North State Parent magazine

A MAGAZINE SERVING FAMILIES IN BUTTE, GLENN, SHASTA, SISKIYOU & TEHAMA COUNTIES SINCE 1993

Our Cartoonist Shares Fun Tips! Getting Paid to Doodle

have fun all day long … and yes, I have a job!

I actually get paid to sit and draw cartoons all day. When I was a young child, I would get bored, so I picked up a pencil and starting doodling, and I never stopped.

My doodles would get better, and they would gradually resemble cartoons. Not only did drawing pass the time … it was also a way for me to express my sense of humor.

I saw humor in everything. I just wasn’t a serious kid, so being a cartoonist was a natural fit. Realistic art was too difficult for me, and I just didn’t have the patience to spend hours, days or weeks on a piece of art. Cartoons were quick, loose and fun. There were no rules. A dog didn’t have to look exactly like a dog. It was my creation. It was my world. No one could criticize how my world looked.

Drawing is fun, but a cartoon’s strength is really the writing. A cartoon, after all, is a joke. So, the joke must be funny. No matter how good the art is, a cartoon will fail without a funny caption. That’s why I have a college degree in English. Most people assume I went to art school, but cartoonists are usually self-taught. I could already draw, but it was the writing I needed to learn.

Like most things, the more you practice, the better you get. I now create around 300 cartoons each month, so my creative muscles have gotten bigger and better. When I tell people I have to work, they laugh, because no one considers what I do an actual job. Why?  Because it’s fun. The best thing about drawing a cartoon is that it only requires fun and your imagination.

Take drawing a dog, for instance. Here are some tips:

art-115-doggy

Remember, this is a cartoon. The only rules are to have fun, and be creative!

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Aside from greeting cards and magazines, Jerry is the author and illustrator of seven nationally published cartoon books. He has also illustrated ten children's books, and has provided illustrations for numerous children's publications. One of Jerry's cartoon characters has been made into a stuffed animal. Visit his website at www.jerryking.com.

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