Using A Picture To Get Ideas

Only in Monaco…

I came across an article about a guy in Monaco who managed to get an old Porsche racing car licensed for the road. I won’t go into the exact shennanigans he had to go through to do so, but he ended up using some obscure loophole.

The Porsche 917 was designed to win the win the Le Mans 24 hour race which it did so, and was never intended to be driven on the road. When I was the above photo, I was really intrigued by the incongruity between the sleek racing machine and the everyday road traffic.

I put the photo in the middle of a blank page and then started brainstorming idea associated with it. I liked the idea of the racing driver having changed careers and it was then the delivery business struck me. I liked the absurdity of the totally impractical racing car being using to cart things around.

Here’s the finished cartoon.

Over To You:

Try this idea-generating technique out with a photo that catches your eye. As you write down possible ideas, don’t pause to think about them - just write whatever pops into your mind. You can even pose some questions about the picture as well, like I did in the above example.

Leading The Viewer’s Eye

In this article I”m going to talk through the steps in creating this cartoon and also show how I used a few devices in the drawing to help lead the viewer’s eye.

Above is the completed cartoon, I’ll now go through all the stages leading up to it.

Here’s the initial sketch. The idea was to have Nessie appearing in the background, with the angler completely oblivious to it.

As you can see, I’ve now coloured in the characters. I used digital water colour for this, and for the background as well.

I’ve now started to add in the background colour.

Adding more tones to the water.

Adding shading and hatching to the characters. I like the ‘double-whammy’ effect of using hatching on top of shading.

Finally, I’ve made some of the outlines a bit bolder.

Now let’s have a look at how I wanted to lead the viewer’s eye towards Nessie.

1. The tree branch points towards Nessie.

2. The ‘V’ of the mountains guides the eye downwards.

3. The red posts on Nessie help to catch attention.

4. The fishing rod and

5. keepnet handle point towards her.

6. The dog’s attention points towards her.

Three Different Dog Walking Poses

Someone paid attention at dog obedience classes.

This article follows on from the previous one on ‘How to draw someone walking a dog’.

You can see in the above image that the dog is walking nicely along at heel, but let’s now look at three other dog-walking poses that can add a bit more variety and action into scenes.

What’s going on over there?

You can see in this one that the dog is now straining on the lead, perhaps wanting to shoot off towards whatever exciting thing is going on ahead, perhaps dragging his owner after him.

You can now see with the help of the red lines how the dog leaning forwards is emphasised - his whole body is urging him in that direction.

Hello!

The nightmare situation for many dog owners - their pet learning up at someone.

Again, the red lines show the motion of the dog, and the woman leaning back trying to counter-act.

In full flight!

A very cartoony pose, this one! The dog is now in hot pursuit of something, and the owner is along for the ride - or should that be flight?

Absolutely everyone in the scene is moving in the same direction.

How To Draw Someone Walking A Dog

“Hmm...this doesn’t quite look right...I got the hang of drawing a walking dog before, but portraying someone walking the dog is proving to be tricky....”

If you’ve read any previous articles, then you may already have encountered Shelley the scribbler and her attempts at cartooning.

Today she was trying to draw someone walking a dog and it wasn’t turning out right.

This follows on from the previous ‘How to draw a walking dog’, if you haven’t read it, you can check it out here. [link]

By the end you will be able to...

By the end of this article you will be able to draw someone walking a dog.

We’re going to do this with the help of Cynthia and Rex the Spaniel.

Introducing Cynthia and Rex the Spaniel

Observe

First of all, before we get started drawing, let’s take a look at how someone actually walks a dog. Of course you could immediately google it, but it’s fun to try and observe in real life first.

If, like myself, you don’t have a dog, then start paying attention to people in your neighborhood as they’re out walking their pooch.

I’ve just realised that I have an ever-so-slight resemblance to Cynthia in this pic...

Just before I started writing this, I went out for a stroll around the neighbourhood. It was raining lightly, so I took an umbrella with. I met a chap out walking a pair of miniature Schnauzers. The dogs were friendly at first, but went I bent over to pat on on the head, it started growling at me. It turned out that the dog didn’t like umbrellas. After the owner had explained that to me, and I had taken down the umbrella, the dog lightened up and we got along.

If there are no dogs being walked nearby or it’s the middle of the night as you read this, or whatever then try a YouTube video, but don’t go shown the YouTube sinkhole of clicking on video after video!

