Having great ideas pop out of thin air is something that comes naturally to me, and drawing cartoons is a way of expressing them – I have so many ideas that I will even write them into my phone calendar so I don’t forget them and turn them into art pieces for ‘It’s Cartoon Time’.
The first cartoon I ever drew was called “The Future”, where I drew an old man talking to a young boy and the boy had a problem hearing him. I think the irony in that is that a lot of elderly people have hearing problems, and the younger generations are starting to lose hearing too from playing loud music often. I remember showing the cartoon to my mum, and she laughed and said ‘that’s really good, you should do more’. I spent that day drawing more cartoons, and about a
week later had enough to start up a Facebook page which I now add to every few days.
I chose cartoons as a way of expression because visually you can tell a story so much more vividly than by word of mouth. I can portray my ideas in the way that I want them to come across. I edit them with computer software to tweak them and to make them stand out that little bit more.
Drawing cartoons is my passion, and I’ve had lots of positive feedback. Usually the biggest response is “that’s funny” or “they are really clever”. A lot of people say they can relate to my humour and the puns I use. I try to be as literal as possible – it’s just how my humour works. It is better to have at least three puns in the one cartoon, just so there is more to keep the audience entertained with.
For example, I drew a cartoon about a Cat Cafe, where the crockery read “enjoy every meowful”, and I had the coffee available in “de-cat”. That one was popular. I had one person tell me that I had a cult following in Hobart, and a lot of people tell me that they look forward to the daily cartoons. It only takes about 10 minutes for me to draw one, and then editing is about five minutes, so I fly through them pretty quickly.
In drawing cartoons, the ones relevant to what’s happening in the media always get the biggest response because that’s what people can relate to. My best selling cartoon was one I did about Donald Trump, where I had trump been “grilled” by the heat of the public. People commented about how they agreed with my cartoon, and it had heaps of likes and shares. I think it was popular because it got people talking. Cartoons that are controversial do generally cause conversations on certain topics. Some cartoons more than others get people talking, and obviously I am never hateful or racist in my illustrations – I believe this is stepping over the line. However, I do like to spark debate. There is a line between conversational pieces and hateful messages.
I think there should be more cartoonists out there, drawing is a way of expressing views and ideas about society and the world. My main inspiration and idol is Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig who I follow regularly. I draw cartoons similar to him, although a lot less philosophical but I put my own style into them. I am also a fan of Mark Knight, I think his work is individual and funny.
There aren’t many careers for cartoonists, but it would be great to see more opportunities for people who want to draw their own content. Ultimately I will use my cartoons and push them towards something big. I see big things for ‘It’s Cartoon Time’ in the future.
Written by Lucy Rollason
See more on Facebook.
