It’s a fairly well-documented phenomenon that many artists need the pressure of a deadline to generate the peculiar kind of energy that powers inspiration.
As viewers of the recent ABC-TV series, Portrait Artist of the Year, will have seen, there’s particular kind of adrenalin-fuelled magic that occurs when artists stare down the barrel of a submission deadline.
For cartoonists, it’s somewhat similar, although inspiration for the cartoon tends to be required on a daily basis, requiring both images and words to gel in a way that makes sense to the reader. It’s not uncommon to be staring at a blank sheet of paper, the drawing desk littered with scattered scraps of half-baked ideas and scenarios, with the cliff-edge of a looming deadline (and perhaps the spectre of a red-faced editor) lurking perilously.
Somehow, through a process even unknown to the artists, a work brimming with brilliant insight and rapier-sharp wit often emerges in the nick of time.
In the 2020s, many cartoonists prepare their work with the aid of various computer programs, such as Adobe Photoshop or Procreate.
One might think the advent of the computer has made things easier for the cartoonist – far from it. I have found the computer acts like a time vampire – in most cases, a cartoon that feels like it took thirty minutes to create is revealed to have taken over two hours to draw.
I’m sure people think artists have a stress-free life, but the anxiety of the dreaded daily deadline is the stark reality!
As any comedy writer will tell you, being funny is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration. If truth be told, we’re often the least funny people in the room at parties.
When we’re smiling, I’ll guarantee it’s because we made our deadlines!
