In early 1997, I became a cartoonist. Sort of. Before I started this cartoon journey, might be helpful to know what I was doing. Finding someone like Charles Schulz was not an easy matter for someone like me at the time who knew nobody in the business. But I felt andquot;why not start at the top and work my way downandquot;? I found a friend of his willing to ask him if we might chat a moment. He surprisingly agreed. It felt andquot;awesomeandquot; that other top cartoonists also agreed to wield andquot;trade secretsandquot; with me. Fortunately, I was both too young and naive to know NOT to bother the masters. So when Charles Schulz picked up his phone, I started asking the five journalistic Ws (Who, what, when, why, and where). His (and others) advice turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I was starting to wax philosophically regarding just what andquot;this business of cartooningandquot; was really about.

Schulz went into cartooning because in his words andquot;I tried a lot of other things and couldn't do them very wellandquot;. I could easily identify. I asked him if there was a way to make a living in cartooning. There was a long pause. He assured me there was plenty, but not to expect it in newspapers. He told me that even if you do get syndicated, the money is still just pennies per newspaper and that the smart way to approach it, that is, to look at it as a career, is image merchandising, that is, reproducing images on such gifts and collectibles as coffee mugs, aprons, T-shirts and the like.

My artistic skills are mediocre at best and I told him so. I added that my vision was to create a cartoon that had the same offbeat type humor as Gary Larson, but with a more artistic flair, not as andquot;cartoonyandquot;; It was to be a color cartoon in which the artwork, for the most part was more fine art than cartoon art, and that I wanted a different look and feel to each cartoon, but a theme, focused on wordplay and picture-play in which, at times, the viewer might have to take a few moments before the andquot;ahaandquot; effect came, that is, if the viewer so desired (to actually like the cartoon).

He told me that a large percentage cartoons are team efforts that is, an artist and writer, and that if I did not feel my own artwork was up to snuff, to recruit an artist to draw my concepts. He also encouraged me to read as much as I could about Walt Disney because what I was about to attempt was actually a Disney model without animation; he actually called it Disney meets Gary Larson. I was and still am flattered.

After these incredible conversations with Charles Schulz, I started getting other points of view from other cartoonists who I felt andquot;had arrivedandquot;. Most worked in similar genres as The Far Side, such as Leigh Rubin (Rubes), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), and Jon McPherson (Close To Home). I was astonished at their openness. Leigh Rubin and I became good friends and talked quite a bit. He seemed to lead me the rest of the way regarding the andquot;business side of cartooningandquot;. He had become syndicated worldwide, with several published books, and he did not seem to mind that I was just beginning. He simply had/has a big heart. will never forget that kind of generosity and his willingness to lead me in a direction that made it work for me. And of course the same is true for Charles Sparky Schulz (Sparky by the way was what he liked to be called. That was the name of his favorite dog, a Schnauzer; and I knew I liked him right away. I have a tendency to hang with fellow animal lovers, and Schulz also talked with a tremendous splattering of witty banter; a type I didn't often see through the eyes of Snoopy, which was meant for family viewers. Schulz had a sense humor that seemed more Monty Python-ish.

There seemed to be a common thread regarding the philosophy of cartooning, amongst all of the masters. That is, Sure, you must make a living in this world, but keep the day job. Cartooning is a labor of love, and, only 1% or so actually end up doing it for a living. One must approach it with a very open mind and a love for making people laugh, and to be flexible, as the Internet at the time, was changing the whole nature of the cartoon business.

All of this advice turned out to be pragmatic. The Internet changed everything. Licensed merchandise became even more of the key to making it work than Sparky Schulz had felt; and he had seen it coming. Today, though my cartoons appear in publications worldwide; mostly trade magazines, college textbooks and on websites, the majority of my take is from the sales of funny gifts and collectibles. When I look back over the past twelve years it has all becomes a blur. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the finest illustrators in the world, who could comprehend and render my concepts and writings, Thinking back to the words of the cartoon masters it is still a labor of love.

By a luck of the draw (no pun intended), I have been one of the few (of which Schulz and the others had told me) who has been able to andquot;make itandquot; in the world of humor and cartoons. I know though, that even if I had not been one of the lucky ones, I would still be doing andquot;something creativeandquot; as that temptation never is diffused. It becomes as if to be an appendage, and, it gives one the thought, that, even if not so, if one person laughed, the purveyor of the humor left the world a bit nicer and more peaceful.

Add Your Picture

Article Submitted By: RickLondon
This Article Has Been Read 110 Times

---

Remember: The article body, title, author bio and links may not be changed or removed. By publishing this article, you agree to all the terms in our Terms of Service.
Get the HTML for reprinting the article to your site

Rating: Not yet rated

--Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5

Creating the perfect Work Space for an Artist

The life of Anthony Thieme

Struggle OF American Women Artists

Cape Ann Art Great Attraction For Artists

How To Locate Art Dealers That Can Help You Develop Your Collection

A New Philosophy Of Cartooning

---