How To Become A Cartoonist

 There's no doubt that cartoons play a significant role in our present society - not just for entertainment and enjoyment, but also for illustration, education and social commentary. Becoming a cartoonist has been the dream of many, and the reality of a "relative" few, but outside of the "envied" group of professional cartoonists, countless enthusiasts draw cartoons as a hobby - and with the opportunities provided by the internet, amateur cartoonists can acquire and enjoy the same freedom as writers, to publish their work and share their passion and creativity with the world.

The term "cartoon" can and does cover a number of artistic disciplines:

1. At its most basic, a cartoon is a humorous drawing. The drawing itself can be funny, or the theme and content of the drawing can be funny. In its simplest form it's known as a "gag" cartoon or "single-panel" cartoon. This form has been popular since the turn of the last century and has been a constant feature in almost all the popular newspapers and magazines.
2. With the development of the single-panel to three or more panels, came the creation of the "strip-cartoon", in which the gag could be served up in steps, right up to the punch-line in the last panel.
3. Adding more panels to fill a whole page, or a number of pages, gave us the "comic-strip", and allowed the artists and writers the same creational freedom of a film-maker to develop the characters, story-lines and multiple gags to any extent they wished.
4. Since the advent of animation - on film, T.V., and now computer - the comic-strip has been brought to life, much to the delight of children (young and old), and we know this form of entertainment as the "Animated Cartoon"... or simply "cartoon" for short!
5. A special mention should be given to the "Editorial" or "Political" cartoon, which, though often humorous in the same style as a single-panel-gag, doesn't always have to be funny. This type of cartoon owes its strength to its ability to provoke, to stimulate commentary and reaction, to communicate a personal viewpoint or message, and to "poke fun" at the subject matter it addresses.
6. And let's not leave out the "caricature" - in which a subject's features are altered, through exaggeration or simplification, to fully expose its physical character and/or personality.
7. Or the "Humorous drawings" that take cartooning into the realm of "Art"... without gag, without story, but with a strong visual element of humor that ensures it is placed in the categorie of cartoons.

So, a cartoon is all of these, and only the adjective makes it clear which is which.

But what about the term "Cartooning"? Again, the act of creating any of the above can be considered cartooning - though an animator would probably prefer to be called an animator; a comic-artist would enphasize the term "artist"; and a caricaturist would probably want to make clear what his specific area of expertise is.

Also many illustrators, in all fields of work, often apply cartooning elements to their image-making... are they now cartoonists or illustrators?

And finally, what about the humble but enthusiastic amateur "cartoon drawer"? - the person who just likes to draw funny characters, without any further reason or goal, without any need for a gag or a story, just drawing for the pleasure of it - of course, he too is cartooning.

Here's ten reasons for starters:

1. because it's easy - believe me! If you're finding it hard, it's because you're making it hard for yourself.
2. because it's fun - and that's a good enough reason to do anything.
3. because it's creative - and in cartoon drawing "anything goes"... so you can be as creative and imaginative as you please.
4. to impress your friends, family and (especially) your children - or just to please them... and drawing cartoons impresses and pleases people very easily
5. to fill the gap when you're bored - doodling to pass away the time is a great artistic exercise.
6. to give you something to draw when you don't know what to draw - no-one expects a cartoon to be a drawing masterpiece.
7. to give you something to draw when you don't know how to draw - again, no-one expects a cartoon to be a drawing masterpiece.
8. to decorate T-shirts, mugs, baby-rooms, cards, and government property - great gifts and great graffiti!
9. to learn to draw - the more you draw the better you become... drawing cartoons beats tedious "classical" drawing practice hands down.
10. to become a cartoonist.

There is another reason, and I consider it to be one of the best - and it's certainly the main reason I draw cartoons.

You see, cartooning is a creative process, and as with any creative process , you give and you recieve. You look at the world around you, you observe it, you study it, you learn from it, you become part of it and you are formed by it.

