Where Ideas Come From, Revisited

Here's a new The Inquiring Minds cartoon!  The first independent cartoon in a while, since I've been working on the Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake.  What prompted me to draw a new toon was, of course, the new eBooks that I've been working on (see last two posts).  As a publisher, I need to keep the company moving and growing, and so, right now, I thought it was important to investigate this new venue, the eBook.  I also need to finish the comic book, and get it into comic stores, but at this point that is still a long term venture.

Now, it occurred to me, halfway through drawing it, that the idea is similar to that seen in the wonderful movie UP, where Karl takes his house on a trip with the help of thousands of balloons.  It also occurred to me that some wiseguy was going to point that out. :0)

First of all, creative people are going to come up with similar ideas all the time, and usually independently.  Oh yes, there is idea theft, where people steal other people's work and claim it as their own, and more's the pity.  I mean, if you can't come up with original work, you really should not be a cartoonist, or writer, or whatever.  Me, I have more ideas than I could ever find the time to use them.  Some of them are fantastic, and I wish I could drop everything and work on them. The point is, though, that the truly creative mind never rests, and for some of us we have little choice but to find outlets for that creativity.
More importantly, we don't need to steal ideas, since we already have too many.

Actually, where the above idea came from, and yes, it probably was before I saw UP, is kind of interesting.  First off, let me explain that I have notebooks... lots of notebooks with ideas and sketches that eventually get lost to time as I move onto the next notebooks.  Once in a while, when I am focusing on one project, like the Inquiring Minds, I go back through those notebooks and gather together ideas that I flagged as good, but hadn't used before.  This idea was one of those... I have no idea at this point when I first came up with it.

The idea is probably as old as balloons themselves... I mean, who as a kid didn't dream of taking off into the skies if you bought one too many balloons from the balloon guy in the park? The truth is, though, this particular cartoon came from reading an article about art somewhere, where the author was talking about the deep meaning behind the art, and it was total BS.  I mean, really... sometimes a painting is just a painting and a story is just a story.

And yes, great art and writing often does have multiple layers, which is why we can look at something for years and still learn from it.  Sometimes it is deliberate, and the author tells a story that can be deciphered for those who want to look deeper, or the artist may lace their painting with symbolism.  Sometimes, and more often than not, I guess, from being an artist myself, that meaning is subconscious.  We are driven to create, and sometimes meanings come across that are not deliberate, but are there none the less.  Sometimes we see it, sometimes it must be pointed out to us, and sometimes, it is really the viewer herself who is doing the interpreting.... seeing something that they need to see, or feel, in the work, and not at all what the creator intended.

That can be the beauty of art... the beauty that resides in the eye of the beholder.  But when a critic starts going on and on about "what the artist is trying to say" and the artist isn't around anymore, well, that gets to be a bit too much.

So, angered by some idiot know it all, I created this idea.   I was going to have all the balloons be famous cartoon characters, and have the wagon represent my career, and my desire to get syndicated... a desire that obviously has yet to 'get off the ground'.  I was going to put the meaning into the cartoon, quite deliberately, and debunk it, as I'm doing now. :0)

I tossed the idea aside, for obvious reasons, but brought it back now on it's own merit.  The Inquiring Minds is about childhood.... especially the hopes and dreams and excitement of being young enough to believe, if even for a second, that balloons can carry you into the sky.

Cheers,    JOHN :0)
PS What I'm listening to? Andi Starr, of course. :0)

Art Preceding Life, and Vice Versa!

[updated:  all strips added]



I posted last about Snowie, the latest addition to the Knight and Day comic strip.  When she arrived at my doorstep, I asked for advice from my facebook friends, and immediately got requests for her to join the strip.  Who am I to argue, I thought, and Snowie joined the cast.

Now, at this moment in time I happen to be extremely busy, what with the taxes, and a new freelance project, so I drew some Snowie toons from life, and what was happening.  Then, recently, I sat down with my project notebook to see my To Do list.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw that I was kind of heading in this direction on my own. :0)

Yeah, I know... it's hard to surprise yourself, but hey, I said I've been busy!  And besides, my project notebook is full of scribblings, sketches, and thoughts... many of which may never become cartoons.  Still, it was funny to find a page of notes for Knight and Day, all dealing with Iris wanting a cat, and getting... something different.  Funny, and useful!

