Tools of the Trade for Today's Illustrators and Cartoonists

My cover illustration for
the May 2007 CURRENTS magazine.


I recently wrote of my learning to create vector illustrations, and thanks to a terrific client, I now have plenty of practice creating this type of illustration. And in creating these, the one tool I use most is the computer, and more explicitly, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Of course, my language becomes explicit with these programs at times, and all the time with my computer, but software has become a vital tool to today's Illustrators and Cartoonists.



Not too long ago it was said that a Cartoonist only needed something to draw with, and something to draw on, such as a pencil and piece of paper. This is still true, today, of course, but oh, software, when working, can make life a lot easier.

Today's Important Lesson, though, is this: the computer is NOT a substitute, or replacement, for traditional skills. You need to know how to draw and paint, and most importantly, design. You need to know the rules about color, composition, balance, repetition, etc. 2-D Design and Color Theory. Computers can be fun, and the software I mentioned above can do so many things, that some people sit down, fiddle with the effects, and think they are artists. In this day and age, we still see some horrible graphic design, and bad art, because desktop publishing has made so many people mistake themselves for artists.

If you don't believe me, look at old newspapers and magazines to see what kind of illustrators and designers preceded us. Amazing work was done a century ago!


I'm a traditionalist, by nature. I still draw by hand when I can, although today I sketch more than draw. Some talented artists draw completely on the computer these days, and they do terrific stuff because they have learned to take their traditional skills all the way to the computer. Some of us have merged the two: I myself sketch until I have something good, and then scan it in and work it up in Illustrator or Photoshop, depending on the final product. Sketching is still an important part of the process, as I have mentioned before. Going with your first sketch can work, but you'll get better results by giving your ideas more time, and thought. Sitting at the computer to start work can be a mistake.


All that being said, though, software is a vital tool for today's artist. Cleaning up illustrations is so much easier in photoshop when you compare it to the razor blade and whiteout. And coloring? Forget about it! Coloring is so much easier to do on the computer, with much more reliable results. I'll admit that coloring the old fashioned way is a skill that I never fully developed. In a forthcoming book, I will show examples of my coloring from a long time ago, when Doc Martin's dyes were the tools of the day. That work hardly compares to my coloring today, which I am quite proud of.

Also, with the advent of email and PDF files, sending work to a client is as easy as pushing a button. The client no longer needs to photograph your original work, and you don't need to worry about the artwork getting there on time, or getting lost or damaged. That is, if you have original art at all.

That is one loss in these modern times. I collect original art from my favorite artists, and seeing this work is quite inspirational, and educational. You see their styles up close, can infer what tools they use, and how large they draw, and you can enjoy their work every day, looking up at your walls.

Now the next important part. Software is expensive. The two adobe products above will cost you over $1200, and after a few years, Adobe no longer supports these products if you haven't paid for expensive upgrades. Frankly, I could survive using the versions from 10 years ago. However, the new versions have some nice features, and creating PDF's directly from the program has become much easier.

SO.... if you want to be a Professional, make sure you have today's tools, as well as traditional. And it pays to take classes to use your new software. There is so much to learn that you may not get the vital stuff by practicing yourself, or reading the books. Believe me, knowing your software allows you to work quicker, and better, and that allows you to get more work done.

Have fun, but keep sketching! JOHN :0)

PS There's still time to vote for the new HappyGlyphs Logo. Please take a second to vote. :0)

Help me choose a HappyGlyphs Logo

Our Current Logo


Howdy,

Now that Blogger allows polls, I want to redress the HappyGlyphs Comics logo issue that I brought up a short while ago. While working on my latest book, Two Henges, A Hill, and One Long Barrow I created a new logo that I happen to like very much. However, my old logo has been around for a long time now, and means a lot to me. Tradition versus coolness, with only one winner.



Our new alternate Logo


So... I ask you for your opinion. There should be a Poll for this query at the side of this blog, and it should only take a moment to vote, so please do!

I really would appreciate it, and I do value your opinion, or I wouldn't be asking for it.

Of course I get the final vote, but for now, I really can't make up my mind.

Thanks, and Cheers! JOHN :0)

So Where do Ideas Come From?

A common complaint from Cartoonists and the like is that fans and others invariably bug them with questions like "So where do you get your ideas?". Now, this seems like a reasonable question... until you've heard it a thousand times, I guess, and also, there really isn't a 10 second answer. For a creative individual, ideas are everywhere, show up at the wierdest times, and have their roots in the most mundane of tasks.

