# need help identifying a type of drawing style **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271 "2009-11-12T03:06:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/1 "2009-11-12T03:06:27Z")
apologies in advance - this may be a very difficult question. i remember reading instructional books/manuals in the 1970s. the illustrations of the people were very distinct. it’s hard to describe - the people were drawn with alot of black-and-white lines, their faces are very blocky. another similar example i have seen is on the TTC subway (Toronto). At the college street station there is a mural drawing of Toronto Maple Leaf and Montreal Canadiens players. these murals are drawn in the same fashion as these books i mentioned. an example is [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Collegesubwayleafsmural.jpg) is there a name for this type of drawing style? is there any information about where it came from and what happened to it? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/2 "2009-11-12T03:31:00Z")
It reminds me of the drawings in CPR and first-aid manuals. Those people always look(ed) creepy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/3 "2009-11-12T03:33:21Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > It reminds me of the drawings in CPR and first-aid manuals. Those people always look(ed) creepy to me. actually the manual i remember seeing these in was a first aid manual! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/4 "2009-11-12T05:25:31Z")
It looks like clip art to me, but if I were to call the drawing style something I’d call it pen-and-ink or ink-and-wash. The animation equivalent is rotoscoping. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/5 "2009-11-12T06:14:32Z")
They are basically line drawings with spot colors. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/6 "2009-11-12T06:15:18Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > It looks like clip art to me, but if I were to call the drawing style something I’d call it pen-and-ink or ink-and-wash. > The animation equivalent is rotoscoping. I’m open to correction, but I don’t think this is quite correct. I think ‘rotoscoping’ refers to the practice of shooting some real-life footage and then drawing over the top of it, frame by frame, to achieve a ‘realistic’ type of animation (in the days before ‘motion capture’ and digital animation). I don’t believe it denotes anything specific about the materials used. Apologies to all if I’ve got this wrong. To answer the OP, I’m not sure there is a specific description that fits this style. It seems to simply be line art combined with ‘block’ or ‘spot’ colour printing i.e. coloured areas appear as solid blocks of colour with little or no shading or graduation of tone. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-identifying-a-type-of-drawing-style/517271/7 "2009-11-12T06:30:50Z")
If I were trying to describe it, I’d call it 70s style cartoon realism or something. They’re in the style of cartoons, but with an attempt to be largely realistic in proportions, etc. Very much like the “workbooks” I had as a kid in elementary school in the 70s.