What were these cartoons called?

January 8, 2009 7:13 PM

What were these traceable cartoon characters with mix-and-match features called that I remember getting handouts of in elementary school?

In several grades during elementary school, I remember the class getting handouts copied from some books. They were traceable characters that you'd mix and match the features of. Each sheet would have one kind of body part on it - eyes, outlines of faces, hair, bodies, etc. in a cartoony big-head-smaller-body style. There were no recognizable characters like Mickey Mouse or anything, just cartoon people. I'm thinking this was a series or something and that they had a specific name but I can't remember what it was. Anyone know what this is?

posted by flod logic to media & arts (9 comments total)

I don't know what they were called, but I remember having them as well. I'd love to see them again, for nostalgia's sake.
posted by synecdoche at 7:47 PM on January 8

Dates?
posted by k8t at 7:50 PM on January 8

Mid-90s.
posted by flod logic at 7:51 PM on January 8

Oh, I totally remember those books. They were tall and narrow and sawed into three parts, so that you could flip the pages for different combinations. There were ones with people and also with animals (like lion head, giraffe neck, leopard legs kind of thing).

I think that copying them as handouts was unique. I certainly never saw them in school copied as handouts. I remember them from libraries and bookstores.
posted by Miko at 8:30 PM on January 8

Miko, I don't think you're thinking of the same thing. If I'm remembering what flod is remembering, these handouts would be a page with maybe 15 pairs of eyes, another page with 15 noses, one with 10 head shapes, etc. You would trace your chosen shapes together onto a new piece of paper to create a cartoon face.

I remember them vividly from the same time period but can't remember the name either.
posted by doift at 9:05 PM on January 8

I'm not sure if the pages you got were from the same books I had, but I remember having this Funny Faces book (unfortunately, no search-inside available, and $70?!). I also had a monster faces tracing book, but I'm not finding that one...
posted by twoporedomain at 10:00 PM on January 8 [1 favorite has favorites]

Ah, the other one I had was Wacky Animals Tracing Fun
posted by twoporedomain at 10:11 PM on January 8

That was it, twoporedomain! Thanks!
posted by flod logic at 12:42 AM on January 9

Oh, awesome. My teacher passed these out photocopies of these when I was in fourth grade and they were among my favourite things ever.
posted by synecdoche at 8:47 AM on January 9