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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Cartoon Clichés: The Desert Island

There are certain themes that almost every cartoonist plays on at one point (or more!) in their career: The Grim Reaper, Gurus on a Mountaintop, Heaven/Hell ... and, of course, The Desert Island.

These themes are better known as "Cartoon Clichés."

Perhaps they're a strange tradition we've inherited from our prehistoric cartooning ancestors. Or maybe they're a funny rite of passage in becoming a real cartoonist. Overall, they just go to show you that there's more than one way to skin a cat!

The following is part of the rough sketch from a "Desert Island" cartoon that I recently finished for one of my clients ...

Cartoon Clichés: The Desert Island - Rough Pencil Sketch by Mike Cope
Cartoon Clichés: The Desert Island - Rough Pencil Sketch by Mike Cope

Just before writing this post, I decided to do a quick Google search on "cartoon clichés." According to this article, Desert Islands are apparently the number one cliché that cartoon editor Susha Lee Shothaman receives at Prospect Magazine!

I'll share the completed cartoon in an upcoming post. In the meantime, you've gotta wonder ... With all those desert islands out there, shouldn't some of these people have been rescued by now?

Stay TOONed!

- Mike Cope

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:12 p.m.

    love the picture!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hola Mike. Me gusta mucho su trabajo. Un saludo desde orillas del Mediterráneo.

    ReplyDelete