Next Thursday is my first Office Hours. It is a time to talk about visual humor, drawings and cartoons. It’s for people who are working in that world and want to talk about it, maybe also get my thoughts on what they are drawing.
I frankly prefer the word “drawings” rather than “cartoons” because the word “cartoon” carries so much weight, and often puts the form into a box. It puts pressure on the creator to be “funny,” and we often don’t know what that is. It’s not always clear. I know some comics say, “Funny is funny.” I don’t agree. Funny is subjective, and not everyone finds the same things funny. That’s the hard work of drawing or writing humor.
Funny can just be a visual thought that never rose to any kind of “joke.”
That’s why you kind of need to focus on your world. The best drawings you see in The New Yorker, for example, are worlds. It’s true of comics, too. We like certain stand-up comics because we relate to their view of life. That particular artist’s viewpoint, their humor. Not everyone will like everything, but sometimes they do.
Some thoughts:
Draw a lot, every day. Observe, observe, observe. People, culture, politics. Jot things down that amuse you. It could just be a word. Focus on what you think is funny. Listen to yourself. Listen to yourself observing the world.
If you would like to join the Office Hours, our first one is next week, January 26, 6pm EST. Unfortunately, its just for paid subscribers, so you will have to sign up! Once you subscribe, I will send out an email to paid subscribers next week with instructions.
Thank you!
What a wonderful drawing.