This actually solves my problem of continuity, by giving me a transition from pre-Snowie to Snowie.   Eventually there will be another Knight and Day collection which, generally, follows my drawing order, but sometimes involves strips being shifted around for a variety of reasons, mainly that they make better reading in a new order.  Also, truth be told, I sometimes draw strips 'out of order', either because I need to draw a certain strip first so I can establish the scene visually, or just because one strip seems more fun to draw and I don't want to wait.

So, anyway, here are a few of those pre-Snowie strips.  Once we get these told, we can go back to telling Snowie's story.

Cheers,    JOHN :0)

PS By the way, if there is anything you particularly want me to write about, feel free to let me know.  I sometimes wonder if I should do more basic Cartooning posts, or more advanced?  Meanwhile, I'll try to keep a good mix. :0)

Cartooning 101: The Process

I do mostly Illustration work for a Client of mine, but I had started out doing cartoons for them, namely Safety Manuals in comic book form.  Now, I am an Artist, so love creating in different media, and really enjoy the fact that I get paid to do so.  However, as you may well know, I have a definite soft spot for cartooning.

Recently, in finishing the art for our bi-annual magazine, I was asked by the designers to come up with an illustration for dunnage.  Dunnage is basically packing material used for large scale shipping... as in cargo ships.  Technically, to those in the shipping business, dunnage may be interesting.  Realistically, it is not.  No one, as far as I know, has created fine art where the subject is dunnage. 

Now, Artists need to eat, and buy art supplies, so most of us do not turn down any opportunity.  However, on the subject of illustrating packing material, I told my Client honestly, that I saw no way to create art about dunnage, and make it interesting. I mean, the object of magazine art is to grab the Reader's attention as they're flipping through the pages, and make them stop long enough to appreciate the art and be inspired to read the article.  I did not see that happening in this case.

So, from the figures accompanying this post, you are guessing that I came up with the brilliant idea of using a cartoon for this subject?  Well, not right away.  I actually did a bad thing, and changed the subject, ignored the request, and knowing that the deadline was passing quickly, figured the idea would be dropped, or forgotten. I do not recommend this technique to you!  In my defense, we were past the deadline, and there were several other pieces to create.  I was up every night from 1 to 4 in the morning for a week past the initial deadline, trying to finish enough art for the magazine to be it's best.

The subject of dunnage, however, returned.  And returned.  I couldn't blow it off forever, so it haunted me until it hit me one night, tossing an turning, the above idea for a cartoon.  Many a creative person will tell you that a little alcohol and some tossing and turning in bed, mixed with the desperation of a deadline, can be inspiring.

Right.  Another Yes-it-can-work-but-there-are-no-guarantees idea.  Actually, a good night's sleep and a sober head should be great for ideas, but when the first deadline passes, and the second deadline passes, and you haven't slept for a week and you need a fine beer to relax, well.. sometimes you get lucky.  You also get ideas like The Statue of David, A Blowup Doll, and a Traffic Cone, which can make you shudder in horror in the golden light of daytime.

Then again... I would never have come up with the Statue of David being packaged for shipping over a cup of coffee.  And honestly, I like it.  David is recognizable to most people, not because of the fine workmanship, but for his nudity, unfortunately, but still, recognizable is good.  The blowup doll, and traffic cone are just funny, especially when mixed with a beach ball, a bucket, and some bags of garbage!

So, the process.  Normally I would come up with a few ideas, but the great fear that my Client was going to make me illustrate dunnage made me crank this out on paper (figure 1) in 5 seconds flat, scan it, and email it within 45 seconds of completion.  Lucky for me the Client liked it.

I then made a more detailed sketch (figure 2) which I then emailed to the Client.  He had already given the go ahead, but trust me.... Clients are busy people, and you want to make sure that they know there is a blow up doll in your cartoon BEFORE the issue goes to print.  Once you have the go ahead, you're safe.  If the subject comes up later, you can pray that the words "But you said it was okay!" will save your job.

Finally, I ink the piece, adding a few extras like the rat, and scan it in.  Color and cleanup on the computer, in Adobe Photoshop, and et voila!  A creative solution to illustrating dunnage.

Now, I consider myself blessed and fortunate that I was able to create a cartoon for a serious magazine. Honestly, I wasn't sure my Client would allow such a thing, but here is a very important lesson!

It doesn't hurt to ask.

Half of my Career has come about from me making suggestions or offering alternatives to the status quo.  And in this case I was able to come full circle, and revisit some beloved characters, by drawing a cartoon.

For me that was a thrill that you just can't pay for.

Thanks for reading,    JOHN :0)

PS on my iPod, The Who, Who's Next.  Why did it take me 29 years to buy this album?