Cartoons and caricatures are affordable and easy to use graphical elements to enhance eLearning. However, they are only as good as the story you are trying to tell. Without stories, they are as weak as any other medium.
Comic-Con just ended this week in San Diego with over 120,000 attendees. Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson attracted much attention with the release of The Adventures of Tintin. In theaters, Captain America has now surpassed the last Harry Potter franchise in gross revenues.
Comics, cartoons, caricatures and illustrations have always been successful in engaging learners.
Below are examples of how I use simple cartoons, illustrations and animations in eLearning development.
Compliance Course on Bullying Manager
This is an example of how to deal with a bullying manager.
“Stand up” (Click here)
“Who made you queen?” (click here)
(Click here)
- You can control the characters, events and conversations in exactly the right way to meet your needs.
- They can be created into almost photo-real appearances.
- They are easy to modify and update since you control the source files.
- Style can be made consistent.
- Compared to taking custom photography, cartoons are cheaper to produce.
Objections to cartoons are often due to the culture of the organization and the nature of the message and content. There are content that may not fit well with illustrations, and photos work better – for example, when there is human pain, a human face can show it better than an illustration.
Another objection is the perception that caricatures are too much fun and game-like and that leaders often frown on the suggestion that learners are having too much fun (dah!).
Cartoons and caricatures, however, are only means to an end. They have no added value if they do not show or illustrate a story.
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FREE Cartoon Graphical Resources
Send message and request access to the following:
Over 200 free cartoons for learning
PowerPoint templates using cartoons showing topics on:
leadership and coaching
Complete the form and type in the subject “Cartoon”. Write a note on where you plan to use the caricatures.
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References and Links
Comic-Con
http://theweek.com/article/index/217596/comic-con-6-things-people-are-talking-about
The Adventures of Tintin
http://www.tintin.com/
http://captainamerica.marvel.com/
Contact form
http://vignetteslearning.com/vignettes/contactus.php
Vignettes Learning
“Helping Learners Learn Their Way”