In a previous article, I showed an image showing the stages of how a dog walks. I think it’s worth having another look at it here.

Here’s the image that we’re going to recreate.

We’re now going to look at the elements of the cartoon one-by-one, as it’s easier to draw them separately.

If you are drawing digitally then it’s easy to create different layers for the dog and the walker.

If you are drawing on paper, then you can practice drawing them separately first and then draw them together for the final version. Outline the dog and walker in pencil first, and then erase any overlapping lines.

Let’s start with the dog walker.

You can copy this picture of Cynthia or use another picture of a person walking.

We’re going to follow a three-step process to practice drawing the walker.

1. Trace the picture.

First trace it nice and slowly, pay attention while you are tracing.

Now trace it again, this time do it more quickly.

Trace one last time, doing it as quickly as possible.

2. Copy the picture

Next copy the picture.

Again, start off nice and slowly, take your time.

Now draw it again, this time more quickly.

Draw it one last time.

Draw it one last time, do a lightning sketch.

3. Draw from memory.

Now go and make a cup of tea or coffee.

Now try and draw your walker from memory.

Next draw it again...and again...

Now we’re going to draw the dog using the same three-step process.

Once you have a version of the walker and dog that you are happy with, you can put them together.

Once you have a version of the walker and dog that you are happy with, you can put them together.

Now that you’ve drawn the basic pose you could think about how you can make your dog a bit more cartoony? What features could you exaggerate?

Remember that exaggeration is a key part of achieving a comic effect.

You could also try drawing the same pose again but with some different dog breeds.

Here are a few you can reference.

Note that some of them have shorter legs or different shaped torsos, but the basic idea is the same.

Of course this is a cartoon, so you’re welcome to experiment with a more cartoony, and less realistic feel.

Trick: Build up a library of different poses you can refer to. This is particularly useful if you’ve already started to develop your own style, as the reference pictures will begin your style as opposed to a photo or someone else’s.

Gags

Okay, now we’ve done the basics of someone walking a dog, let’s have some fun thinking up some ideas for cartoons.

Here are some questions to ask:

-The dog and walking nicely along now, but what could interrupt this peaceful scene

-They say that owners start to resemble their pets....what do you think?

-As Rex is a Spaniel, is there any way you could reflect that in Cynthia, for example by changing her hair or her clothes?

How To Draw A Walking Dog

Or from bandy-legged Basset hounds to perfectly pawed pooches.

Shelley was somewhat frustrated. Her dogs weren’t exactly turning out the way that she hoped. She could get the heads and bodies okay, but when she came to draw them walking they didn’t quite turn out right.

Maybe you’ve had similar problems yourself.

Well, today we’re going to look at how to draw a walking dog.

By the end you will be able to...

…draw a variety of different dogs walking in a natural pose.

Observe

You’ll soon realise that dogs have a certain way of walking and what would look unnatural - like this chap here.

First of all, before we get started drawing, let’s take a look at how a dog actually walks. Of course you could immediately google it, but it’s fun to try and observe in real life first.

If you’ve got a dog of your own, then you have plenty of chances to observe how a dog walks.

If, like myself, you don’t have a dog, then start paying attention to people in your neighborhood as they’re out walking their pooch. It’s a good way to get to know people as well, as dog walkers are often a friendly bunch, provided of course that their dog actually likes you.

Now if you can’t do that, then try a YouTube video, but don’t go shown the YouTube sinkhole of clicking on video after video!

The stages of a dog walking

Now let’s have a look at all the stages of how a dog walks.

This old illustration of a Fox Terrier helps tp show how it walks in nine simple diagrams.

Let’s get drawing! First of all, find a picture of a dog you like.

Alternatively, you can use this one.

We’re going to follow the set of three principle.

1. Trace the picture.

First trace it nice and slowly, pay attention while you are tracing.

Now trace it again, this time do it more quickly.

Trace one last time, doing it as quickly as possible.

2. Copy the picture

Next copy the picture.

Again, start off nice and slowly, take your time.

Now draw it again, this time more quickly.

Draw it one last time.

Draw it one last time, do a lightning sketch.

3. Draw from memory.

Now go and make a cup of tea or coffee.

Now try and draw your walking dog from memory.

Next draw it again...and again...

Now how could you make your dog a bit more cartoony? What features could you exaggerate?

Remember that exaggeration is a key part of achieving a comic effect.

Now let’s draw that same pose with some different dog breeds.

Here are a few you can reference.

Note that some of them have shorter legs or different shaped torsos, but the basic idea is the same.

Of course this is a cartoon, so you’re welcome to experiment with a more cartoony, and less realistic feel.

A library of Labs?

As you start to draw dog pics that you are happy with, you can slowly build up a library of different poses you can refer to. I am also a huge fan of recycling previous drawings into new cartoons.

You could build up a reference sheet like the one above.

Gags

Time to think up a few canine cracks or some fido funnies…

Okay, now we’ve done the basics of how to draw a dog walking, let’s have some fun thinking up some ideas for cartoons.

Here are some questions to ask:

-Where is the dog going?

-Where is the owner?

-What might the dog be thinking?

-Could you add a simple background to the scene? If so, what?

-Could you add a bizarre element to the cartoon?

For more dog dotiness, along with a host of other creatures….sign-up for the Cartoon Newsletter below.

Vary Your Diet

Dietary advice for goats? 

Some New Gerald Pics From The Idea-Nator Course

Here are some pics created to illustrate week six of the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’.

Gerald at the Florist

Gerald has snuck Into the florist’s shop again.....but something else is sneaking up on him...

Drawing A Willow Tree

I was recently asked about drawing trees by one of the students on the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’. I’m no expert at drawing trees, but I thought I would break down the process of drawing a willow tree that featured in a cartoon I drew earlier this year. 

I hope this is of use.

Another Mind Map for the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’

Here’s another mind map I came up with to generate some ideas for ‘Rainy Season’. This mind map was part of the materials created for the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’.

Mind Map for the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’

Here’s a quick mind map I out together as part of the materials for the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’. Next week we’re focusing on using mind maps and brainstorming to generate potential ideas for cartoons. 

20 Questions With Randy Glasbergen

I recently came across this interview posted on : 

http://scottnickel.blogspot.com/2009/09/20-questions-with-randy-glasbergen.html

I’m currently running the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’. During the first week the students had to post some of their favourite cartoons, and seeing as Glasbergen featured a few times I thought this might be of interest. 

Glasbergen’s site can be found here: 

 https://www.glasbergen.com/

1. When you were a kid, did you want to be a cartoonist? Did you draw?

When I was a kid, I was always drawing. At first I copied characters from TV (Popeye, Hanna-Barbara and Jay Ward stuff) then I drew lots of Batman and Superman for a while. When I was around 14 (1971), I became more serious about becoming a cartoonist and started writing to my favorite cartoonists for advice and received many great replies. (Many years later, this was the inspiration for my book "How To Be A Successful Cartoonist") I tried gag cartooning around this time and started selling cartoons to many magazines when I was 15 years old, including Saturday Evening Post, Kipplinger's,Changing Times, Sports Afield, Good Housekeeping and Saturday Review. I also had my first children's book (Ickle McNoo) published around this time, copies of which can be found on eBay.

2. What was your first paying cartoon job?

My first published cartoon appeared in the New York State Conservationist magazine at age 14. My first paid cartoon was to Cartoon Carnival magazine for $5. (Trash collector to smirking dog: "Stop calling me a junkie!")

 3. How did you get involved with the syndicated strip, THE BETTER HALF?
In the late 1970's I had a contract with Rupert Murdoch's syndicate (Murdoch News Service) for a panel called HOWIE, which appeared in a number of papers at that time. That syndicate folded and was acquired by The Register & Tribune Syndicate, which was a major syndicate at that time with FAMILY CIRCUS, SPIDER-MAN and other successful strips.

In the early 1980s, when RTS was ready to hire a new cartoonist for THE BETTER HALF, they knew my work well from the HOWIE panel and hired me based on that. I was in my early 20's and had virtually no time to prepare and had to hit the ground running almost immediately.

The early cartoons were awful (in my opinion) but I've gradually evolved TBHalf into something that is uniquely my own, not an imitation of another cartoonist's art or gags.

King Features syndicates THE BETTER HALF now and it's recently begun appearing in a large number of online newspapers where it's often ranked as one of the most popular strips and panels.

4. You’re one of the industry’s most prolific gag cartoonists. What’s your secret?

Ask any active freelancer like Harley Schwadron, Marty Bucella, Rex (Baloo) May or Mark (Andertoons) Anderson, and they'll probably tell you they draw 5-10 cartoons a day. It's not that uncommon. I average 6-8 cartoons a day, 5-6 days a week for a total of 30-45 cartoons per week, some for syndication, some for my website and freelance submissions.

Working at home, I have two flights of stairs for my commute and no coworkers to distract me or waste my time, so staying busy and keeping organized is fairly easy for me.

5. What’s your favorite rejected strip or gag?

If I have a favorite cartoon, I'll publish it on my website.

6. Where do you stand in the print comics vs. web comics debate?

Print or web makes no difference to me. I do both. My web comics eventually become print comics and my print comics usually spend some time on the web. I don't see any great wall between the two.

7. Newspaper comics are considered pretty tame compared to TV and other media. Do you find this limiting or is it a welcome challenge?

This can be frustrating, especially when a word like "damn" would add some needed punch to a gagline. On the other hand, I purposely push the envelope a little bit with THE BETTER HALF with quite a bit of sexy banter between the two, physical affection, intimate talk...but without any of it being crude.

People who are unfamiliar with TBHalf assume it's a LOCKHORNS clone, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Lockhorns seem to despise each other, but THE BETTER HALF characters are as frisky as a couple can be trapped inside depressing middle-aged bodies.

On my website, I will be a bit more liberal with those cartoons, but I'm still careful not to offend anyone. My job is to entertain, not offend. Plus it's harder to sell a cartoon that offends and that is always a major consideration.

 8. Name five of your favorite cartoonists.

Several cartoonists influenced me when I was getting started, among them Sam Gross, Dik Browne, Virgil Partch, Roger Bollen, Bob Weber, Russell Myers Charlie Rodrigues. Most of all, I was influenced by New Yorker cartoonist Henry Martin, not so much by his art but I loved his gags. Anybody who doesn't know his work should check eBay or maybe the archives of The Cartoon Bank online.

9. Should the Lockhorns try open marriage to spice up their relationship?

No comment.

10. How do you develop ideas? Which comes first, words or pictures?

Sometimes I write at the computer, looking at other cartoons or doing some sort of research online to stimulate ideas. For example, if I'm working on dog cartoons I'll Google "dogs" and see what pops up to help me get some ideas. Other times, I'll sit down with a yellow legal pad and a copy of Gag Recap and work until I get about 10 ideas (this usually takes 60-90 minutes). I usually write from 10:00 to 11:30 each morning, sometimes in my studio and other times out on our sunporch during good weather.

11. Do you ever worry about running out of ideas?

How can you run out of ideas? There are 10 billion words in the dictionary and each word can be the basis for a new gag. Cartoons grow from magazine articles, newspaper articles, conversations, observations, the sources are endless.

Each night at dinner I ask my wife, "Did you bring home a good work story?" and that often inspires a gag or two.

When I was starting out, Johnny Hart advised me to "Think Funny" and that may be the best advice I ever got.

 12. What’s more important, raw talent or perseverance?
I don't know.

13. What kind of editor do you prefer, hands-on or laissez-faire?

I don't know. I took Spanish in high school. Ask my wife, she took French.

14. What are your favorite books, TV shows, songs and films? (Yes, that counts as one question.)

This question can probably be answered best by a quick visit to my Facebook or MySpace pages.

I like old Woody Allen movies, Marx Brothers, all of those movies with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Paker Posey, etc. I like Steve Martin's essays from The New Yorker.

I mostly read biographies and nonfiction books. And I love listening to Tiffany Granath on Sirius radio every afternoon...she always cracks me up, like a female Howard Stern...it's an "adult" program, but it's okay because I'm an adult.

15. What are your tools of the trade?

I work with very simple tools: heavy weight bond typing paper, Flair felt tip pens, a bottle of Liquid Paper and some Sharpies. After I draw my cartoons on a huge oak drawing table, I scan them into Photoshop on my Mac to colorize, digitize, etc. The computer has revolutionized both the art and business of cartooning. At least 95% of my sales come via computer now instead of the old method of putting cartoons in the mail for editors to review.

 16. What’s the best part about being a cartoonist?
I like working in my pajamas half the day. I like having my dogs in the office with me. I enjoy the work and the business. I like interacting with new customers all day on the computer. I like the excitement of making a new sale or landing a cool project. I like the income potential of being a freelancer, not having the limitations of a salary. I like not having to deal with office politics or annoying coworkers. I like being able to watch TV while I draw. I like getting to the end of my work day wishing I had more time to get things done instead of staring at a clock in somebody's office aching for 5:00 to come so I can go home.

17. Have you met any of your cartoonist idols? Under what circumstances?

One of the first cartoonists I met was a hero of mine. When I saw him get out of a crummy rusty old car, it shattered a lot of my illusions about the profession. Until then, Cartoonist Profiles had convinced me that cartoonists were all rich guys who played golf all day in Connecticut. Some of my early heroes have called me up years later to ask me for advice -- that's the greatest feeling in the world.

18. What advice would you give aspiring cartoonists?

My advice to aspiring cartoonists is the same advice they get from Nike: "Just Do It." You'll learn as you go, trial and error, practice makes perfect. You can't force it or will it, you just have to DO it. You have to take action, not just talk about it or daydream about it. Take some kind of
action every day that will bring you closer to your goals...do SOMETHING.

19. How important are awards?

If I had some awards they would probably mean more to me than they do now.

20. What’s something that nobody knows about you?

I buy all that "As Seen On TV" crap. As a joke, I ordered a whole bunch of that stuff to give my brother and his wife for Christmas, Sham Wow, Miracle Knives, Mighty Putty, The Clapper, The Ov Glove, and lots more, all of it carefully researched online.

During my research, I learned that most of that stuff actually works very well. Since then, I'm hooked.

Making Outlines Bolder

Here’s a cartoon with the initial digital pencil outline still in place. 

I’ve now duplicated the same digital pencil layer to make it bolder. 

I’ve now added a October layer with some additional inking to increase the boldness.

Complete the Cartoon!

Here’s a blank template for a cartoon set in a restaurant.

What can you add to the scene to complete it?

Think about: 

-the diner/s

-waiter/waitress

-what’s one the table? 

-if there anything unsual going on in the scene? 

-Is the chef lurking in the background? 

-any creatures? 

Video for the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’

Here’s a brief video I put together talking through generating some ideas for a blank train scene. 

A New Illustration for the ‘Idea-Nator - Cartoon Ideas Course’

Word of the Day - “Calm”

Quick Tip for Procreate - Using the Eraser

If you are wondering why you have to swipe over an area two or three times to fully erase something, then there are a couple of things to check.

1. Check the brush opacity. 

If it’s not at 100%, then it won’t fully erase the area. 

2. Change the brush you’re using for an eraser. 

Some brushes are a lot more effective than others. Check around and find one that works for you. 

Drawing ‘Charging’

This was a cartoon that I drew for a ‘Word-of-the-Day’ challenge that I do as part of a cartooning group I’m in. The word concerned was ‘electric’, and for some reason an electric eel popped into my head and refused to budge.

I couldn’t quite come up  with a suitable gag, although I was determined that I was going to include the eel in some way. When I was back teaching at school, I noticed a couple fo the students plugging their phones in to recharge, and that made me think about how could you recharge your phone if you were stuck in the middle of nowhere?

1. Here is the completed cartoon, now I’ll go through some of the steps in creating it.

2. Outline of the characters. I had an idea for the layout of the picture, but thought I’d draw the characters first and then reposition them later. I haven’t added her eye pupils yet, as I sometimes leave them  until last in case I want to reposition the characters and change the direction her eyes are looking  in.

3. Adding the background outline.  

4. Colouring the characters. I used digital oil paint in Procreate for nearly all of the colouring.

5. Colouring the background. As I’m working in layers, I’ll probably copy and paste this layer again so as to increase the intensity of the tones.

6. Adding the water. I’ve been using the digital oil paint in Procreate a lot recently to create water effects.

7. Adding shadow, increasing the depth of the picture.

8. The completed cartoon again. I doubled some of the colour layers so that the tones increased in intensity. I also tidied up the picture a bit, and finally got around to adding her eyes.

Word of the Day - ‘Stormy’

Here’s another one from the ‘Word-of-the-Day’ challenge that I do as part of a cartooning group. 

The background is one that I’ve used a couple of times previously. I’m a big fan of recycling and trying to come up with a new idea to go with favourite backgrounds. I also like to take a character and use it again with a completely different background. 

I used mainly the oil paint and turpentine brushes in Procreate, as I wanted to get a sort of streakiness to the colour to show the wetness of the situation.