The First Loose Parts
You should know these three things about the first Loose Parts:
1. I was forced to do it.
2. I didn’t know how to draw.
3. It took me three hours.
Well, there’s my first toon for all to see. Right up there atop this post. That was the first Loose Parts cartoon I ever drew. It ran in May of the year 2000.
Those fans who’ve followed Loose Parts since the late ‘90s might be surprised that I call this one the first. Although I’ve been writing Loose Parts from the beginning, for the first two years of its existence, it was drawn by my good friend John Gilpin. When John decided to stop drawing it because of personal reasons, I was faced with dropping out of the syndication world, or learning to draw ... real fast.
I chose to learn how to draw.
So the early Loose Parts under my hand were heavy on concept. Real heavy. I not only had to write jokes that were funny, I had to write jokes that were easy to draw. Salmon At The Mall is a perfect example.
Oh, there are things there that make me cringe. The bad use of the Tekton font. The super cool and hip and edgy distressed font I used for the title badge. And most of all, the wiggly line I used to disguise my lack of pen control.
I can remember doing it over and over till I got the salmon just right. I was so proud of myself ... until I realized I had to do 23 more for the month.
Those early days involved lots of hours, lots of late nights, lots of learning. I remember being amazingly thankful for the people at the LA TImes Syndicate of let me learn on the job. Years later, I asked them what the hell they were thinking. One exec told me, “We were thinking that it’s easier to find a funny person and teach him to draw than it is to find someone who draws and teach them to be funny.”
That meant a lot to me.
Oh, and did I mention I was 43 years old at the time? Talk about never being too late in life to learn new tricks.
But like the guy who was turned into a newt, I got better. And now, nine years and several thousand drawings later, I can finally look at Loose Parts cartoons and not cringe a little inside. You probably haven’t got to that point yet.
Still, I thought you’d like to see the very first one.
I wonder how I’d draw it today?
Till I try ... stay Loose.
Blogged Arteries
Sunday, May 10, 2009
