Chewing Pencils

Whether we like it or not, most clients see what we do as light weight and wince at having to pay anything for it. Then, when they finally do decide to spend some money, they consider themselves experts, yet can never tell you what they really want.
Can you tell I’m in a mood?!
One of the […]

Here’s the essence of an email conversation I’ve been having with a client who has come into some money problems and wants to renegotiate a price for some ongoing work:
Client: How much do you want for these cartoons?
Matt: The US$150 we negotiated is fine.
Client: Would you take $100?
Matt: Ok.
Client: Great. Let’s make it $75 then. […]

Developing Characters
Stories only become stories when characters live them out. The Scriptural writings common to Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, commonly known as the Old Testament in the Western world, is a book full of stories. Although it forms the basis for entire belief systems, it is not a series of rules or instructions, […]

NAME: Jason Frazer
AGE: 30
LOCATION: Sydney (Dulwich Hill)
SITE URL:
http://www.twistedmusings.com.au/
How long have you been drawing cartoons?
I always remember drawing in some form or another and distinctly remember drawing ‘He-Man’ cartoons at 9 yrs old in school once I had finished all my class work. I also remember spending a lot of my time at high-school drawing in […]

The Importance of Setting
The setting of a cartoon is quite simply when and where the story is unfolding. This includes the geographical location, whether the location is inside or outside, what time in history it is, what time of the year and day it is and anything else that might help describe the unique […]

I know this is not possible for everybody, especially if freelance cartooning is your sole source of income. But sometimes it is really important to take a break from your drawing.
When we become too busy and our schedules are overloaded, we simply become tired. Not the sort of tired that can be fixed with a […]

Just following up on Andrews comment in the last post…
With the latest upgrade to Wordpress, it seems my feeds have reverted to the full version instead of a summary.
Does anybody have any preference either way?
Part feed is better for me in that it prompts more visitors to come to the site to read the rest […]

The first of my ‘Top Ten Tips for Becoming a Professional Cartoonist’ took a few people by surprise. We naturally think of cartoonists as people who draw. Whether it be a single panel gag, a cartoon strip or full length comic book, a cartoonists is one who puts pencil to paper and creates a cartoon […]

Phew!!
Talk about a busy week! Actually, the whole of February is a busy one for my family, with lots of birthdays and anniversaries and other get togethers. It’s nice, but it doesn’t leave time for much else!
Anyway, there’s been a great response to the call for cartoonists to feature on Chewing Pencils each Friday. Of […]

I was reminded today of how hard it is to make a living in this game…
Last week a potential client contacted me and asked me to quote on a job they had in mind. On the basis of the information they had given me, I sent in the quote and waited to hear back from them. […]