Why Cartooning?

For me, cartooning and making comic strips is a great creative outlet.  Creating a cartoon drawing and/or comic strip story from scratch is a challenge and is usually (but not always) great fun.  In many ways it's like movie making except on a much smaller scale.  You have the power to control how every scene looks, who the "actors" for each scene will be and what the dialogue for each of the characters will be.  You are the director, producer, and all of the actors all rolled up in one!

Because comic strips are assembled in "panels," each one must carefully thought out beforehand so you will have continuity and a coherent story for readers to follow.  One of difficulties is making the cartoon characters appear similar when drawing them for each individual panel.  Creating facial expressions and different body poses for each scene can be quite a challenge.  Creating the dialogue can also be a difficult task because there are only so many words you can fit into a "speech balloon" for each cartoon character.

Most of the cartooning and comic strips I create rely on the use of comic strip software and photo imaging software for making and altering the characters and elements of my cartoon panels. Drawing cartoons completely freehand is time consuming and it is difficult to say the least to produce top notch drawings.  It takes years of experience and dedication to do that. The software and drawing methods I use greatly speeds up the process allowing me to plan and complete a typical two to four panel comic strip in just a few hours.  I consider digital creation the "modern way" to create comic strips rather old school drawing techniques, which is a separate craft altogether.

So why do I make cartoons?  In some ways, it's addictive. I love making comic strips and telling stories with them.  In the cold winter months spent in the Northeast, cartooning and comic strip making is one of my ways to deal with the winter blues.  And for the rest of the year--it's just great fun.  I love cartooning!