Humor is a major element in our experience of life and who we are. Humor helps us to lighten the load, create balance, and cope with the most serious issues that affect us. It allows us new and alternative viewpoints and insights and, not least importantly, it creates bonding with each other - because humor warms our hearts and opens them to others, It stimulates empathy, sympathy and an understanding and acknowledgement of our follies as human beings. There is no humor in things that go right, only in things that go wrong - and no-one is safe from having things go wrong.

One of the primary reasons to draw, is to learn to focus on and really "see" the wonder of form, pattern, texture, light and shade - and in this same context of understanding, cartooning can give us insight into the human spirit.

There are two paths to learning to draw cartoons - one is to learn from others, and the other is to learn from yourself.

Learning from others includes following courses, reading books and completing exercises to learn specific techniques in order to create specific images in a specific style: "How to Draw"... a cartoon face, a cartoon nose, person, cat, car, boat, pig...(fill in the blanks!). This is a good path to take if you want to make cartoon drawings like the ones in the exercises - or if you want to become a comic-artist or animation-artist, where a particular style is reqired and demanded.

The second path is to go your own way. Take your inspiration and techniques from existing cartoons by all means, but apply them to your own ideas - ideas created from your own observations, fantasy and design experiments. To be a "cartoonist" as opposed to a "copy-artist" you need to create your own characters, and communicate your own view of the world. And the surest way to be original is to develop from out of yourself. Just through the joint processes of conscious observation (how things really look) and consistent drawing activity, you will learn all there is to learn about cartoon drawing. It's the easiest, quickest and most fun way to learn, and you have the complete freedom to draw how you like and no-one can tell you that you're doing it wrong.

There is one thing you need to know in order to become a cartoonist - and that is that there are some things you don't need, and some things you do need.

What you don't need:

• Instruction - you are your own best teacher.
• To be born with a talent for drawing - those born with talent just get a head start and the motivation to continue drawing, which, in turn, develops their talent. But passion and desire can outshine natural talent, by nurturing and developing the latent talent that is within all of us. Most people don't draw for the simple reason that they think they can't - and because they think that, they don't give themselves the chance to discover that they can. But drawing isn't a matter of "can" or "can't", it's a matter of "doing" or "not doing"!
• To know everything - If you have trouble drawing hands, for instance, then don't draw them... leave them out. The same goes for feet, horses, cars, anything!. You are not obliged to draw everything, so make it easy for yourself and stick to drawing what you can, what you want, and how you want.
• To have in-depth anatomical knowledge - unless your interest is in drawing realistic comic-strip characters, or super-heroes, then you don't really have to know the muscles of the face or the body in order to draw them. Cartoon frees us from having to draw anything "right", and you'll learn all you need to know just through your observations.
• Criticism - personally I think this is the last thing anyone needs... even from themselves. If you're having fun drawing, then draw, and to hell with what others think of your work.
• To draw well - Take a look at the work of the present top cartoonists of The NewYorker magazine... there are some among these professional, published cartoonists who draw like 6 year-olds. But who cares? Hey, they're making us laugh and they're making a living.
• Special materials - I draw with asoft pencil on A4 copy-paper. Sometimes I use a ballpoint pen. You can use special materials or equipment of course, depending on your specific needs... but you don't really need it.
• A reason - Do you need a reason to draw cartoons, other than that it gives you pleasure?

What you do need:

• A sense of humor...
• A sense of empathy...
• Interest in life, the universe and everything...
• Passion - to do what you love, for the love of doing it.
• Desire to communicate - to share your vision and your humor.
• Joy in observation - not just looking, but seeing and understanding what you see.
• Freedom of spirit - to draw your own way, think your own thoughts, talk your own words etc.
• Belief in the value of your own unique creativity.

But perhaps all this is superfluous... and the only thing you need to become a cartoonist, is to simply be a cartoonist.

 We are all creative beings - we think and we talk, we experience and we communicate - through words, through images, through music, dance, drama, design, invention, production... and in all of these creative forms humor can be our voice, and maybe cartooning is humor's loudest voice!