>>7622332
I think Western Cartoonism has some of the greatest examples of simplification and expression in art you'll find. Japanese Manga / Anime have gained a lot of influence recently, but I find their designs typically much more stiff, minimalist and too "realistic" to elicit the sheer joy that good western cartoonism can capture. Ignoring today's boring modern western cartoons!

I think a BIG component to good western cartoonism is a sense of rubbery, dynamic weight. This is portrayed through a few techniques:
>1) Roundness. Everything is soft, round and squishy and bouncy. Classic Disney being the best example of this, it gives everything energy and dynamism! Funny enough, the best Japanese designs are strongly influenced by this Disney style Roundness (Tezuka, Toriyama and Oda are great examples)
>2) Shape Language. Western cartoonism uses extreme shape exaggeration far beyond what you see in Asia. Extreme round heads and eyes for cute characters, giant cubes for strong characters, massive torsos and limbs for strong guys, spindly long limbs and fingers and angular faces for evil characters. Nothing beats the giant fat noses you see in western newspaper funnies and classic Disney. Once again, Japan's most iconic designs lean heavily into Western Cartoonism (Mario & Luigi)
>3) Sense of Weight. This comes from the animation roots of western cartoonism, but line weight and shape is used to give everything a significant sense of weight. The way Popeye's muscles and bulk shift around. The way big chunks of shape hang off a character's frame. The exaggerated anatomies of The Incredibles is a great example of this. The bounce in a big sausage nose in Fred Flintstone. Western Cartoonism, because it's so influenced by Disney early animation, has incredible sense of weight in its designs that is completely ignored in your typical anime character's semi-realistic stick arms.
>4) Exaggeration. Self explanatory. Western cartoonism exaggerates to the extreme.