Now I Remember: Cartoonist Ronald Searle

I've been trying to remember a cartoonist I liked years ago, for his pen lines, unique style, and incredibly wrinkly old people.  His lines have an sensitive irregular beauty, like Richard Thompson, Saul Steinberg, and Ralph Steadman.

Well, today I remembered, and looked up Ronald Searle. He is 90 years old, living in France with his wife, and pretty damn chipper for his age, having been using champagne each day for 'lubrication'.

I didn't know that he was captured and held in prison by the Japanese during WWII, and while there, he managed to make marvelous sketches of prison camp conditions, that would be found, even if he didn't make it back alive.  He has been prolific, since selling his first cartoon at the age of fifteen.

So for today, I have no artwork of my own, but recommend checking out one of the greats: Ronald Searle.

Mini-Strip With Giant Robo-Cat

Until I get the proper paper size and board, I will have to to two panel mini-strips, so I can practice working in the roughly 4" height.  Here I have a back-lit panel to start, then the scene at the front desk. This is the first appearance of the hotel manager.  So far he has a light mustache, and a comb-over.  I was going to never have him speak, but that idea has been dismissed.  Why prevent anyone (or thing) from speaking?

I need to get a couple of plastic rulers and ellipse stencils to use as guides. As you can see, I'll need them to draw straight!

The Artist Character - Next Version

The next character I'm 'tackling' is the Artist. This version looks a bit like Andy Warhol, who is actually one of my favorite artists, as he captured the fabricated nature of popular culture that blossomed in the late 1900s. However, I don't plan on my character being Andy; and there may be a slight California surfer aspect to him.

Here are two studies: a head shot for more detail, and a panel to see how he gets drawn into the strip. This version is quite different from my earlier version.

Coincidence? I think NOT!

Just after I posted the last blog, I went to Darrin Bell's site, and saw a link to a video of the very same speaking engagement.  So here is a link for you, if you want to watch what I witnessed on November 12, 2009.  It is the whole presentation, a 74-minute video produced by the Contra Costa County Library, and the Walnut Creek Library Foundation.

http://candorville.com/2010/01/12/darrin-bellstephan-pastis-panel-discussion-video/

Comics More Real

My desire to do a comic strip has been rekindled, because a few months back I went to see two comics artists, Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), and Darrin Bell (Candorville), at an evening speaking event. So in some way I was making the connection between my dream of cartooning, and real cartoonists, and that made my dream more real, and thus realizable.

Anyway, here are some sketches from today ...

First Test (Mini) Strip

Attention deficit tendencies have inspired me to switch from character development to strip development. Basically, I just want to get a sense of the size at which I will be drawing the characters.

Since my style changes with the size and media, I need to work a bit at the actual finish size. After doing the strip, I notice that it does change the look and the style. I also need to work at a speed that suits me, and that too will change the look, too.

Fair warning: the characters will be morphing a tad, as I work through the early stages, and test different looks, even from panel to panel, at first.