I started my odyssey into learning cartoons in the late '90's. I hadn't a clue what was to come. Before I embarked upon this mysterious venture, I decided it would be to my advantage to talk to America's most visible cartoonists. I was surprised how many of them were open and available to speak with me were. Fortunately, I was both too young and naive to know NOT to bother the masters. I was able to track down "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz through his art dealer, Marc Cohen. When 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 exactly what I needed to know. My "cartoon philosophy" had begun. It has since evolved, but I can look back and easily see Schulz knew "what was to come" in the world of cartooning. He knew the Internet was the key as was/is merchandising.
Why did Schulz become a cartoonist? Like me, hed tried just about everything else and didnt do it very well. I asked him if there was any money to be made in such a venture. I could almost see his smile on the other side of the line. 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 licensed merchandise, such as tees, caps, mugs, etc. He told me he made millions more in licensing than in publishing.
I told him I did not draw very well (which is true) and, that I wanted to try something very new and different. 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 second or two to get it.
Schulz assured me that nearly 20% of all cartoons we see in the newspapers 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, which was a bit flattering to say the least.
I also spoke with several other cartoonists, most of whom created in the same genre as Gary Larsons Far Side, such as Leigh Rubin (Rubes), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), and Jon McPherson (Close To Home). I was amazed, again, at how open and available they made themselves. In fact Leigh and I became good friends and talked regularly on the phone. He was already one of the worlds leading cartoonists, and I was just starting. That didnt matter to him. I 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 had an uncanny biting wit, often held back in Peanuts, even though it was always funny, was meant for family audiences, his target. In real life, he displayed a sense humor that reminded me a great deal of some of my British favorites such as John Cleese of Monty Python.
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.
Pragmatic advice is hard to find. How did "Sparky" know the Internet was changing? How did he know it would change how we perceived cartooning? I knew about "vision" and that some people "saw" things others could not, but could he be this brilliant? He was. 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 world's top illustrators of cartoons. I wrote/they rendered.
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 "make it" 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 "something creative" 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.
Why did Schulz become a cartoonist? Like me, hed tried just about everything else and didnt do it very well. I asked him if there was any money to be made in such a venture. I could almost see his smile on the other side of the line. 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 licensed merchandise, such as tees, caps, mugs, etc. He told me he made millions more in licensing than in publishing.
I told him I did not draw very well (which is true) and, that I wanted to try something very new and different. 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 second or two to get it.
Schulz assured me that nearly 20% of all cartoons we see in the newspapers 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, which was a bit flattering to say the least.
I also spoke with several other cartoonists, most of whom created in the same genre as Gary Larsons Far Side, such as Leigh Rubin (Rubes), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), and Jon McPherson (Close To Home). I was amazed, again, at how open and available they made themselves. In fact Leigh and I became good friends and talked regularly on the phone. He was already one of the worlds leading cartoonists, and I was just starting. That didnt matter to him. I 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 had an uncanny biting wit, often held back in Peanuts, even though it was always funny, was meant for family audiences, his target. In real life, he displayed a sense humor that reminded me a great deal of some of my British favorites such as John Cleese of Monty Python.
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.
Pragmatic advice is hard to find. How did "Sparky" know the Internet was changing? How did he know it would change how we perceived cartooning? I knew about "vision" and that some people "saw" things others could not, but could he be this brilliant? He was. 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 world's top illustrators of cartoons. I wrote/they rendered.
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 "make it" 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 "something creative" 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.
About the Author:
Rick London Founded the Internet's #1 ranked Offbeat Cartoon, Londons Times & numerous peripheral stores featuring Cartoon Collectibles
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