Don't Draw a Dumb Face. Show a Dumb Decision.

INKTOBER DAY 27:  DUMB

Cartoons are full of dumb characters.

They ignore warnings. They make terrible decisions. They repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

And somehow, that's funny.

One of the reasons is the gag.

A gag is a short, often funny scene built around a simple action and its consequence.

It doesn't have to be a visual metaphor. It can simply show us a character doing something dumb.

Like in this image.

There's a person standing in front of an electric fence.

A huge warning sign tells them exactly what will happen if they touch it.

But they touch it anyway.

ZAP!

We see their skeleton light up, just like in a cartoon.

And then they do it again.

And again.

The person isn't dumb because they don't know what will happen.

They're dumb because they keep doing it anyway.

Cartoons are full of scenes like this, and they're a great source of inspiration when you want to communicate a character trait or tell a simple story visually.

Today's tip:

When you want to show that someone is dumb, don't just draw a dumb-looking face.

Show them doing something dumb.

Make the consequence visible.

And if they keep repeating the same mistake, even better.

Sometimes, one simple gag says more about a character than a thousand words.