Chewing Pencils

I’m constantly astounded by the diversity of the readers of Chewing Pencils. We have people form all over the world, of all different ages, using all sorts of styles and with varying levels of success.

For me, the biggest benefit of having such a wide audience, is being able to pool ideas and share what we’ve learnt. This week is no different - take some time to read about Elgin and learn from his experience!!

NAME: Elgin Bolling Homo Sapien
AGE: Too old
LOCATION Queens New Yawk, Planet Earth
SITE URL: http://www.subwaysurfer.com

How long have you been drawing cartoons?

I’ve been drawing cartoons ever since I could hold a crayon without stabbing myself in the eye. I became hooked on Jay Ward cartoons, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Underdog, Dudley DooRight, and don’t even let me get started on Hanna Barbara, and Warner Brothers!! I landed my first professional job at eight years old, and received royalty checks for drawing the illustration for the book, “Mother, These Are My Friends” by author, Mary Anne Gross. I was hooked after that!

What made you start to think more seriously about making some money out of it?

When I got paid at eight years old! LOL!! Getting paid for something that I actually would do for FREE was such an awesome concept, that it felt like stealing every time I got paid. “Work” was, and is, always portrayed as something that is necessary for living, but something you REALLLLY don’t want to do. But I ALWAYS wanted to cartoon, and feel blessed to be able to do it!

Have you done any formal training? If so, what and where?

I am self taught. The skills that I have I acquired from observation, investigation and practice. As a kid I was given a weekend scholarship to “study” at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, but it was really just a “kiddie” art class although i was trilled to be there. The same goes for the Brooklyn Museum Art school that was also a weekend program. When I finally got an opportunity to study art at Hunter College The only advantage I saw in taking classes was that you were given a large chunk of time to create whatever you wanted, and I thought, well, hey, I can do this in my room for FREE! I purchased books and videos I needed to teach me different aspects of cartooning storyboarding caricature and animation and worked hard on teaching myself the skills. I am also part of a great organization, The NCN www.caricature.org where I have learned a great deal about cartooning and caricature from some of the greatest artists in the world. Right now I do have an excellent animation teacher, Mark Stansbury at Screen Arts Animation Studios In NYC at 57 Orchard Street…. I know its a shameless plug…

Where was your first cartoon published?

My first cartoon was the cover of the book, Mother These are My Friends, when i was eight. I forget the publisher though! Arrrggghh! One of my most MEMORABLE publishers as an ADULT was tract illustrations I did for the American Tract Society. The tract was entitled, “ya gotta get with the program” and was designed to target urban youth. I was really proud of that work and it gave me tremendous confidence to pursue cartooning as a career.

What materials do you use to create your work?

In addition to Maxwell House Coffee, .I use Blue Prismacolor pencils to scribble out my ideas, and ink them out on tracing paper with either a black Tombo Brush Pen, Or a Faber Castel Pitt Pen. I LOVE those things.

What hardware and software do you use?

My scanner is a necessary tool. I scan my drawings directly into photoshop where I erase the blue lines by eliminating the blue channel and making the pictures grayscale. I then change them to RGB Mode and color them directly in Photoshop. I am excited about flash and cant wait to experiment with that. I also use a pencil test program called Monkeyjam that i use to make sure my motion in animation looks correct.

From where so you draw your inspiration?

I draw my inspiration from a variety of sources. I love the cartoons of the 1950’s and 1960’s . That “look” is very popular now, but I loved them because they were so easy to draw as a kid! Most of my heroes are caricature artists who outside of the caricature community are not as well known as they should be. Tom Richmond , who draws for Mad Magazine, has always been a favorite, but also Jan opdabeeck http://www.opdebeeck.com/ Alison Gelbman,www.caricatureexpress.com, Kenly Dillard, the list goes on and on….. Most of all, for my character designs i get a lot of inspiration from the people I see daily on the subways, buses, and trains I ride as a NYC Commuter. My site, “subwaysurfer”, at www.subwaysurfer.com is devoted to this dynamic life drawing experience.

What are some of the resources you’ve found most helpful?

This website is a fabulous resource as far as practical information goes. Of course the internet, particularly google.com is absolutely necessary too!

What is the best piece of advice you have EVER been given? The worst?

The best advice was given to me by a dear friend, Minister Douglas Hill, who as since gone to be with the Lord. He quoted a scripture passage to me that said: A man’s gift will make room for him” He told me that my gift as an artist would “make room” for me in this world. And he said this to me at a time when i really couldn’t see it, and didn’t have the confidence to imagine it. It was the best advice I was ever given. The worst advice i was given was by some haters who told me that “artists don’t make any money” you’re wasting your time. I LISTENED to that for years and found that I had missed out on countless opportunities by believing that.

Take us through the process you use to create one of your drawings:

My cartoons always start with some action. