I don’t doodle nearly as much as I should. I think it’s fun. And cartoonist Pete Emslie backs me up on this.
I especially like to doodle because I feel I can draw completely in my own natural style, as loose, spontaneous and free of the constraints I might place on myself when drawing for a paid commission, particularly when the client is expecting something to look a certain way. When one doodles, there is the distinct pleasure of knowing that you are doing it just for yourself, not subject to anybody else’s approval nor what they would be willing to pay for it. No, you yourself are the only one to satisfy and, heck, even if you don’t like it, you haven’t invested much time or effort in creating it. If it’s good, maybe you’ll file it away for future reference, and if not, it joins the rest of the newspaper in the aforementioned recycling bin.
I spend nearly all of my free time writing and drawing comics for a very, very small audience.
Boy, did this post come across my radar at a good time.
The truth is, most fiction writers spend our lives sitting alone in a room generating a product that has zero chance of ever making a penny—or even being seen by a person outside our immediate circle of friends, relations and/or personal stalkers.
So—not surprisingly—we occasionally ask ourselves that big, existential question: WHAT ARE WE—NUTS?
Trying to answer can plunge a writer into despair. So how do we cope?
The post is short on answers, but long on the truth of the situation. You just have to do whatever it takes to get yourself to sit down and do the work. Lie to yourself. Rationalize. Invent an imaginary world where you’re Stephen King.
Whatever it takes to keep working and stave off the “Am-I-Crazys” for one more day.
Interesting stuff. With just enough of that 20’s era political incorrectness to make you a little uncomfortable.
Take a look at this wonderful little book on cartooning techniques by cartoonist B. “Tack” Knight. Tack’s Cartoon Tips for the Aspiring Professional!
In just twenty-nine pages he teaches aspiring professional artists how to draw cartoons the way they were done in the old-fashioned style of 1923!
Some of the pages are corny and not very useful today, but MOST of this book features rock-solid cartooning tips for learning how to draw in that old big-foot print cartoon style.
This is mostly just an promo thing for an online art school, but I was curious to see how this master of caricature and silly illustration does what he does. Doesn’t disappoint.
