Tag: art

Cartoons – The Perfect Holiday Gift

andertoons

I was at the mall the other day and all of the stores had their holiday stuff out.

At first I was indignant. “What the…?! Already? We’re just barely into October!” Then I began to think about putting together gifts for my clients, and almost instantly I went from “too soon” to “OMG! THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!”

After some deep breathing and brainstorming I’m feeling better about the gifts I’ll be sending out, but in case you’re in the same boat I was, might I suggest a novel idea for your holiday giving? Cartoons!

Andertoons.com is now selling both framed hand drawn original art, and premium matted prints of all of my cartoons. They’re the perfect unique gift for that hard to buy for client, co-worker, boss, friend, or family member. And there are thousands to choose from, so you’re sure to find something that’s just right.

Think about it, it’s a piece of art, it’s a conversation piece, and it’s a good laugh to boot. And I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be the only one getting them a cartoon this year.

I’m offering any cartoon in my inventory as both framed hand drawn art and as matted prints. Here’s what they look like and some info on each:

Framed Original Cartoonsframed cartoon

Cartoons are lovingly hand drawn, shaded, captioned and signed in waterproof ink on Borden & Riley 108# archival paper.

Frame: 15-1/2″ x 12-1/2″ Matte Black 1″ Wood Frame

Mat: 9-3/4″ x 7-3/4″ Snowflake White w/ Black Core 4Ply Archival Mat

3/16″ foamboard backing and high quality acrylic

Matted Cartoon Prints

matted cartoon

Cartoons are carefully printed and hand signed on premium 32# paper

Mat: 10″ x 8″ Snowflake White w/ Black Core 4Ply Archival Mat

1/8″ foamboard backing & a crystal clear poly bag

Pricing & Shipping

Pricing is as follows:

  • Matted prints w/ shipping – $25 ea.
  • Framed original art w/ shipping – $100 ea

(Outside the US additional shipping fees will be calculated.)

I’ll be taking orders only until December 1st. All cartoons will arrive the week of December 12.

To order your cartoons, please contact me with what you’d like and anything special you’d like written on the cartoon.

Don’t miss out on this chance to surprise and delight someone on your holiday gift list! Drop me a line and order now.

Stop Making These 5 Common Cartoon Art Mistakes!

andertoons7 Comments

5 Most Common Cartoon Art MistakesMost cartoonists aren’t classically trained artists (myself included), so we tend to learn as we go.

Want to draw like a professional cartoonist quicker? Here’s some common cartoon art errors to avoid:

1) Start with poor writing

So this first one’s not really about the art per se, but if you’re going to draw an entire orchestra staffed with gorillas in Hawaiian shirts, that had better be a really inspired gag.

2) Live in the past

I’m not saying you need to sweat accurately drafting design changes in the latest iPhone vs. the iPhone 3Gs, but drawing a businessman in a fedora chasing his secretary around a giant CRT computer monitor is a sure way to not to sell cartoons.

3) Draw everything and then some

That scalloped rim amber cherry conference table surrounded with chrome trimmed leather lumbar support chairs and a mandaianum fern in the corner sure is fun to draw, but your standard bar graph gag really doesn’t need all that.

One way I’ve found to edit myself is to draw my scene, throwing in whatever I think I need, then drawing one box around what’s important. It forces you to focus on what’ needed for the gag, and not just what you like to draw.

4) Hand hiding

If you can’t draw a decent hand, learn. Stop putting characters’ hand in their pockets. Just stop.

5) Kill your line

Nothing leeches the life out of a line like drawing it over and over and over and over and over until it’s juuuuust right. No one will notice that little imperfection but you, and the loss of that just-dashed-off vibe isn’t worth it.

This is why I still use good old fashioned ink and paper. No undo for little surprises.

Take these to heart the next time you’re at your drafting table and your cartoons will improve dramatically.

What stuff do you avoid when you’re cartooning?

Client Feedback on Great Art

andertoons

Love this post over at Crestock’s blog – 10 Famous Works of Art (with client feedback).

Example:

The_Scream.jpgClient feedback:

From his expression, it’s not totally clear he’s screaming. We showed it to one of our HR girls and she said “It looks like he’s really tired and having a yawn.” So let’s add a voice bubble with text that reads “Nooooooo!” (for the text, use Comic Sans).

See the rest here!