Interview part 5

This is part five of the continuing interview I did covering my artistic career, my influences, and many great, interesting, and sometimes hilarious moments along the way.  In this segment, I show you the step by step process that goes into creating each Funday Morning comic strip.

See you next week for part six!

Spread The Word

I have two cartoons on other websites this week.  It always makes me proud when someone enjoys my work enough to share it with their fellow websters.

The first is a guest strip I wrote for the Mighty Monocle.  Mighty Monocle is a webcomic by Darren Rolfe about a flabby American who is a superhero in England.  Dareen is on vacation and asked if I'd write a filler strip for him.  At first, I was reluctant, because I am more comfortable in a single panel format, but I somehow managed to drag the joke out to three.  You can see my awful hand lettering here.

The second is a panel I created earlier this year that Tom Racine of Tall Tale Radio fame, featured on his new website, Geek Papas.  Geek Papas is a podcast focusing on geek culture, and specifically, fatherhood in geek culture.  Check out their websites and enjoy yourself!  Have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Herriman!

Let's wish a happy birthday to the late, great George Herriman, creator of the magnificent 'Krazy Kat!'

Tuesday Toon-Up: Sleepless

In the 90s, I was reviewing music for my local newspaper when a King Crimson CD arrived in the mail.  I hadn't paid much attention to the band in years.  I was more intrigued by guitarist Robert Fripp's collaborations with artists like Brian Eno and Bowie.  King Crimson's work seemed to have wandered away from song writing and more into improvisational meandering.  

The album was called 'Thrak' and Adrian Belew's contributions piqued my interest again.  This song was on a double live album (BaBoom) that came out shortly afterward.  LOve Tony Levin and love Bill Bruford.  

It's four o'clock in the morning, so this tune seems appropriate.  Enjoy!

Interview with Nicole Hollander

Recently, a reader on Face Book commented on how the notes on the refrigerator in my cartoon kitchen told a second joke.  I have to give credit where credit's due, I was inspired by the cat's in Nicole Hollander's classic cartoon, 'Sylvia.'  Here's an interview with Ms. Hollander I found on You Tube.  Enjoy!

Caricature: Gerald Scarfe

Here's a BBC profile of British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe.  Enjoy!

Edward Gorey on NPR

Here's a link to a story on NPR about the famous illustrator, Edward Gorey.  Enjoy!

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=133869853

You've Got My Attention!

I thought I'd give you folks a peak at the online viewing I do on a weekly basis.  This is a list of the blogs, journals, podcasts and cartoons I think are intriguing.

•Webcomics Weekly•  A podcast with four creators about their experiences as online creators.  Scott Kurtz, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellet and Kris Straub are all excellent cartoonists who were at the forefront of online comics.  Their conversations are lively, insightful and sometimes profane.

•Tall Tale Features•  Tom Racine does excellent podcasts and video interviews with both online and syndicated creators.  He also features insiders in the newspaper syndication business that makes this especially well rounded.  The best broadcasting standard of any podcast I've heard so far.

•Comic Riffs•  Washington Post writer Michael Cavna's blog about all things surrounding comics, animation, movies or cartoons.  This blog is always on top as far as the latest scoop in any of the above and Mr. Cavna is a great writer.

•The Daily Cartoonist•  Alan Gardner launched TDC in 2005 as an open forum to all things cartoon related.  The comments section is especially interesting reading as the pros express themselves in what used to be newsroom only rants.

•Dan Piraro•  The Bizarro creator uses his blog to talk about the inspiration behind his cartoons, as well as a manifesto for his personal views on politics, religion, music or whatever else he considers interesting.  His writing is as funny as his cartoons.

•Rina Piccolo•  Funny, honest and candid, Ms. Piccolo's accomplishments are enviable.  She writes three comic strips (Tina's Groove, Six Chix, Velia, Dear), has been published in the New Yorker, as well as maintaining a highly entertaining blog.  All are executed with amazing quality.

•David-Wasting-Paper•  A great peek at the creators behind all kinds of comics and cartoons.


•Mike Lynch•  Daily news and deep trivia from a guy earning his living as a magazine cartoonist.  He obviously loves the art form.


•Webcomic Alliance•  Four creators deliver a weekly podcast describing the problems and (hopefully) solutions that arise for online creators.

There are a lot more folks online that I read, but this list is primarily where I go for inspiration, education and insight.  I hope there's something relevant in this for you.  Enjoy!

Toon Talk - Honing My Craft

A recent podcast by the Webcomics Weekly crew about an article in the Economist has created a rather heated conversation in the webcomics community.  The debate on the Daily Cartoonist revolves around the question, "What is a cartoonist?"

This got me to consider the craft of cartooning and what is important to me.  There are lots of cartoonists on the web I enjoy who don't display enviable drawing skills, but I get a lot out of their humor and their point of view.

Here's two examples of the same cartoon I did back in the nineties.  The first image is my original finished drawing.  This was ready to be printed, but something wasn't 'complete' for me.  I liked the idea, but thought the final gag lacked visual punch.  Because it seemed cluttered, the joke took too long to 'get.'

The second image was my final thought.  The artwork  stood out on the page much better with the solid blacks dominating the picture.  This particular cartoon was a turning point in how I looked at my own work and trying to figure out how the audience saw it also.

As for the online debate, I try to stay out of circuitous arguments.  There's merit to both sides, but the upside is, the conflict made me think about my craft, my presentation and what I value when doing my own work.

Toon Talk - Just "Do" It!

Most of my cartoons seem to come to me in a flash.  I see the picture and hear the gag line as a finished image in my head and sketch it out very quickly.  But... some have a long gestation.

Today's review goes back over 25 years.  When in our twenties, my brother and I were bartenders in our hometown.  There was a young woman who frequented the clubs we worked and she had one of the most interesting hairdos I can remember.  The shape of her hair was like a sphere on her head bluntly cut off at the base of her neck.  She looked like she'd lowered her head into a very soft pillow - her face on the verge of sinking into the quicksand of her hair.  The overall appearance of this ozone depleting dome resembled the helmets of New Guinea's Asaro River  mudmen.

 The most fascinating aspect was the color.  The back half of her head was brunette and the front half was blond, as though she'd lowered her face into a washtub of peroxide - like a half moon sitting atop her shoulders.  

We never knew her name, so my brother referred to her as 'bundt cake.'

Last year, my wife and I were at the movies and a young woman I saw had teased and brutalized her hair into this Amy Winehouse hornet's nest on her head and my memory flashed back to the girl in the bar from 30 years ago, complete with the nickname - and this cartoon instantly flashed in my head.  The drawing took a few iterations before I felt it had the clarity to instantly get the joke.  Had it not been for my brother's offhand remark, I'm not sure if this would ever have seen the light of day.  Blame him.

Tuesday Toon-Up; P.J. Harvey

Let me start this post with an apology for so few postings last week.  I had a medical situation to contend with and I was sidelined for several days.

That stated, let's listen to P.J. Harvey's 'Rid Of Me.'  Harvey's been largely ignored by the U.S. music press, perhaps because she wears underwear.  She's a fascinating artist with a broad spectrum of musical influences and taste.  I was immediately taken with the tension and drama of this song the first time I heard it.  I hope you enjoy it.

Drawing On The Past - Cover Up

One of the main problems I ran into when I was designing a newspaper tabloid, was coming up with fresh ideas on a yearly cycle.  Whether the subject was Christmas happenings around town, autumn festivals or Easter celebrations, eventually I would have to cover the same subject matter.  This weeks rewind was a cover about upcoming summer events.

The first image was something I created for my own amusement.  I had an acquaintance who told me a story about a relative in a vaudeville act and the novelty was playing giant harmonicas.  I was also studying music and was interested in examining harmony, so I created this image.  I was also immersed in trying different techniques in Photo Shop.  A major issue when working at a daily newspaper is the deadline, so the symmetry afforded speed in execution.

The second image was the cover I created based on drawing number one.  I was out of fresh ideas, so I borrowed an old concept from myself.  This was as close to an homage to psychedelic art as I was ever able to come up with.

I don't think my editor was too happy with the final cover, but it was quite striking when displayed in the distribution racks.

Toon Talk - Hitting The Big Time

Today's nostalgic rambling is significant for me because this cartoon was the first time I felt like I'd hit the big time.  What I mean by the 'big time' is when someone cuts out a toon from the paper and hangs it up.  Refrigerators are the MoMA for cartoonists.

I submerged myself in jazz for a while and had to order a lot of compact discs from a record store on the west end of my hometown.  I'd stopped in to pick up an order that had come in and went to the back office with the owner to pick up my purchase.  Taped to the wall next to the time clock was this cartoon.  He had no idea I was the artist.  He just thought the cartoon was funny enough to save and put up on the wall.

