Cartoon hands: three fingers or four fingers? (fingers = number of non-thumb hand digits)

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I watched "Rock and Rule" the other night and reached the conclusion that three fingers is really bad.

Poll Results

Option	Votes
Three fingers bad, four fingers good	17
Three fingers like Bugs and Mickey	12
"abbott threads"	10

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:15 (fifteen years ago)

depends on whether you're depicting cartoon animals are cartoon people... VERY important distinction imo!!!

― Megatherium americanum (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:17 (fifteen years ago)

are=or

― Megatherium americanum (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:17 (fifteen years ago)

My vote is pending on clarification of this issue

― Megatherium americanum (Princess TamTam), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:19 (fifteen years ago)

...not three fingers like Homer and Bart?

― And this one time, on Bandcamp... (Trayce), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:21 (fifteen years ago)

knew instantly this was an abbott thread :)

and voted thusly. though leaning toward three fingers good! it's how i'm used to seeing so many cartoons and i find it charming. plus hey don't have to draw that other finger.

otoh it looks awkward if a cartoon character has to go \m/

― a weird clown in the dark (arby's), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:35 (fifteen years ago)

\n/

― And this one time, on Bandcamp... (Trayce), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:37 (fifteen years ago)

two fingers? the hell is this?
http://www.allfreevectors.com/thumbs/images/Free%20Vector%20Spock%20Star%20Trek%20Cartoon3204.jpg

― a weird clown in the dark (arby's), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:38 (fifteen years ago)

depends on whether you're depicting cartoon animals are cartoon people... VERY important distinction imo!!!

I think this is why "Rock & Rule" confused me! The characters are supposed to be animals but they look like people, or more specifically like some post-'70s proto-Goofy Movie softcore:

http://www.reelfilm.com/images/rockrule.jpg

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:53 (fifteen years ago)

oh! gyuh! see they're otherwise too close to something anatomically correct and imo that's why the fingers are totally jarring.

― a weird clown in the dark (arby's), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:56 (fifteen years ago)

I am totally okay with Goofy having three fingers

http://www.beckersbakeryanddeli.com/images/Cakes/Goofy%20Finger.jpg

This is too human...or...something...to have three fingers

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6ldKTkMu_UU/SrHNmCuGPQI/AAAAAAAAAHs/c4myNSiTodc/s320/roxanne01.jpg

but both are in the same movie. Confusing!

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:56 (fifteen years ago)

OMG sorry about giant Goofy, everyone knew what he looks like anyway. :/

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:57 (fifteen years ago)

The Simpsons are cartoon humans that look good with three fingers.

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:59 (fifteen years ago)

and not only wrt to human likeness but like i think there's something with how distorted or simplified a caricature and you can only really get away with three fingers within a certain threshold

― a weird clown in the dark (arby's), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 03:00 (fifteen years ago)

the simpsons are nearer funnypapers type caricature? and yellow? yeah it works with them for some reason.

― a weird clown in the dark (arby's), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 03:01 (fifteen years ago)

Tintin OTOH would look totally fucked up and wrong with only three fingers.

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 03:04 (fifteen years ago)

Three fingers but the anime influence has made many US cartoonists expand to four fingers on their characters in an effort to make them appear more "realistic".

― That's not a "laugh track", it's an audience and you're in it. (MintIce), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 15:52 (fifteen years ago)

Princess TamTam otm

― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 15:53 (fifteen years ago)

Of course "Princess TamTam" sounds suspiciously like a cartoon princess anyway...

― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 15:54 (fifteen years ago)

the thumb is a finger btw

― e.g. delegates at a set age (ledge), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 15:55 (fifteen years ago)

http://reason.com/assets/mc/psuderman/2010_01/rahm-priority.JPG

― http://tinyurl.com/vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 15:58 (fifteen years ago)

Three fingers is fine as long as they're big enough. The male character in 'Rock and Rule' you posted above looks like an accident victim or amputee.

― Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es. (Michael White), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:06 (fifteen years ago)

The Simpsons are cartoon humans that look good with three fingers.

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:59 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

in what world do the simpsons have three fingers?!?!

― ＿|￣|○|￣|○|￣|○ (dayo), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:09 (fifteen years ago)

All of them?

http://www.makeyousmile.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/bart_simpson.gif

― Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:10 (fifteen years ago)

oh I didn't realize you weren't counting the thumb

― ＿|￣|○|￣|○|￣|○ (dayo), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:11 (fifteen years ago)

in what world do the simpsons have three fingers?!?!

