Jay Kennedy Scholarship

Attention all aspiring cartoonists: The National Cartoonist Society Foundation is once again calling for applicants to the Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship.

From the NCSF Website:

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Jay Kennedy Scholarship

The annual Jay Kennedy Scholarship, in memory of the late King Features editor, was funded by an initial $100,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation/King Features Syndicate and additional generous donations from Jerry Scott, Jim Borgman, Patrick McDonnell and many other prominent cartoonists. Submissions are adjudicated by a panel of top cartoonists and an award is given to the best college cartoonist. The recipient is feted at the annual NCS Reuben Awards Convention attended by many of the world’s leading cartoonists.

Applicants must be college students in the United States, Canada or Mexico that will be in their Junior or Senior year of college during the 2010-2011 academic year. Applicants do not have to be art majors to be eligible for this scholarship.

Along with a completed entry form, applicants are required to send 8 samples of their own cartooning artwork (copies only); noting if and where the work has been published, either in print or on the web. (See application for details.) DO NOT send original artwork.

DEADLINE: ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED BY FEBRUARY 12, 2010

The applications will be judged by the National Cartoonists Society Foundation (NCSF) and the number of scholarships given out and their amounts will be at the discretion of the NCSF.

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As usual, I've been away from the blog, too busy with clients and family life to post much, but I thought this subject deserved mention. I'm posting this partly for anyone who might be interested...and partly for a friend who asked about cartooning scholarships for his son. Hopefully he, (and anyone else with interest), can gather up his or her work and get it out in time for the deadline. It's a terrific scholarship, named after a man who had a big effect on the work of many cartoonists.

I had the honor and pleasure of working with Jay Kennedy for a little over three years. He offered me my first syndication contract, and after that, worked with me in developing a comic strip for King Features Syndicate. I got to know him over that span and afterward -- and really grew to appreciate him and his enthusiasm for cartoons.

His knowledge was fully rounded, including the history of cartoons, the inner workings of humor, dialogue, art, layout and even the legal ramifications of when I satirized say, Britney Spears. I can say without a doubt that he helped to establish my career as a cartoonist, giving me training that was unavailable in any books or schools.

I was greatly saddened upon hearing about his accidental death. (He drowned after having been caught in a rip-tide, while vacationing in Costa Rica. A little-known fact is that he died a hero, diving in and successfully saving his girlfriend.)

This memorial scholarship is the sort of thing that can launch a young cartoonist's career...and at the very least, inspire some deserving cartoonist(s) to create worthwhile things. If you think that might be you, enter now! The deadline is almost here. (Feb. 12)

"The less I say, the more my work gets done"

I've always admired the above line, written by Bernie Taupin, (for Elton John's 1976 song, "Philadelphia Freedom").

As it turns out, this wisdom is even more relevant now -- particularly in a society where we like to talk incessantly, (via cell phone, Skype, email, text message, Twitter, blog, etc.) So, for seven months, I went to radio silence -- here, at least.

Why? Despite the economic malaise, work has been flooding through the door. This year has been my busiest since starting business over ten years ago, (and since leaving newspapers and going 'full time' nearly six years ago.)

So far in 2009, I have have been hired by over 75 companies, creating humorous illustration and cartoons for their advertising, presentations and websites. I have illustrated nine books, (with contracts for a few more before the end of the year.) There have also been political cartoons for two media outlets...regular "techie" cartoons for a popular technology blog...and a cartoon feature for a newspaper distributed nationally in elementary schools.

Here is a brief sampling of what has been on the drawing board...



One of a series of cartoons commissioned by Merck, who earlier this year, they acquired Schering-Plough. Their HR department head wanted a comic strip feature for the company newsletter, to help allay fears and answer questions about the changes in store for their 44,000 new and existing employees... (The merger-related program is called "C.O.M.E.T.")




One of a series of cartoons for Westminster American Insurance, for some magazine ads...(click to enlarge)



Characters created for an animated television show about a dysfunctional rock band. --I only designed the characters and backgrounds...animators then took these designs to create the animation. (It is currently being pitched to Cartoon Network...I have no idea whether it will go ahead or not.)





One of several cartoons created for Klee Associates Inc., creators of products and training for SAP, ERP & JD Edwards.




One of several illustrations for a book on relationships, by an author in Boston:



A couple of cartoons for a software company in Silicon Valley, (two of four created for a marketing campaign this year.):



One of a few illustrations from a book on corporate greed, written by Ann Rhodes, a former V.P. of Southwest Airlines & Jet Blue...



An illustration for a psychology book, authored by two psychologists in New York:


A poster and flyer for a long-term client, and their conference in Orlando in October: (click to enlarge)




A corporate mascot designed for a security technology company in Texas...




One of about 30 cartoons created so far this year for Hubspot Inc...




A corporate mascot for a start-up in New York. The president of the company was with Bally's Fitness until recently and decided to start his own marketing firm...a brave move in this economy. But if his personality and drive are any indication of things to come, he'll do well.




One of a series of monthly cartoons for an Association of Secondary School Principals newspaper, based & published in Michigan.

Two cartoons from 121, (yes, you read that right, 121 cartoons!), for a soon-to-be published political humor book called "Microman", by Robert Stern. (The introduction was written by the infamous 'Joe the Plumber'.) The author has written two books previously and is a very friendly, enthusiastic guy.





Phew!!
A rough estimate, (from my back-up hard drive), says I created nearly 300 cartoons and illustrations in less than eight months. (I think I could do more...but only if cloning becomes legal.)

