#5: Dance, Direct, and Diversify
Hello fine people,
It’s May. How is it May? Where has the year gone already?
But let’s not think about that. This week’s cartoons have no real connective tissue, although they all do conveniently start with the letter D. So, this week, I’ll let the cartoons do the talking.
Dancin’ the day away,
Chris
Caption: Things had become a lot more interesting since they started presenting the safety instructions through interpretive dance.
I was once told that during the flight safety demonstrations, the attendants make note for whoever actually watches the presentation. The theory is that, the people who pay attention are the ones that can help out if there is an actual accident. I’m not sure how true that is, but I do think I’m one of the few people who actually watches these presentations. I’ve seen more than enough of them to know what’s going to happen and yet, like the re-run of a favourite TV show, I find myself hooked every time.
A little artist’s note: The idea for this cartoon came to me in a burst, but it would be another few weeks before I would work out how to present it. Looking back at my original sketches, I really struggled with finding the right angle and, then, I struggled with how to show that it was a full flight, without actually drawing, and drawing attention to, all of the people sitting in the seats.
This cartoon also had an alternate version which was the front runner, right up to the last minute where I decided to revert back to the original idea. I’ve shared runner-up below, and I’ll leave it up to you as to which is the better joke.
Caption: "No no, not my left, take your left."
With artificial intelligence, and just technology generally, attempting to be more ‘human’ it feels like sooner or later, it will also start to make more human mistakes. This cartoon is a taste of where I expect it to go next.
A little artist’s note: Cars are complicated things. When I initially started the sketch for this, my initial thought was that it would be finished in no time. But, as hour two approached and I found myself still working on it, I realised it wasn’t going to be quite that easy. The challenge, as I discovered, was in making this front of the dashboard look like a car at this zoomed-in level. Without the right hallmarks, it would just look like a set of shapes or boxes. At one point, I also included a steering wheel, but I quickly realised that doing so would only make sense for some countries and not others. GAH!
Caption: "I diversified my stocks."
I’m going to be honest and say, ‘this isn’t my best work’.
But with that out of the way, let me share a little about why I’ve posted it. You see, I aim to draw a new cartoon every day. Some of them are great. Some of them aren’t, but the point is to keep going, to keep creating, to keep making. Because, quite honestly, you never know what you’ll discover if you don’t keep that creative door open.
However, what happens when the door gets stuck. When you go one day, two days, three days without anything. Without even trying. For me, it was day three since I had drawn a new cartoon and, while it wasn’t realistic to think, I definitely felt that fear that I wouldn’t draw another. Again, unrealistic, but it felt like a real possibility.
And then, this cartoon happened right when I needed it.
I knew that the only way to find my rhythm again was to get back on the pens (or the Apple Pencil) and I had one idea that I kind of liked. This one. We were on holiday, and I sat down at a cafe and within 30 minutes it was done. Simple. Inelegant. But done. And from here, the ideas just flooded my notepad. Good ideas. Better ideas. Worse ideas. But ideas.
Why have a shared this? Because sometimes to get to the good idea, you have to let fly with the okay idea.
A little artist’s note: The cartoon has gone through a few iterations since that initial burst, but the core remains. At the time, I was experimenting with shading and how best to do it. The result of these experiments have greatly informed my current style and, because of it, the version of this cartoon posted employs this style.
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