A Little Background
You want to know what I obsess about?
People who do business on their phones next to me on the train. Dude, I’ve checked out of the office, I don’t want to be forced into yours.
I also obsess over the perfect turkey pastrami sandwich. The secret? You have to use extra oregano and you must MUST chop the lettuce before adding the Italian dressing.
But one of the weird cartoon things I obsess over is backgrounds. More specifically, how much detail do I draw in the background of a cartoon.
Yes, of course, the simple answer is just enough to communicate the joke. But many times, a good detailed background is the oregano on a sandwich. Say, you’re doing a noir detective panel. Well, you just have to create the ambiance in the panel so you must draw some detailed backgrounds. But most of the time, I’m just not sure.
Take a look at the two cartoons atop this entry. They are two of a recurring family that pops up from time to time in Loose Parts. The one on the left contains a great bit of detail in the background. Heck, you can see things on the counter in the kitchen way through the doorway.
But look at the other cartoon. Nada. A blank background. I even wondered if it should be a wall, but, hey, who puts a couch four feet from the wall? So where the hell is that sofa? Does it matter?
So this is what’s going through my head: what’s more important? The joke right in the foreground? Or the overall richness of the panel that comes from a detailed background?
I think I’m opting more for the latter. I’m trying to add a little more richness from background detail. I think this is where my background as a director of TV commercials helps. I find myself blocking out a panel like I would block out a scene on a set. Except the actors don’t talk back.
But I could be wrong.
What do you think? More or less detail in the backgrounds? Write me at looseparts@comcast.net. I’ll publish the intriguing answers right here.
And while we’re on those cartoons above, another thing pops into my head, and no, it’s not an aneurism.
I keep drawing the same house interior regardless of who occupies it: people, bugs, cows, monsters, alligators. At first I started thinking, “Man, I gotta create some different architecture.” Then I thought different.
I kind of like that all these beings live in the same neighborhood in this same sort of suburban Levittown kind of place where all the house are sort of this middle class vibe. It’s the house I grew up in. There’s a warmth there. I think it makes for good funny. I think I’ll keep building these houses for awhile.
Till later, stay Loose.
The Loose Parts Blog
Sunday, March 1, 2009
