Editing Eric Cartman (section)

===Creation and design===
[[Image:CartmanWithoutHat.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Cartman's hair, which is usually hidden underneath his hat]]
A precursor to Cartman first appeared in the first ''The Spirit of Christmas'' short, dubbed ''Jesus vs. Frosty'', created by Parker and Stone in 1992 while they were students at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]]. In the short, the character resembling Cartman was named "Kenny", and a variation of the catchphrase "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" was exclaimed when this character was killed by an evil snowman. The character was composed of [[construction paper]] cutouts and animated through the use of [[stop motion]].<ref name="method">{{cite news | author = Matt Cheplic | title = 'As Crappy As Possible': The Method Behind the Madness of South Park | publisher = [[Penton Media]] | date = May 1, 1998 | url = http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/news/news-articles/crappy-possible-method-behind-madness-south-park/382927/ | access-date = April 28, 2009 | archive-date = December 22, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222091538/http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/news/news-articles/crappy-possible-method-behind-madness-south-park/382927 | url-status = live }}</ref> When commissioned three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a [[video]] [[Christmas card]] that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated ''The Spirit of Christmas'' short, dubbed ''Jesus vs. Santa''.<ref name="VH1">{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/press/bios/brian_graden.jhtml |title=Brian Graden's Bio |publisher=VH1.com |access-date=January 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120161058/http://www.vh1.com/press/bios/brian_graden.jhtml |archive-date=January 20, 2008}}</ref> In this short, his character first appears as he does in the series, and is given the name "Cartman", while the character of Kenny appears as the character is depicted today and given Cartman's moniker from the previous short. Cartman next appeared on August 13, 1997, when ''South Park'' debuted on [[Comedy Central]] with the episode "[[Cartman Gets an Anal Probe]]".

In keeping with the show's [[Cutout animation|animation style]], Cartman is composed of simple geometrical shapes and [[primary color]]s.<ref name="method"/><ref name="avr">{{cite news|author=Abbie Bernstein |title=South Park – Volume 2 |publisher=AVRev.com |date=October 27, 1998 |url=http://www.avrev.com/dvd-movie-disc-reviews/tv-shows/south-park-volume-2.html |access-date=April 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515045446/http://www.avrev.com/dvd-movie-disc-reviews/tv-shows/south-park-volume-2.html |archive-date=May 15, 2013}}</ref> He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from one direction, and his movements intentionally jerky.<ref name="growsup2"/><ref name="method"/><ref name="avr"/> Ever since the show's second episode, "[[Weight Gain 4000]]" ([[South Park (season 1)|season one]], 1997), Cartman, like all other characters on the show, has been animated with computer software, though he is portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique.<ref name="method"/>

Cartman is usually depicted wearing winter attire which consists of a red coat, brown pants, yellow gloves/mittens, and a yellow-brimmed turquoise [[knit cap]] tapered with a yellow [[pom-pom]]. He has parted brown hair, and he is seen without his hat more often than the other characters with distinctive headwear. As he is overweight, his body is wider and his hands noticeably larger than those of the other children, and his head is more elliptical. An additional curved line on his lower face represents a double chin.

Parker adduced that he came up with the voice of Cartman while he and Stone were in film class, where they would speak in high-pitched childish voices, which was quite irksome to their film teachers. They would naturally reproduce these voices in the initial seasons of ''South Park''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Making Fun Of Everyone On 'South Park'|url=https://www.wbur.org/npr/127210540/story.php|access-date=April 6, 2021|website=wbur.org|archive-date=September 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928161934/https://www.wbur.org/npr/127210540/story.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=South Park - Season 24 - TV Series|url=https://southpark.cc.com/seasons/south-park|access-date=April 6, 2021|archive-date=June 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627175917/https://southpark.cc.com/seasons/south-park|url-status=live}}</ref> Although he had originally voiced Cartman without any computer manipulation, Parker now does so by speaking within his normal vocal range with a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with [[Pro Tools]], and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound like that of a fourth grader.<ref name="digizine">{{cite web|author=Stephanie Jorgl |title=South Park: Where The Sound Ain't No Joke! |publisher=Digizine |year=2005 |url=http://www2.digidesign.com/digizine/dz_Q105/features/cover_story/index.cfm?pagenum=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131130070727/http://www2.digidesign.com/digizine/dz_Q105/features/cover_story/index.cfm?pagenum=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 30, 2013 |access-date=April 30, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = South Park FAQ | url = http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?month=2&year=2009 | date = February 10, 2009 | publisher = South Park Studios | access-date = April 30, 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090511145241/http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?month=2&year=2009 | archive-date = May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="sps40">{{cite web|title=40 Questions |url=http://treyparker.info/archives_spstudios.htm |date=October 4, 2001 |publisher=South Park Studios |access-date=January 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129004417/http://treyparker.info/archives_spstudios.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref> Parker says to achieve the effect of Cartman's voice, he simply uses the same technique when voicing Stan while "adding a lot of fat to it".<ref>{{cite news|title=Yahoo! Internet Life |publisher=treyparker.info (transcribed from yahoo.com) |year=1998 |url=http://treyparker.info/archives_yahoo_98.htm |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129005316/http://treyparker.info/archives_yahoo_98.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref>