Gag Cartoons

Before my professional art career began, one of the many directions I considered was freelance gag cartoon artist. Being a Christian, I was interested in producing cartoons for a Christian audience. Most of the Christian gag cartoons that I had seen were in magazines like Campus Life and Leadership Journal.  Each magazine had a number of cartoonists that were regulars and their cartoon styles were pretty loose and the gags seems pretty simple in content. I liked the humor and I thought it was something I could do.  I purchased and book called Artist's Market that listed the contact information for lots of magazines and publications , a description of the art needs for each as well as how much they would pay for artwork and cartoons. Many would pay $50 or more for ONE cartoon! So I produced a few cartoons and tried to break into the field. Below are two cartoons of the cartoons that I sent to Leadership Journal. I was on my way!

A while later I received a nice rejection letter from Leadership Journal. I wasn't crushed by this, but I concluded I didn't have the funny in my bones (versus the fire in my bones) and decided to pursue another direction. It's just as well. Humor is still something I appreciate, but my favorite cartoons and illustrations are ones that are more editorial in nature. Those are the kinds of illustrations and cartoons I am blessed to produce to this day. Praise the Lord!