Read Mark Anderson: Writing Cartoons

Drawing cartoons is a weird thing to do. Even though the end product is a silly little picture, it takes some serious thinking and ability to make it look easy.

And the thinking part is the hardest part.

Coming up with ideas is not easy. You have to be aware and ready to pounce on a good idea.

But how do you generate ideas on a regular basis? Good, funny, original ideas?

Here are some ideas, old and new. The new way to generate funny gags is, in my opinion, a better one.

The old correspondence course from the Cartoonists' Exchange had a couple of devices for generating cartoons:

The Comic Character Creator:

The Laugh Finder:

But, really, these dodgy old techniques with spinning dials randomly pointing to characters and situations, never worked for me.

I recommend taking a look at what my pal Mark Anderson posted today: Writing Cartoons – 9 Ideas For Generating Ideas for some terrific habits to being a successful, working cartoonist.

Go and read it.