How the Sausage is Made

I wasn’t trained as a illustrator and certainly had no intention of becoming a cartoonist, but  sometimes things happen and you find yourself alone in the dark trying to draw a poodle in a bee costume.

I’m often asked if my cartoons are hand drawn. Since my hand has evolved into a mutant gripper claw, capable only of wrapping itself around a computer mouse or coffee cup, I am forced to create my cartoons on the computer with drawing software. The beauty of the software is it allows me to recycle elements quickly and easily. Once I finalize a character/object/facial expression, I can cut and paste that sucker all over the place.

A professional cartoonist once told me not to worry about my primitive drawing style since my comic was dialogue-driven, and as luck would have it, I married a cartoon character who provides me with endless source material. Still, it didn’t stop me from struggling with the drawing process. I was recently frustrated by a cartoon that was taking far too long to draw. The dialogue was straight from a conversation I’d had with my husband and required little more than cutting and pasting from a previous cartoon. Such a simple drawing didn’t seem to warrant so much time.

I eventually realized it all came down to figuring out where the characters’ eyes should be gazing. This is harder than it seems—especially when all you have to work with are small lines and dots. Check out the cartoons below. Do you see the subtle differences?

The cartoons above are listed in order from my favorite to least favorite solutions. I chose to publish option #1 on my blog (with a different hairstyle) because it hits the right mood and creates good timing—all with the eyes.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite?