Ed Fisher's DOMESDAY BOOK

Ed Fisher's work, his line work and gag lines, was wonderful to look at. Here are a few samples of his cartoons, in the many styles that he used, from his DOMESDAY BOOK, contents of which are copyright 1961 by Mr. Fisher.

Here's an almost bare bones sketch, employing strong lines and just enough detail in that background to get a strong sense of place.

And here's a more finished ink and wash piece:

His economy of line to gives us shape and attitude in the drawing below. He knows all the right lines to leave in, and the ones to discard.

Below is a cartoon that, like some in THE DOMESDAY BOOK, looks like a rough rather than a finish. But it works very well. I am guessing this is some kind of crayon on paper.

Again, very sketchy with quickly laid out ink lines.

Adding a wash really enhances the drawing.

One of my favorites. With a fine nib and then a quick brush to give some black spotting.

Another simple drawing that looks like a rough:

Fisher's cartoons sometimes assumed you knew as much about history and mythology as he did ... and that was a lot.

Another wonderfully sketchy one:

The loose lines give so much life to a cartoon.

-- An edited version of an entry originally blogged on Wednesday, April 17, 2013