B. TOBEY OF THE NEW YORKER

Barney Tobey, a contract cartoonist for The New Yorker, had over 1,200 cartoons published in the magazine. When he was in his 20s, he sent in 3 cover ideas to The New Yorker magazine. To his pleasant surprise, they sold. That was a turning point. Mr. Tobey walked out of his BBD and O advertising agency job to become a full-time cartoonist freelancer. Brave soul!

Mr. Tobey (1906-1989) shares his sketchbook with us in B. TOBEY OF THE NEW YORKER, an oversized hardcover published by Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc. and copyright 1983 by Barney Tobey.

Below are his words, his sketchbook pages and then, the final cartoon finish, for two of Mr. Tobey's cartoons, taken from the appendix of the book.

THE MAKING OF A CARTOON - I







THE MAKING OF A CARTOON - II





Cartooning may look like it just drips out of the cartoonist's hand like a leaky creative faucet, but here is a peek at the time, the writing, the rewriting, the missteps, the hard labor — that all go into making the end result look effortless.

-- Edited from a May 5, 2009 blog entry.