Becoming A Working Cartoonist
One of the joys to this art is to share it with others. Not just the finished product for those who enjoy reading cartoons, but with those who aspire to create cartoons. I try to encourage and offer advice to those who seek it, and one of the most difficult points to get across is that it's not as easy as it looks. There are many who look at what we do and see simple line art and a clever gag line and think, "That's easy - anyone can do that." Oh yeah? Try it. And when you're done, see if you can sell it. That's essentially our business, and the competition is brutal. The markets I pursue, the New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, and the like, receive thousands of submissions a month for just a few cartoon slots to be filled. Still sound easy?
The first, and in my estimation, most critical element is the writing. Particularly for magazine markets, the humor can't be over-worked cliches, simple slap-stick, or crude over-the-top gags. For the top magazine markets, the audience has a level of sophistication that requires a more thoughtful approach to the writing. Having a strong awareness and understanding of current events, and being able to translate them into a humorous visual moment, is the trick. Being an avid reader of such books as, "The Cartoonist's Muse", "Cartooning, The Art And The Business" among numerous others is a great place to start.
Art in cartoons is another grossly under-estimated skill. Some look at the simple lines and don't understand what needs to happen to make those simple lines convey a great deal of visual information. Once the gag is written, the individual elements all must be represented in as simple a presentation as possible. Look at the work of Charles Barsotti of New Yorker fame - his presentation is concise and to the point. On the opposite side of the cartoon spectrum, look at some of the more complex pieces by Mischa Richter, also of New Yorker fame, who provides a rich, if not elegant look to his cartoons. Like a movie director, you must decide where the characters are to be placed, what props are essential to convey the idea, from what perspective will the action be viewed? All these elements, all the work involved to create this single, simple visual idea that stands or fails within what is estimated to be four seconds. If you don't make your point both visually and with the text in four seconds, it's failed.
Still sound easy? Like any worthwhile pursuit, cartooning requires work, dedication, study, and a long-term commitment to reach the point of being a marketable commodity. I'm immensely grateful for being able to work as a professional cartoonist, but it wasn't a simple matter of having a funny idea pop into my head, slap it onto paper, and sell it to the long line of editors waiting to snap it out of my hands for a handsome sum. It doesn't work that way.
If you have the desire to become a cartoonist, make up your mind that you intend to be a good one, and prepare to commit yourself to the work, and never stop learning. Good luck, and enjoy the process!
The first, and in my estimation, most critical element is the writing. Particularly for magazine markets, the humor can't be over-worked cliches, simple slap-stick, or crude over-the-top gags. For the top magazine markets, the audience has a level of sophistication that requires a more thoughtful approach to the writing. Having a strong awareness and understanding of current events, and being able to translate them into a humorous visual moment, is the trick. Being an avid reader of such books as, "The Cartoonist's Muse", "Cartooning, The Art And The Business" among numerous others is a great place to start.
Art in cartoons is another grossly under-estimated skill. Some look at the simple lines and don't understand what needs to happen to make those simple lines convey a great deal of visual information. Once the gag is written, the individual elements all must be represented in as simple a presentation as possible. Look at the work of Charles Barsotti of New Yorker fame - his presentation is concise and to the point. On the opposite side of the cartoon spectrum, look at some of the more complex pieces by Mischa Richter, also of New Yorker fame, who provides a rich, if not elegant look to his cartoons. Like a movie director, you must decide where the characters are to be placed, what props are essential to convey the idea, from what perspective will the action be viewed? All these elements, all the work involved to create this single, simple visual idea that stands or fails within what is estimated to be four seconds. If you don't make your point both visually and with the text in four seconds, it's failed.
Still sound easy? Like any worthwhile pursuit, cartooning requires work, dedication, study, and a long-term commitment to reach the point of being a marketable commodity. I'm immensely grateful for being able to work as a professional cartoonist, but it wasn't a simple matter of having a funny idea pop into my head, slap it onto paper, and sell it to the long line of editors waiting to snap it out of my hands for a handsome sum. It doesn't work that way.
If you have the desire to become a cartoonist, make up your mind that you intend to be a good one, and prepare to commit yourself to the work, and never stop learning. Good luck, and enjoy the process!
Labels: cartoon techniques, cartooning, cartoonist techniques, new yorker cartoonist, professional cartooning, professional cartoonist, the art of cartooning
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