Hola Night Owls & Early Birds
Tonight’s Essential Cartoon brings back the Cats! I had this idea left over from the Cat Week marathon.
Today also marks 11 months — 1 more month to go to complete a full year’s worth of daily cartoons. Over the past couple weeks I have been thinking of ways to adjust my daily cartoon schedule. I have learned tons over the past 11 months, for sure, and improved. And during this challenge I came to meet myself on more than one occasion, as I struggled and pushed forward to complete my daily cartoon in all types of emotional, physical and psychological weather.
Doing a cartoon a day is a great challenge and extremely rewarding with lots of positives — but one negative that I come up against, like with last night’s cartoon, is the need for more time to hone the dialogue.
Yesterday’s cartoon idea came to me on the drive to work. In my head I concocted the dialogue and rearranged it for best punchline impact. Later, I jotted it down as a reminder. Then while drawing and lettering the cartoon, I changed the dialogue at the very last second, thinking it would sound better. Once completed, I realized my original dialogue was stronger.
From past experience, when I have a few days to play around with the dialogue, I have a better chance at building a stronger joke. I can come back to it the next day, re-read it with fresh eyes, hear the words in my head, see if I stumble or get stuck on any particular part, explore other word choices, even map out how the words should be written down for ease of reading.
We’ll see. Just some things to think about. I look at these past 11 months of cartoons as homework. And by continuing to do the homework, I get better at the craft.
Plus it’s lots of fun!
And hard work, too.
Good night, Gracie.
Until mañana . . .
Enjoy!
Ian S.
Salinas!
P.S.
“No rulers were harmed during the making of this cartoon.”
“Let’s still be careful out there.”