Long Time No Blog

Hello followers!
I have been away for a considerable amount of time, but all for good reasons. I have created the 3rd book in the Joe series; hereby making it a trilogy. Sorry to keep you waiting but we will uploading new content soon. While we are at it, I will announce that I am having a comic book sale. Those who are not in range of me, feel free to order on line.

I'm brainstorming about a set of trading cards which will have all your favorite characters displayed on miniature cards. They can be circulated among your friends and will help you get to know the Joe set of characters.

That's all for now.

Bye!

Sorry for the late posting (stubborn mom) but I am just now putting my new Hobo Joe comics up for sale. If you are interested, I'm doing a twofer ($3 for 2 books). A great package deal: keep one book and give the other to a friend...sharing is caring! heh, heh. Just starting a new Hobo Joe comic to accompany its brothers. Buy this new one for $1 or get all 3 new ones for $4. Haven't bought the Cowboy comic yet? Will throw that in with the three new ones and charge: $6 for all 4 books. Sorry if I sound money hungry but today is my deal day.

Last night I went to the Recanati-Kaplan reception for the scholarship recipients of 2011-12. I received a certificate which represents my participation in the R-K program. It looks very official. This has been a great year and I have learned nothing short than a truckload of cartooning skills during that time. I would like to say thank you to Thomas Kaplan and Daphne Recanati-Kaplan, Angela Early and Sarah McNear for their incredibly generous support. This is an opportunity I would not otherwise have had if they had not given it to me!

Keep your fingers crossed for 2012-13!

Auction Piece

Sold! to the man in the purple shirt!
I was recently asked to submit a piece to the Community Word Project benefit auction (www.communitywordproject.org). They are raising money for art programs in NYC public schools. This is my first year of giving something. (Check out "Joe in Central Park". Will be framed and autographed, of course). I am excited to be included. And especially looking forward to eating the cookies at the snack table on the night of the live auction.

An Apple for the Teacher

Thanks to this blog, I was recently asked to teach an art class at the Pulitzer & Panetta Creative Studio (http://web.me.com/pulitzerandpanetta/P&P/HOME.html). Besides cartoon classes I have taught myself to draw and cartoon. The students might be surprised because someone who was initially self-taught and then took a few classes might have some different strategies or techniques than what is taught traditionally. A few things I will tell the students will include keep their drawings original by drawing what they see, not what they think they should draw.

Try not to start cartooning right away, read comic books and stay away from cartooning instruction books. It will send a beginner down the wrong path to begin with. The books always have unoriginal ideas and their characters have no life. Another important detail to have is personality like maybe a hat shows character: hat up=happy; hat down=sad.

Once you've picked up styles and ideas from cartoon characters in comic books (DON'T COPY!!) you are ready to begin. Pick a character that has life and remember to include whatever personality traits or drawing techniques. Remember: your cartoon character is unique.

Once you have the main character you are ready to begin. Your main character and setting are the most important things to your comic book. Once you have a plot, begin! There is nothing holding you back except lack of creativity and short patience. If you don't get it exactly right, keep on doing it.

It's good to have a doodle sheet to start or collect ideas for a comic strip. Remember you don't always have to do cartoons and you can just relax and just doodle on a sheet. It may not seem like a lot, but many ideas can originate from it. Trust me it's one of my best strategies and brainstorming techniques. Keep it simple and you can work on your comic strip. It doesn't have to be done in a matter of minutes. Put everything you have into your comic strip, after a while you will train yourself not to accept sloppiness. Cartooning will grow on you and hopefully will become one of your best hobbies.

My New Class

Yesterday I started my new cartooning class at the 92nd St Y. I don't really mean 'new' because this is my third class taught to me at the Y. This is the second class taught to me by the same person, David Pullman (check out his website: www.davidpullman.com, he's really good). He's also the teacher that helped me with my scholarship.

So far we have been learning about how the basic shapes can help make difficult to draw characters. We started on how just an oval and a circle interlapping can make a Bugs Bunny face. For beginners, the basic shapes are an easy way to make the foundation of a character. Once you erase the overlapping lines, you put in the details and you have a cartoon character. This is a very common way of drawing and if you are interested in doing this, you can learn more on most any intro to cartooning website.

Also, it is really helpful to have a wooden practice mannequin. Remember, this shape styling is not one I use a lot. It is really meant for beginners. I like to draw freehand. In fact, my mentor, Angela Early has asked me if I make a practice sketch before I make the final copy. I told her, "No. I think of the idea and put it on the paper." Why practice when you have an eraser?

Read all about it!!!

Starting today, I will be selling my Cowboy cartoon book to any followers who are interested. I am selling this 29 page booklet for $5. I guarantee my shipping will be fast. A percentage of my sales will go to the Heart of the Catskills animal shelter. They are a no kill shelter that survives on donations. The rest of my profits will go to ink cartridges and supplies. My cartoons are hot of the press and I hope you enjoy them. They are a great gift for relatives and friends.

Later on I will be presenting my Hobo Joe comics. (Follow this blog for more details.)

Cartooning on the Internet

Having someone look at your drawings is not always what cartoonists are comfortable with. Bringing your drawings to the internet is a whole different level and many people feel safer keeping their drawings to themselves. If I had chosen to act like that, I probably wouldn't be the cartoonist I am now. You probably wouldn't see this blog if I'd kept the cartoons to myself. Really, if my mentor at 92 St Y hadn't encouraged me to make my drawings public, I wouldn't have done it. I encourage all my viewers to make their drawings open to the world and to tell them that you won't get anywhere if you don't share your work with others. It may seem embarrassing at first, but it really pays off and having a blog is just one of those features. Take my word for it: I used to be one of those people.

response to question

I was recently asked: I wonder if you could tell me how a cartoonist decides to draw either in black and white or with color added. For instance, why don't you do color? Does it have something to do with what you see and what you want to capture or not capture? 

To answer this great question, I would say: Basically, I guess I was just too lazy to add color. Some cartoonists choose to add color and some don't. It's a matter of who you are and what the specific art is. For instance, paintings can be colorful and huge; cartoons can be simple line drawings. Good suggestion. Maybe that will be something I will do in the future. Stay tuned and keep checking this blog.

Finding Inspiration

When I have trouble finding inspiration, I look at people on the subway. Most of the time they are a good inspiration and many have comical features. I try to make a mental note, but keeping a notebook handy always helps. Take some time to think as you never know when an idea could pop into your head. There is inspiration everywhere.

How it all started

I have been drawing all my life. I took up cartooning last year and came up with lots of characters. You'll see them on this blog. I made a cartoon book about a sheriff and his adventures. I'm developing other characters as I go along. Check out my work.