Springfield, Shelbyville, Capital City, and THE SIMPSONS ARE GOING TO JAPAN!

― The animal magnetism of Tim Pawlenty (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:14 (fifteen years ago)

abbott threads

― http://i54.tinypic.com/11l4yvn.gif, Wednesday, November 21, 2007 2:16 PM (3 years ago)

― http://www.ilxor.com/glyloop.mp3 (Aerosol), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:23 (fifteen years ago)

oh forgot about that

― http://www.ilxor.com/glyloop.mp3 (Aerosol), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:24 (fifteen years ago)

the thumb is a finger btw

THE THUMB IS A THUMB!!! Thumb thumbs things.

― That's not a "laugh track", it's an audience and you're in it. (MintIce), Wednesday, 24 November 2010 21:26 (fifteen years ago)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/P/1891830317.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

awesome graphic novel which explores the horrible secret behind WHY cartoon animals have three fingers, not four

― buildings with goats on the roof (James Morrison), Wednesday, 24 November 2010 22:56 (fifteen years ago)

http://i54.tinypic.com/11l4yvn.gif posts

― ╭∩╮⎝⏠⏝⏠⎠╭∩╮ (jeff), Wednesday, 24 November 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

the thumb is a finger btw

THE THUMB IS A THUMB!!! Thumb thumbs things.

― That's not a "laugh track", it's an audience and you're in it. (MintIce), Wednesday, 24 November 2010 21:26 (Yesterday)

All this could have been avoided by using the word 'digits'

― The Jolly Roget's Thesaurus (S-), Thursday, 25 November 2010 02:07 (fifteen years ago)

It could have turned into a discussion abt toes.

― Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Thursday, 25 November 2010 02:13 (fifteen years ago)

oh I didn't realize you weren't counting the thumb

― ＿|￣|○|￣|○|￣|○ (dayo), Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:11 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

yeah for real, the title is confusing, i refuse to take part

― BIG MUFFIN (gbx), Thursday, 25 November 2010 02:19 (fifteen years ago)

and i had so much to contribute

― BIG MUFFIN (gbx), Thursday, 25 November 2010 02:20 (fifteen years ago)

three months pass...

I fixed this title btw, sorry pedants

― Abbott, Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:28 (fifteen years ago)

http://davidknapp.mosaicmercy.com/wp-content/uploads/simplyecclesia.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/homer-and-god.jpg

The theological implications are immense!

― EDB, Thursday, 10 March 2011 01:13 (fifteen years ago)

omg title fix went away
I feel innefectual

― Buff Orpington (Abbbottt), Thursday, 10 March 2011 01:14 (fifteen years ago)

let's cross out hand digits that this fix stays

― Buff Orpington (Abbbottt), Thursday, 10 March 2011 01:18 (fifteen years ago)

Three fingers bad. I mean it doesn't always bother me as a reader but in my own work it's gotta be four.

― I love Du but I've chosen Balloon Guy (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:14 (fifteen years ago)

I drew cartoons with three fingers until I hit puberty and I decided four was the way to go. *growing up*

― Buff Orpington (Abbbottt), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:17 (fifteen years ago)

The putting aside of childish things SIGH

― I love Du but I've chosen Balloon Guy (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 10 March 2011 02:21 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Sunday, 10 June 2012 00:01 (thirteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Monday, 11 June 2012 00:01 (thirteen years ago)

closure

― mookieproof, Monday, 11 June 2012 00:02 (thirteen years ago)

rong

― contenderizer, Monday, 11 June 2012 00:08 (thirteen years ago)

I've since learned no one likes a distant poll closing date

― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Monday, 11 June 2012 00:18 (thirteen years ago)

I've also learned come people think of the thumb as a 'finger'

― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Monday, 11 June 2012 00:20 (thirteen years ago)

come people

― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Monday, 11 June 2012 00:20 (thirteen years ago)

I call the thumb a finger because of a trivial pursuit question over 20 years ago. Just because it's short and squat and single-jointed and opposable, why discriminate? Thumbists.

― Jesu swept (ledge), Monday, 11 June 2012 09:31 (thirteen years ago)

Wouldn't it be weird to have a thumb that was exactly like a finger?

― George Peppard Steak (snoball), Monday, 11 June 2012 13:29 (thirteen years ago)

three years pass...

imo, three fingers + one thumb is embedded deep in cartoon DNA, whereas four fingers and a thumb should be considered mutant and freakish anywhere outside of Prince Valiant or Mary Worth and other strips of their ilk.

― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Tuesday, 9 February 2016 01:12 (ten years ago)

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