Small & Big

Copying another cartoonist’s work is priceless. You’ll learn about process and style in ways reading and enjoying cannot. At least, that’s what I heard. So I took one of my favorite cartoonists, Roz Chast, and copied her cartoon, “On Display at the Children’s House of Horrors.” Then I made a second one in her style (if she drew only in black and white, I'm too lazy to color it in), only with my stuff in it. Here it is: And you know what? It worked. Even though I expected to gain some understanding I was surprised just how much. Although my fruits and veggies are too crowded, my cat shampoo is too crowded, and, as in real life, I wish I had not stuck toddlers in display cases, overall it was fun and I feel I know her cartooning much better. I also learned that her style is not mine, and knowing that helped bring me closer to my style. Whatever that might be. (Actually, since I drew this I have discovered my style! Only took two years. I hope to share it this summe...

Warren Buffet Anyone else gets Warren Buffet confused with Jimmy Buffet? After I drew this one, and liked how the hair turned out, I drew this second one, which is more caricaturey .

Above: Emoticons from Puck magazine , from way back in 1881 — yes, the 19th Century! :o Emoticons are a way of using letters, numbers, and punctuation to show your mood or expression. Otherwise, with email and texting, it can be difficult to tell just by words alone. I found these in this month’s issue of National Geographic . The emoticons used in Asia are cuter and more visually rich (get a load of “blushing”), but ours are quicker to type. Which do you use? Emotion East West Happy (^_^) :-) Sad (;_;) :-( Surprised (*O*) :O Winking (^_~) ;-) Laughing (^O^) :D Blushing (#^.^#) Embarrassed (^^;) Apologizing m(_ _)m Here are more Western emoticons and Eastern emoticons . They’s great fun to read through.

Leo F. Buscaglia That science-of-love guy

Nora Ephron Director, producer, journalist, novelist, etc. I like how this turned out, it’s one of my favorites.

Car ad found on Craigslist: brand new toyota corolla - $11000 (taunton ma) i am selling my toyota mint conidition inside and out is has 26k miles which is nothin and its a 2006 nothin wrong with the car at all needs nothing done to it i am selling it cuz i am moving back to portugal if u want to know more give me a call at 774-xxx-xxxx thanks 26000 miles means 306000 miles and corolla means aries k-car and portugal means moms place but i am calling because fast talking confuses me

Sunday on the Pot With George Acrylic on canvas by Unknown Can the swirling steam melt away the huge weight of George’s corporate responsibilities? This pointillist piece is curious for meticulous attention to fine detail, such as the stitching around the edge of the towel, in contrast to the almost careless disregard for the subject’s feet. If you do but one thing today, make it a visit to MOBA, the Museum Of Bad Art, at museumofbadart.org . Here’s the direct route straight to the collection . Whew. Tummy sore from laughing. And here are their two spectacular books. I’ve got the white-and-yellow one. It’s really good.    

Scott had two years of mechanical drawing in high school. He didn’t go to art college, not even to a two-year community college. Yet today Scott is a successful cartoonist, teacher, and caricaturist. He draws Scooby-Doo, Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd n’ Eddy, Dexter’s Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, Winnie the Pooh, Pokemon, Strawberry Shortcake, Shrek, and others. Obviously he has skill galore. But he also has something inside that led him onward, that lifted him during the times when others didn’t notice his skill: inner drive. He says: No one was really on my side when I set out to do it. Once I made it, then everyone was on the Scott Neely Train... but there was like seven or eight years that I alienated everyone just chasing the dream. At a point it was like being in a rock band and you knew that you were going to hit it big. You just knew it and I can't explain it anymore than that. I felt strong about it and just stuck it out and worked a part time job to susta...

We at Small & Big are gosh-darn embarrassed, given that last year we invented Roz Chast Day, remember? And by we I mean me and by invented I mean made up. This year all I did on June 18th was this , a big double-oh-zero. And now there’s a mosquito in here, a mosquito on my arm, neck, noggin. Ack. So in conclusion: Happy Belated Roz Chast Day! I suspect she expected as much.

In my cartoon class I was assigned to create a full-color cartoon that could accompany a Salon.com article (excerpted below) called Meet the oil spill tourism queen . Here’s my solution. Meet the oil spill tourism queen By Mary Elizabeth Williams (Extracted from Salon.com) It's no easy job putting a happy face on one of the worst environmental disasters in history, but somebody's got to do it. And so, Alabama Gulf Coast tourism rep Rebecca Wilson, we salute you. ...Wilson has been diligently rah-rahing for her home turf in a series of surreal YouTube clips. Doing her best to downplay the crisis, Wilson cheerily announces, "Our weather has been perfect, and oil impact has been less this weekend! We are still seeing some scattered tar balls wash ashore"... Click here to read the entire article and see the video on Salon.com. Rebecca Wilson is doing all she can to help businesses in the area. I salute her. But still, it’s weird.

My cartoon for the July issue of the Pet Gazette . My dog Godzilla is looking forward to sampling Lost Hearing Aids. The garBADGE is new-to-market, and she’s also looking forward to it, especially since she’s featured on the badge. Last month’s goldfish cartoon got the best feedback so far. Thanks to all for taking the time to comment on this blog and Facebook. Now that I know, I would have liked to have drawn this in last month’s goldfish style, but it had already been completed. Authentic Dog Treats uses the same outline border though. No animals were harmed in the making of this cartoon. But if you think about it you might get sick.