Why do cartoon characters only have 3 fingers?

Answer 1

It a digital thing.

Answer 2

It's easier to draw characters with only 3 fingers. In more realistic cartoons and japanamation they usually have four.

Answer 3

depending on what cartoon character you're talking about.

non serious totally ugly cartoons like southpark or simpsons don't need a full sets of fingers to perform activities like grabbing or holding stuff...and the 3 fingers usually have a more cartoonist effect than the full digits fingers.

where else it would be weird for Prof Xavier, peter parker or gambit to have 3 digit fingers.....

Answer 4

phst, i know this one, there was once a radiation plant that went nuclear a few decades back in a little town called 'YouWishThisWasARealPlaceVille' and since then every cartoon has had 3 fingers (most of them, some cartoon families were out of town when the blast occurred)

Answer 5

Because ...

Cartoons are drawn too small to fit all 5 fingers, and they couldn't flip off anyone with 4 fingers. So, that leaves you with 3 fingers ... PERFECT!

:-)

Answer 6

Its quicker to draw and they draw a lot of them and cartoons only have use for three fingers, they dont have to type.

Answer 7

Easier to draw...I used to draw hands, and when you put more than 4 digits on one hand, it gets complicated. Also, in literature, important things happen in 3's, so conceptually, why would they ever need more than 3 fingers??

Answer 8

It tells you one thing they are all tight, you can fit more than 3 fingers in there

Answer 9

Because its the whol point of bein a cartoon character.....they have to look weird!

Answer 10

The objects they interact with are 2-D, so they did not need to evolve as many fingers to hold them.

Answer 11

I'm guessing it's the same reason why you only have three legs on each side. Because if you had five legs on each side then you'd just get your spinnerets in a jam.