With only some 'ski weekends' earlier in the year to show for time off, my family and I took two vacations in July and August...which were desperately needed. The first trip was to Moab, Utah, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and finally, five days at a great resort/spa in Scottsdale. The second was a trip to the nearby mountains with my brother Dan and his family. (Who made the trip from Chicago). Activities included mountain bike riding over the Vail Pass, visiting horse stables with the kids, and most importantly, catching up in a fashion much better than phone calls and emails allow. We all had a fantastically good time.

Now it's back to work and my three-month backlog of clients...but I'm refreshed and ready to go.

Some highlights of upcoming client projects: I'm currently illustrating a children's book called "Riley Peete", a story about a penguin who lives with his family in Manhattan. (The author lives in NYC, so in addition to my foggy memory of the city and Google Images, her insights on life there are helpful.) Next will be a project for a educational company in Vancouver, creating a series of cartoon illustrations to be sold to schools, to aid in teaching English as a second language. ...After that, I will illustrate "The Frogs of Sawhill Ponds", a delightful collection of children's parables by mystery writer & Edgar Award-winner, Rex Burns. (I'll try to share some sketches & finished pieces from those efforts.)

A few friends have emailed recently, wondering why I have not been blogging...or inquiring about my health/continued existence...so hence, this post.

This seven month respite from blogging has allowed me to realize something: I'd much rather draw than talk about it. I'm just happier that way. So, if and when it slows down, (in spite of previous promises to myself to keep a regular journal here), I am resigned to letting my posts be sporadic.

Until next time, it's back to the digital drawing board...

It has been an extremely busy period over the last few weeks, with a full slate of client projects on the board, as well as a couple trips just before and after the new year.

Attached is a small sampling of things that were completed recently...


A cartoon from a online dating book I illustrated last month titled "Seeking Arrangement" (Click for link):


A cover for a magazine distributed at a City Government Conference in New York, NY. (The illustration was commissioned by a professor at the University of Colorado, hence the Denver reference. ):

An illustration for advertisements publicizing an insurance bill recently passed in the Florida legislature:



A character created for a California software company that produces applications for cell phones, like the I-Phone.

They wanted the character's pose to emulate Robert Crumb's iconic 1960's "Keep on Truckin" figure, to get across the idea of moving forward, (for their mobile cell phone apps). They also wanted to make the clothing, shoes, etc. more silicon valley-like, (hiking shoes, v-neck with jeans and a beanie)...which I felt was a good idea -- both to update it and also to fit the audience.

They wanted the character in time for their presentation at the recent Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas....and had beanie hats and shirts featuring the character printed on them to hand out to attendees:

Something that kept me very busy this past July was illustrating a book called "Body Language". (I can post this here now because the book was recently released.)

The author, James Borg is a very intelligent fellow who resides in England. My work required talking with him about the concepts and look of the illustrations...and since the book's editor was also in London, there were lots of late night and early morning phone calls/emails crossing the sea because of the time difference.

It is probably the largest number if illustrations I have ever done for a book...all totaled there were 60 -- some of them quite detailed, so it was a healthy bit of work. Fortunately, I was able to set aside a solid two week block of time to work on it, completing it just in time for the publishing deadline.

From what I could see in reading the text they sent, the book itself seemed fascinating. A copy of the book just arrived from the publisher, so I am looking forward to reading it in its entirety. (Maybe I'll be able to go out in public and know exactly what someone is thinking just from the way they are holding their posture. Like, "Mmmm, this Starbuck latte is good and frothy.")

My wife and I voted last week, downtown at the courthouse. It felt terrific, almost like the "runner's high" feeling you get after a good mind-clearing jog. (It was also nice to have it out of the way...and knowing that long lines would not once again be part of our election day activities.)

I'm just hoping that regardless of who wins the big race, the vitriol begins to subside, putting an end to one of the most partisan eras in our country's history. (I'm probably dreaming.) Just from a cartooning perspective, it would be nice to do a political cartoon and then not expect to be screamed at by one side and given extreme praise by the other. Things are never really that black and white....except when viewed through partisan eyes.

If you haven't already done so, get out and speak your mind.

Happy Halloween!

First of all, a recent illustration done for Northwestern Mutual Life. (A piece commissioned for their ads and marketing...not really a humorous cartoon, but an illustration intended to introduce their services targeted to retirement.)

(Click to enlarge)

The second image is a 'Halloweened' version of that illustration that my daughter Julia and I played with the other night.

Often she will come and visit me in my studio and ask to sit on my lap while I'm working on something. Occasionally we will digitally draw over what I have in process, and then we take turns adding silly details...(the sorts of things that will make an eight year-old laugh.) No one ever sees these Bizarro-versions of the cartoons, (and certainly I never send them to a client.) But it is a fun way to spend some time with my little girl.

Here's hoping you (and your goblins, vampires, pirates, etc.), have a fantastic Hallow's Eve.

Under the gun with several deadlines right now... But here are a couple items from a book illustration job I just wrapped up today. The author is a columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer; very nice woman who has written an intersting book about how to take better notice of the special moments of everyday life, as well as how to make your life less repetitive within its routines. Something worth reading it in its entirety, when I get a chance.

Some illustrations I created for a healthcare organization in Atlanta. I was hired by an agency who was in charge of creating new literature and posters, (to offer to hospitals), explaining the organization's services and products.

As you can see, they came up with a 'Wizard of' Oz theme, (and the large doctor's office posters included a yellow brick road pathway, etc.) They needed cartoon Oz characters that did not look like the characters from the movie, and yet somehow looked more modern that the ones in the original book.

A postcard for a business client, who is moving his family from hot-and-sweaty Austin, Texas to nearly-as-hot-and-just-as-humid Nashville, Tennessee.

The skyline in the background is intended to resemble Nashville's...and the strange building on the left is known locally as the "Batman building", due to its pointy bat ear--like towers. (I don't get to draw many armadillos, so this was a fun diversion for that alone.)