Friday, August 26, 2005

How we make our funny cartoons

A good while ago, I put up a page about how I draw the cartoons. A couple of people thought it was quite interesting, so myself and Bif thought we might show you another aspect to the creation of the cartoons.

The following is a conversation, on Skype, between myself and Bif about the 'price is right' cartoon.

Now sometimes Bif will send me a perfectly formed script for a cartoon, and other times he sends me rather abstract notions which we discuss before I launch into the artwork. This was one of the latter...

2005-06-16
Bif: You there?
Frank: yup
Frank: on to john though, so might be distracted for a few minutes
Bif: ok, i'll just give new toon and you can get back to when you're ready
Bif: To his surprise, Ryan discovered that if you shop in the right place the price of fame could actually be quite reasonable.
Frank: ha ha ha
Frank: have you a mental picture of it?
Bif: no
Frank: Guy shopping with box of FAME on sale or something?
Bif: i'd like the fame to be more visually represented than that
[..]
Frank: how do you visually represent fame anyhoo?
Bif: screaming women, name in lights, paparazzi chasing him
Bif: i dunno
Frank: "screaming women, name in lights, paparazzi chasing him"
Frank: you are taking the piss aren't you?
Bif: i'm just trying to be helpful
Frank: try harder...
Bif: no
Frank: throw in a few burning zebras and whatnot..
Frank: i like my idea of a nice box of fame...
Bif: that's just being lazy
Bif: i thought you'd enjoy doing some screaming girls
Frank: are they naked?
Bif: well scantily clad at least
Frank: Anyway, I can see how you would think it's laziness, but surely the joke is actually better if it's something totally mundane... like next to the detergents?
Bif: i'm not sure. it would have to be a pretty snazzy looking box
Frank: well, of course.
Bif: give it a shot anyway
Frank: question is should it be on sale or what?
Frank: or 25% extra free...
Frank: or something...
Frank: or just "ONLY 12.99"
Bif: "NOW ONLY 12.99"
Frank: yeah...
Frank: Dollars or euros?
Frank: :)
Bif: euro
Frank: okeydokey.
Frank: We should put this conversation up on the 'how we make them' page...
Frank: but we might scare people away...
Bif: yes but it'd be educational
Frank: ok, i'll go have a look at doing it... talk to you in a while...
Bif: ok

I only noticed this second that I appear to have ignored Bif's instruction that the box should read "NOW ONLY 12.99". I have no idea why this is- I guess I just forgot what he had said! Sorry bout that Bif.

I have to admit if we could have 'visually represented' the fame it might have been an even better cartoon, but i have no idea how I might have done it...