This particular cartoon is also noteworthy, because it was the first time my main characters came to life.  Although they would got through a lot of evolution before I decided on their final appearance, this was where the 'relationship' started.

The curlers in the woman's hair were based on the memory of my older sister.  When she went to junior high school, the style was to roll your hair in discarded cans from frozen orange juice.  While the wife would evolve over time to tighter rollers and simpler slippers, the husband is almost complete in how he looks today.

Pick Of The Week - Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

This weeks cartoon is Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, an 'anything goes' strip by Zach Weiner that's about... well... anything.  Partial social commentary and partial autobiography, SMBC isn't afraid to address any issues the creator cares to comment about, so readers offended by foul language or an iconoclastic point of view - you've been forwarned.  

SMBC is one of the few cartoons on the web that has afforded the creator to make a living strictly as a cartoonist.  Weiner has since returned to college to indulge his love of science.  He's also involved in some animation projects.  I've included a video of Zach being interviewed at C2E2.  Enjoy!

Drawing On The Past - From My Portfolio

I was the art director for an entertainment tabloid at a newspaper for two years, which afforded me a lot of freedom to do features illustrations.  This was a cover I did for a Christmas issue.  I drew the image on paper, scanned it and redrew it in Free Hand.  This way, I could scale the drawing to size once it was finished and not loose any resolution.  This image looks grainy when it's blown up because it was a scan from the printed page, rather than an archive of the digital art.

I then exported the file over to Photo Shop and put in all the dimensional shading with the dodge and burn tool.  The final tiff was imported into QuarkXpress and the type was set.

It's tough to remember how long this took, as I would start a Christmas issue somewhere around the beginning of October to give myself the luxury of time.  Also, the editors and myself were sure to be in agreement as to what the final product looked like.

Toon Talk

When I tell someone I draw cartoons, invariably, the question comes up, "Where do you get your ideas?"  I thought I'd take Mondays and pull a cartoon from my archive and give you an idea as to how I came up with it.

Today's cartoon is based on an old vaudeville joke.  The gag went like this:

Did you hear about the man with five penises?

His pants fit like a glove.

I always thought this joke was funny, but I knew it wasn't appropriate for a newspaper.  The 'fit like a glove' line gave me a snapshot in my head and I drew the cartoon around the suit actually being a glove.  By the way, the tailor in the drawing is an old friend of mine.  I used him over and over in various forms until I came up with the Funday family I use today.  Where the name, Mr. Abernathy, came from, I have no clue.

Flashback

This week's flashback is a magazine cover I created that was axed at the last minute.  I was an art director for the weekly entertainment tabloid that appeared on Fridays in the local paper.  

This particular piece was about Van's Warped Tour, but the editor decided to go with another feature at the last minute and my unfinished illustration (no strings on the guitar and the blank left side is where the story promos go) was relegated to the 'never ran' files.

Pick Of The Week - Cyanide & Happiness

Let me start this post by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  

This week's pick-of-the-week cartoon is Cyanide & Happiness.  Extremely funny, C&H has no boundaries when it comes to a joke, so reader beware if you're easily offended.  If you appreciate irreverent humor, this cartoon is for you!

The comic is written by four different individuals.  You can read more about the strip and the creators here.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Finding Sylvia

  I fell in love with Sylvia the first time I saw her.  The sarcastic, bathrobe-clad feminist was a wonderful buffet of social commentary, politics and spirituality.  While a lot of folks in the field of cartooning say 'Kathy' was the voice for women in the newspaper comics, I always thought Nicole Hollander usurped that throne.

Sylvia was recently dropped from the Chicago Tribune, so I thought I'd post a link to Nicole Hollander's blog and cartoon posts for fellow lover's of Sylvia.  Enjoy!

I'll Take The Blame

It's very early in the morning when I email my cartoons out to my subscribers and I accidentally emailed a prior cartoon this morning.  Since this career is a solo venture, I have no one to blame but myself.  But that got me thinking - what if I opened a business and its sole purpose was to take the blame for everything.  Watergate, the Edsel, Chernobyl, this season of The Office.

It would be like owning a funeral parlor...  Everyone would need it.  Give me a shout if you have venture capital.  When it all disappears, I know just where to place the blame.