Multiple States

These days, I find my work exits in multiple states in different mediums. This is exhilarating and at times exhausting. Everyone knows the future is headed online (the world wide internets that Al Gore invented) and the way we view and receive information is changing. The real world however, seems to be hanging on.

My cartoons begin with a concept and develop over a series of steps into a finished political cartoon. An idea is a hard thing to pin down. This is where most of us go onto some vague explanation of how a cartoon idea comes into being. The truth is…..no one really knows. It’s one of life’s mysteries. Ideas come from association, reading, thinking, overhearing….a host of places. Sometimes I stare blankly into space, thinking. Other times I read something and get mad. That usually leads to an idea in a sketch book…..

The wild fires that have scorched California over the last few days have been severe. Of course, every politician is caught in a catch-22; show up and pander to grief stricken victims, or don’t make an appearance and be branded cold-hearted neoconservative-type who could give a damn about the suffering of others. The president was here this week, showing he cares, and I thought it would be relevant to refer to an infamous moment that took place off the coast of San Diego several years ago.

Having this idea approved by my editor, I run to my office and get out some good paper, drawing with pencil first, then brush and ink, following with with some felt tip pens. This is an exiting part of my day. Here’s the inked version….

After the drawing is scanned into Photoshop I tweak, adjust and move the elements into the standard newspaper editorial cartoon space. The Daily News prints my cartoons each day in black and white:

For the internet and color newsprint, I color in Photoshop, producing the final state of the days political cartoon.

In short, that's how a political cartoon idea comes into being, develops, and ends up in the newspaper and on the Internet!
Welcome to my blog.

Patrick