SPD GUEST EDITOR: March 2015 Archives

When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 11: Matt Wuerker

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Matt Wuerker is the award-winning Politico staff cartoonist and illustrator, part of the original crew of Politico--built from scratch starting eight years ago.

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

MATT WUERKER: I like both. Political cartoons are a solitary creative activity and can't be beat. But it's also good to get out of your own head and mix things up. I like the collaborative aspects of illustration: bouncing  around rough ideas and brainstorming with others is a lot of fun and opens up your creative thinking in a healthy way.


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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 10: Bruce Eric Kaplan (BEK)

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com … MORE

Interview with Graphics Editor Jennifer Daniel: "I like it fast, dirty, impulsive, and a little sexy..."

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

From Design to Illustration to Animation, Jennifer Daniel does it all and does it all well in the world of graphics. As the graphics director at Bloomberg Businessweek she was a driving force of that magazine's visual voice (and groundbreaking imagery and design). She's currently a graphics editor at The New York Times in the San Francisco bureau covering technology and culture, and has a new kids book with Simon Rogers, Information Graphics: Space.

Jennifer maintains a smart (and often hilarious) online presence, she recently transplanted from NYC to Oakland, and, oh yeah, she gave birth to twins. Somehow she carved out yet some more time for me to interview her about the many ways she works.

WARD SUTTON: Graphics Creator, Illustrator, Designer... You have a myriad of talents. Is there one area you like working in best? Or do you enjoy the variety of creating in multiple ways?

JENNIFER DANIEL: I think most people see their paths as linear and it took me a long time to realize to stop treating illustration and journalism as separate things. I don't distinguish one from the other. Sometimes the approach is journalism, the execution is illustration. Other times I approach an assignment as a journalist but the final result is graphic design. By experimenting more internally, that diversity in range will have a good long-term effect. I don't think these skills are exclusive to certain skill sets and when you mix it up, you create something new.

WARD SUTTON: You are clearly media savvy and have a rich web presence. How do you see this connecting to the work that you do?

JENNIFER DANIEL: Aw jeeze Ward, I think my newborn twins have gotten more likes then anything else I've made. I just do what the "Social Media For Dummies" book tells me to do. On one hand, the internet has built my career, on the other, images have become merely another type of online social currency. "He is not engaging with his social media appropriately" is a thing I hear more and more with less and less sarcasm.


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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 9: Emily Flake

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com
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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 8: Matt Bors

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Matt Bors, political cartoonist and editor of The Nib on Medium.com

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

MATT BORS: I enjoy taking a break from having to write out an argument in a political cartoon, spread out with an illustration, and be creative in a different way. Usually the money's better.


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The Flip Side of Andy Rash

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

Andy Rash is the award-winning author and illustrator o fthe books Are You a Horse?, Ten Little Zombies: A Love Story, and the soon to be released Archie the Daredevil Penguin. He has also illustrated for lots of magazines and newspapers and created animations for TV. His illustration work typically looks like the image above, left.

But he has also developed a second artistic life with ingenious, low-res-looking characters he calls "iotacons." His iotacon portrait of Mr. Spock is above, right. And here is his iotacon portrait of Louis CK, below.

Andy took some time from his dueling illustration careers to talk about the origins of his new graphic creations.

WARD SUTTON: Where did your idea for the iotacons come from?

ANDY RASH: I had an Atari home computer back in the 80s with a program called Moviemaker. You could draw extremely low res images with a joystick and apply very rough animation and backgrounds. I spent hours creating Jabba-eating frogs and Mrs. Bates rocking in her upstairs window. They gave you only four colors to work with. I loved it. Twenty-some years later, I was working in a considerably more powerful graphics program and I zoomed all the way in to see how small I could make a character. The first thing I did was a group of characters from Star Wars. The costumes are so distinct, I didn't have to try very hard with the faces. I had a go-to iotacon face. When I moved on to the Presidents and the Senate, everyone wore pretty much the same thing, so heads got bigger and more specific. I started posting them on the web and got a very positive response, especially when Grant Imahara retweeted my iotacons of the cast of Mythbusters. The word "iotacon," by the way, is a portmanteau of icon and iota, as in, "Not one iota." No one ever asks me that, and I can't tell if the reason is that it's obvious, or that nobody cares.


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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 7: Lalo Alcaraz

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Lalo Alcaraz does the nationally syndicated daily comic strip La Cucaracha and a writer on the upcoming animated Fox TV show Bordertown, but is a cranky editorial cartoonist at heart.

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

LALO ALCARAZ: I like 'em both plenty. I think I approach each in the same way, since my editorial cartoons tend to be blunt and bold, my illustrations end up the same. I think illustration leaves me a bit more freedom to leave questions unanswered.



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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 6: Tom Tomorrow

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Tom Tomorrow (Dan Perkins), creator of the weekly syndicated political cartoon This Modern World, is the 2013 winner of the Herblock Prize and a 2015 Society of Illustrators Silver Medal recipient.

