Every so often I'll slip in a straight scan from a sketchbook, more of a raw doodle, add the adjusted caption and call it good. This particular panel was conceived over a dinner at the downtown diner where we usually go for home-made pie. But after a season of tasty haddock sammiches in Bar Harbor, it was simply splendid to return to an old standby - deep-fried halibut. The meal was disrupted only by my giggle-fit over the spontaneous drawing - it's often said in cartooning that one must "know your audience." Well, on the offhand chance there's any random Alaskan graphic artists familiar with both Photoshop and the characteristics of our favorite flounder, there ya go - this one's for you. Because otherwise, the flip-side of the conventional business wisdom is to first make yourself laugh.
If the concept sketch captured the mood and gesture better than a formal rendering it is a better choice to present. Sometimes the sketchiness of the drawing supports the idea better than getting caught up in the perfection of the art.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment: One look at either me or my work and any notions of "getting caught up in the perfection" pretty much goes out the window. But seriously, it's a humbling perspective to invest so much time & effort only to look back and realize how debatable it all was. And the reverse is true: when one achieves a desired result with a fraction of the energy & attention normally invested.
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