ears while his face turns beet red. I believe that the choice to use caricature or realism depends on the audience that you are targeting. Realism has its benefits when trying to create dramatic scenes and atmospheres. Overall, I think that realism just creates a much more serious animation just based on the fact that everything is made to be truthful. One example of realism is a lot of the Japanese cartoons. On the other hand, I feel that caricature can be extremely beneficial and is a very creative way to animate. Caricature is heavily used in children’s cartoons especially when showing facial expressions. For example, if we see a clip of Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck acting shocked, we might see their entire jaw drop down to the floor. By using different sound effects, caricature can be taken to the next level by using interesting sound effects. In children’s cartoons, this can be very useful because it will normally produce a reaction from the child watching the show. As I said before, I feel that realism and caricature can both be extremely successful based on the audience that the animators are targeting.