In case you haven't heard, today is National Cartoonists Day. It's been pretty hard to miss with all the National Cartoonists Day sales at the Mall. I think government workers get the day off too. Seriously, here's the scoop: The Yellow Kid, the very first color comic strip, was first published today (May 5) in 1895. Gradually the comics became a...
I just received the very first issue of Stay Tooned!, a brand-new magazine for cartoonists from editor John Read. Since the magazine Cartoonists PROfiles is no longer gracing newsstands, Stay Tooned! is stepping in to fill the void. The magazine is published quarterly, and you can order issues or subscribe online. A copy of issue #1 is $10, or you...
What do you use to ink your art? These are cool rabbit illos!I thought his question would make a good blog post, so here goes. Earlier this year I bought a Cintiq and started inking everything digitally (more on that below), but for many years I experimented with various inking methods on paper. Pen and Ink. I first learned how to ink by using a dip pen with Hunt 102 nibs and a bottle of good-old India Ink, and inked my drawings on smooth bristol board. This was back in the late 80's, before computers, when cartoonists were still using rubber cement and x-acto knives to create layouts, and inkers used white-out to fix their goofs. I used the Hunt pen tips for many years, and with them I was able to get a clean, cartoony line.
I've had the privilege of being a member of the National Cartoonists Society for about five years now. Since I live in Minneapolis I belong to the North Central Chapter. Most of the NCS chapters are centered on the coasts, where you can find a high concentration of cartoonists in a relatively small geographical area. Since this is the...
My friend and fellow illustrator Paul Fricke recently sent me a great link: Advice for building a career as a freelance artist and/or paid cartoonist by Dave Roman Dave Roman has been working at Nickelodeon Magazine for the last nine years. He is also a frequent lecturer at the School of Visual Arts. This article summarizes his advice for art students just...
Since I'm still swamped with freelance work and no time to write, here's another re-post from the early days of my blog, way back in 2005 when only three people were reading it. (Readership has since doubled): Chris Browne (pictured) of "Hagar the Horrible" fame has posted some advice on how to break into cartooning. Should make an interesting read...
