Last week, I showed you some of the steps involved in drawing and editing one of my political cartoons. This week, I thought I thought I'd show you some of the "layers" that I use in Adobe PhotoShop.
I started with two drawings on 6x9 sketch paper. I scanned them in to PhotoShop and adjusted the levels a little to make the lines just a little bolder.
I flipped the pictures horizontally and cleaned them up a little bit. In hind sight, I wonder about this decision. I think it made Nixon look even more seedy. I think that it made Rove look a lot like James Dobson. I painted the line drawings in with grey screen and even painted a five o'clock shadow on old Dick. A little gradient and some drop shadow give them some dimension.
I scanned in the text. Here's a secret- I mispelled "accidently" for Nixon, so I copied and pasted it from Rove's side and replaced Nixon's. Look close, they're EXACTLY the same.
One of PhotoShop's funnest features are the ways you can customize text. Maybe I went overboard. I could've just went with straight text, but I wanted to make sure that they looked a little cartoony as opposed to taking myself so seriously. I've read at least one professional editorial cartoonist & syndication editor gripe about how new cartoonist rely too much on computer fonts. I think the real key is to find the right balance between non-use and abuse. I feel like I'm still learning and developing my style.
The last thing I did was to add another gradient to give the background some dimension. This is another one of those things that I'm learning about by trial and error. Many times it looks good here on the web, but printed in a newspaper at only 150 dpi and only 3.792 inches wide too much shading can get really dark and muddy. Again, what I'm shooting for is that delicate balance between non-use and over-use. I've had people tell me that they like the "digital" look of my cartoons, but there's still that voice in my head that says "you mess things up by going overboard, don't overwork it, less is more, why can't you keep things clean? You're terrible, give it up, you suck! Why are you even trying to do this? You'll never be a success or make any money at it?!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!!!"See why I try not to listen to the little voices in my head?
I was tempted to draw something about Don Imus, but that's like shooting fish in a barrell. Besides, with all the attention he's getting, the U.S. Attorney hearings has been allowed to fall under most people's radar- just what Bush, Rove, and Gonzales want, I'm sure. Plus, since he's out of office and long dead, how many opportunities will I get to draw Nixon? Actually, I think the Rove I drew a couple of weeks ago as a Humpty Dumpty egg was better, but he does kind of lend himself to charicature, doesn't he?
Want to see over 100 more of my cartoons? Political and otherwise?
Just visit http://tmal.multiply.com/photos/album/2
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