Now, unlike other Cartoonists who have come up with trite answers to the question, I am going to take a few moments to give those of you wondering an inkling of where some ideas may come from, and some of the thought processes involved in developing them.



So, let us begin:
Once upon a time I was walking through my neighborhood. I like doing this, except that at times it can be very noisy, and I do NOT like noise. Next to lawn mowers, the most annoying sound to me is that of dogs barking... especially big nasty dogs that act like they want to rip your arms off and chew on them.

Now, dog lovers don't get mad... I love animals, but this is how my brain works, okay?

So after having to cross the street for the umpteenth time because of this giant nasty dog that lives behind a little fence and acts like he wants to tear me limb from limb, AND after his barking was so loud I couldn't even hear my iPod, I started to think. (Take notes, here, kiddies.)

I won't tell you what my first thoughts were, because I'm normally not violent, but after several close calls with dog doo that ignorant dog owners left on the sidewalk, I thought: Do we really need dogs anymore?

Seriously. Once upon a time we domesticated dogs so that we could have a tough ally against the darkness, and the wild animals that roamed there. We gave dogs shelter and food, and they helped us to feel safe at night, and kept the beasties away. Over the years the relationship developed, and the dog changede his job description slightly to be body gaurd, night watchman, and hunting pal. These jobs continued until recently, to be replaced by high tech security systems, police and security, and well, hunting isn't the neccesity it once was. So as hunting becomes less and less about feeding people, and more of a dying sport, the jobs we need dogs for are fading away.

Like good job hunters, dogs keep adapting to fit our society. They have become pets, and even part of our families. Some people even dress them up, treat them like children, and include them in family portraits. We train them for shows, give them fancy haircuts, and basically rob many of the smaller dogs of whatever dignity they once had. However, no matter how much you dress them, and bathe them, and spend on their haircuts, they are still animals. They mess the yard, they bring fleas and ticks into the house, and sometimes get nasty. So who needs them?

Remember, please, that this is a blog about ideas, not dogs. All of these thoughts above raced through my mind as I walked around my neighborhood, in a space of about ten minutes. So... dogs: who needs them?

I sure don't. I love animals, but I hate when I have to smell dog doo at the playground where I play with my kids. I hate finding it in my yard, and I get ill when I enter people's houses who don't clean up enough to get rid of that doggy smell.

So... enough of that. The point is, story ideas started to develop. Imagine a society without dogs, or even pets. Where would YOU go from there?

I imagined a future society where animal lovers are trying to free pets from their slavery, but confused about what to do with them then. Domestic animals can't just be let loose in the woods. Meanwhile, other animal lovers are fighting against the first bunch, for the rights to keep their pets. Now, imagine some guy who really likes some girl, except she's a fanatic in one of the above groups, most likely the first one. So he finds himself at radical meetings, even though he really doesn't care about the issues, but then suddenly finds himself over his head... maybe in an animal rescue attempt, with the police or others involved.

Hey, it could happen.

Where else could this idea go?

The Planet of the Apes movies had Astronauts bring home a disease that wiped out the dogs and cats, making apes move to pets, and then to slaves, which started all that trouble that eventually created a society of apes.

Clifford Simak went the other way with his great novel City. He envisaged a society where people disappeared, and the dogs created a new society where they uplifted other animals and taught them how to get along peacefully.

There are other examples, but I think I've talked long enough. The point is, you get a thought, and it evolves into something else, and again. Then you start putting the thoughts into the context of a story, creating ideas that lead from a beginning to a climax. From there you rough out your main characters, creating a hero that goes through some life change, whether from internal or external sources. Show how that hero changes for the better, to rise above his problems, and bring the story to a successful conclusion.



So you see, there is no easy answer. Either your brain works this way, or it doesn't. For a creative person, the conscious and unconcious minds are always thinking, always looking at everything, and I mean everything, from different points of views, and finding the interesting angles. A good story usually has months of thinking go into it before the typing even begins.

It's a lot of work, but very rewarding.

Until you get asked "Where did you get that idea?". :0)

Cheers, JOHN :0)

PS To you dog lovers: Instead of writing me hate mail, go clean up after your dog, okay? Thanks.