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

TOM TOMORROW: I prefer cartooning! The thing that interested me about this art form from a very early age was the interplay between words and pictures. I approach it as a writer, as well as an artist.


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From Newsprint to Museum: Curating Comics

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

In a wonderful moment of synergy here at Grids' Alt Week, the exhibition Alt-Weekly Comics is now up at the Society of Illustrators in NYC. I got the chance to ask curators Warren Bernard and Bill Kartalopoulos about the show they've put together.

Warren Bernard is Executive Director of the Small Press Expo and a comics historian; Bill Kartalopoulos is Series Editor for The Best American Comics.

WARD SUTTON: Together, you've curated the exhibition "Alt-Weekly Comics." What inspired you to focus on the work from alternative weeklies?

WARREN BERNARD: The alt-weekly newspapers published an amazingly wide variety of comics, and it was an incubator to a number of now well-established cartoonists, including Jules Feiffer, Lynda Barry and Tom Tomorrow. This show was a combination of celebrating the great comic works of the alt-weekly world, as well as filling a gap in the canon of comics history, which does not give the alt-weekly comics their due.

BILL KARTALOPOULOS: Warren initiated this when he conceived of the alternative weekly newspapers as a theme for SPX: The Small Press Expo in 2014, where guests included Jules Feiffer, Lynda Barry, Tom Tomorrow, and several other relevant artists. I've been the programming director for SPX since 2006 and started serving the same role last year for MoCCA in NYC, which is run by the Society of Illustrators. The Society of Illustrators has a long history of organizing exhibits, including year-round comics exhibits in their MoCCA gallery space and a major comics-related exhibit in their main gallery every year timed to coincide with the MoCCA festival in April.

Warren approached Anelle Miller, the executive director of the Society, with the idea of a collaboration between the two organizations, which became this exhibit. Since I work for both events, live in NYC, and have experience curating comics exhibits, it made sense for me to partner with Warren as co-curators on this exhibit. The alt-weekly papers in general are a great subject, and I think highlight a lot of things that have been lost in the transition to digital media, despite all of the obvious gains.
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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 5: Roz Chast

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Roz Chast draws cartoons for The New Yorker. Her latest book is Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, a graphic memoir about her parents' final years.

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

ROZ CHAST: I prefer cartooning, but I like humorous illustration.


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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 4: Benjamin Marra.

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Benjamin Marra, the underground cartoonist and creator of Night Business, Gangsta Rap Posse and Blades & Lazers. See more of his work at benjaminmarra.com/.

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

BENJAMIN MARRA: Illustration is getting to the essence of a separate story in a single image, rather than having hundreds of images strung together to tell their own story. They operate differently with narrative. Illustration can be enjoyable since I get to experiment a little more by doing things visually I might not when I'm making a comic book. Telling a story in a comic book demands certain things from the drawings to advance the narrative. In illustration you just want to make a single arresting, memorable image. … MORE

From Ward Sutton's Vault: "Start Your Own Publication"

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

In 1991, I was living in Minneapolis and working as a cartoonist and kind-of assistant art director for the alt weekly Twin Cities Reader, when I decided to move to Seattle. I arrived with one job interview scheduled and a lot of hope that I could pick up where I left off in Minneapolis.

When I arrived at the offices of the Seattle Weekly, I sat waiting in the lobby for what seemed like a long time as I nervously clutched my portfolio. Abruptly, some lower level member of the art department came out to tell me the art director wasn't going to meet with me. "He said to tell you we don't use cartoons here." That was it.
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Interview with Mad Magazine Art Director Sam Viviano

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

After a 22-year career as a freelance illustrator, Sam Viviano became the art director of Mad magazine in 1999. I've had the pleasure and honor of working with Sam for many years, and he was gracious enough to take time to speak with me about his unique career.

WARD SUTTON: You are a man of multiple talents--illustration and art direction. Do you like one better than the other?

SAM VIVIANO: I took on the job of art director for Mad 16 years ago. And they said it wouldn't last! To be honest, I still feel like an impostor. I never pictured myself in this role. I always think of myself as an illustrator and cartoonist.

WARD SUTTON: And you still illustrate--in fact, you recently won an award from the National Cartoonist Society, correct?

SAM VIVIANO: Yes, I won the Magazine Illustration Award for my work in 2008. It was the first thing I'd ever won since high school. Finally, I can call myself an award-winning illustrator! [laughs]

Last year I was named to the MIN Editorial and Design Hall of Fame for my work as art director here at Mad. I've got a nice glass plaque on my desk and the satisfaction of knowing I'm not only an award-winning illustrator but an award-winning art director as well. Now I can die a happy man.

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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 3: Jen Sorensen

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Jen Sorensen is a nationally-published political cartoonist, Comics Editor for Fusion.net's Graphic Culture section, and the winner of the 2014 Herblock Prize and a 2013 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

WARD SUTTON: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

JEN SORENSEN: I usually enjoy it more than drawing my regular cartoon, as there's often a lot more room to play with. With a multi-panel comic, it's always a challenge to cram things into a tiny space as efficiently as possible. Doing illustration work, especially a cover, feels liberating by comparison. It gives me a chance to try out new drawing chops, play around with color, and experiment with Photoshop techniques.

