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One of my most frequently used lists are characters from history, literature or fairy tales. That's because, if the characters and situations are famous enough, people already know something about them before looking at the cartoon. Remember, you only have five seconds for someone to understand your cartoon so you don't have time to fill in background details. |
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I pick up the list of historic characters and list of situations and decide to work on creating a cartoon about Benjamin Franklin and a stalled car. Most cartoons of historic figures have them dealing with modern issues, a clash of cultures, so to speak. Consequently, it's a lot easier to come up with something funny about Benjamin Franklin with a broken down car than a lame horse. What's Franklin known for? Flying a kite in an electrical storm. Obviously something is wrong with our educational system if people know more historical clichés than historical facts, but I'm not complaining. It makes my job so much easier. |
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Another character and a location: Columbus and a maternity ward. Was Columbus married? I don't know. There are no clichés about his wife. He had to have a mother, though. |
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Mix up the characters, make odd blind dates, so to speak: Columbus and Newton. Think of Columbus and, in the pre-politically correct days you thought of him as "Discovering America." Think of Newton, and you think of him being conked by an apple. Combine the two. |
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Want to get any of these cartoons on T-shirts & other stuff? |
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