Fairy Tale Cartoon Characters who Lived UnHappily Ever After

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 7

Like the historical characters I wrote about yesterday, horror movies and fairy tale cartoon characters come with back stories readers are familiar with, and like historical characters I usually have them dealing with life in today’s world.

Stick a bureaucrat into almost any fairy tale, and you’ve probably got the makings of a cartoon. The Princess and the Bureaucrat? Continue reading

Creating History Cartoons Even if You Flunked History

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 6

I draw very few cartoons about things that happen to me. In fact, if you want to drive me nuts, whenever something funny happens say, “I bet you’ll draw about this,”

Most funny things that happen to you are funny only in context. Have you ever tried to describe an incident where at the time it happened everyone involved was laughing hysterically, but the people you’re telling the anecdote to look confused, not amused? That’s what I call an ”I guess you had to be there” moment. Continue reading

Go Ahead. Be An Extremist When Gag Writing

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 5

In yesterday’s post I created a list of ten terms I’d heard in the news and showed how I came up with ideas for the first seven using free association while gag writing.

Today I’m going to generate ideas for the remaining three terms using antonyms (opposite definitions) and carrying ideas to extreme and absurd conclusions. Continue reading

Writing Cartoon Gags Using Buzz-Words, Fads & the News

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 4

This is another in my series of posts trying to answer the second most frequent question I’m asked as a cartoonist: how do you come up with your ideas?

Every day I make a list of buzzwords, fads, and news items I hear or read about. Here’s one of my lists and the thoughts I had when I went through it to come up “Aha” moments that I turned into cartoon gags. Continue reading

How Do You Come Up With Your Ideas?

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How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 3

In my next series of posts I’m going to try and answer the second most frequent question I’m asked as a cartoonist: how do you come up with your ideas?

I do a lot of free-associating. Here’s a description of one of my sessions and some of the cartoons it produced. Continue reading

Falling On Her Head Is Good For a Cartoonist

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 2

In yesterday’s post I addressed the most frequent question cartoonists are asked. To see what that question is, I guess you’ll have to read that post. Today I’m addressing the second most frequent question, “How do you come up with your ideas?”

Frankly, I don’t know. For the most part my cartoon gags spring whole cloth—or whole cartoon – out of the cosmos and into my head.

Al Capp, creator of Li’l Abner said that being dropped on your head as a small child gave you a leg up if you wanted to be a cartoonist. Continue reading

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 1

Anybody Can Draw for The New Yorker

The most frequent question cartoonists are asked is, “Do you draw for the New Yorker?”

“Of course,” I reply. “All good cartoonists draw for the New Yorker. I’ve even drawn covers for them. However, they’ve never had the good sense to buy any of my work.”

Fortunately for me, hundreds of other magazines have.

You don’t have to be able to draw well to be a successful cartoonist. Continue reading

Anybody Can Draw for The New Yorker

The most frequent question cartoonists are asked is, “Do you draw for the New Yorker?”

“Of course,” I reply. “All good cartoonists draw for the New Yorker. I’ve even drawn covers for them. However, they’ve never had the good sense to buy any of my work.”

Fortunately for me, hundreds of other magazines have.

You don’t have to be able to draw well to be a successful cartoonist. Continue reading