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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 2: Derf

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Derf Backderf, writer-artist of the international bestselling graphic novels My Friend Dahmer, Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, and Trashed, has been making comix for a long, long time and has won a buncha awards for it. See more at http://www.derfcity.com/. (All illustrations in this story are by Derf.)

SPD: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

Derf: Oh, there's no comparison. Illustration can be fun, but, at most, you're just re-interpreting, or maybe enhancing, the idea of someone else. When I make a graphic novel, that's an entire self-contained world that's completely my vision. Every word, every line, every shade. I really dig
that. That's not meant as a put-down of illustration gigs. That's just my personal preference and what satisfies me creatively.


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An Interview with Art Director Art Chantry: "Stop Faking Design"

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

Art Chantry's work can be seen on telephone poles, art museums, and everywhere in between. Based in Seattle and Tacoma, he has created hundreds, or likely thousands of band posters, LP and CD covers, and designs for magazines, newspapers, and zines. One could argue his visual style had as much to do with the Northwest music movement of the 80s and 90s as the music itself. As art director of The Rocket (a publication that chronicled the music scene of that era), Art gave me my first break when I moved to Seattle in 1991. I recently got the chance to ask him about his approach to art directing publications, his inspirations, and what magazine he would redesign if he could.

WARD SUTTON: To my eye, your design work on The Rocket seemed like one bold experiment after another. I especially remember a series of issues where you rotated the logo on the cover a little bit more each issue, with the logo eventually appearing vertical, upside-down, etc. How do you reflect on your approach to designing The Rocket?

ART CHANTRY: The Rocket was such a chaotic "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" affair that every layout and every decision WAS a bold experiment. We had no money, no budget, no technology, no nothing except the ambitions and imaginations of the people who slammed it together every month. As art director, i would desperately try to get things planned in advance--particularly when it came to hiring freelancers, who were always  working on the core of every issue. We would have been lost without them. Every freelance illustrator/photographer/designer/etc. I solicited brought their own eye and their own opinion to each project. The only way we could get these people to work for nothing (we paid them so little it was a mere token of appreciation and little else) was to offer them the freedom to invent and create. That alone made  a certain level of chance and chaos to each issue that it virtually became the trademark style of the magazine--no matter how hard I tried to prevent it.


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When Cartoonists Illustrate! Part 1: Kate Beaton

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

When Cartoonists Illustrate! There's often a line drawn between cartoonists and illustrators. All this week, I'm profiling talented people known for their cartooning and showing their work in an illustration context.

Kate Beaton is the creator of the comic strip Hark! A Vagrant, a mix of history, literature and pop culture parody. Read her comics at http://www.harkavagrant.com/. (All illustrations in this story are by Kate Beaton.)

SPD: How do you like illustrating compared to cartooning?

Kate Beaton: Cartooning is more natural to me, but illustration, if I make something I like, is maybe more satisfying. There's a more elegant permanence to it, while my cartooning looks rather off-the-cuff.


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This Week's Guest Editor: Cartoonist/Illustrator Ward Sutton

[A note from the SPD Grids Editors: This is the sixth in our ongoing series of Guest Editors on the Society of Publication Designers website. Ward Sutton is a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and visual provocateur. As a graphic storyteller supreme he uses his cartoons, comics, and illustrations to highlight the worlds of popular culture, rock 'n' roll, personal relationships, politics, and much more. In his ongoing series of comics in The Boston Globe, Ward continues to produce sharp, smart (and funny) visual political commentary of the highest order. His graphic illustrations and designs have been featured on posters for everything from Radiohead to John Leguizamo's Freak.

Ward was the creator of the popular Sutton Impact comic strip which ran for many years in The Village Voice and other altweekly newspapers. He's been a longtime friend of SPD, and we're very happy to have him joining us on the site all this week. Stay tuned for some amazing insight into cartooning and illustration. You can follow Ward on Twitter @WardSutton.]

By Ward Sutton
SuttonImpactStudio.com

Those of a certain age may recall the recurring gag on Late Nite With David Letterman about the "Actor-Singer." (If not, this may jog your memory.) The joke here was that in the showbiz world, these people treaded the line between being multi-talented and desperate to do anything.

The same might be thought, at various times, of the Cartoonist-Illustrators of the world, of which I am proudly one. I certainly remember the desperate phases of the early years--drawing for beer, terrible vegan co-op food, or maybe a concert ticket.

But there are actually more than just the two worlds of cartooning and illustration: there are editorial cartoonists, alternative editorial cartoonists, comic book artists, alternative comic book artists, daily comic strip artists, weekly alternative comic strip artists, gag cartoonists ... and the list of sub-categories goes on and on.


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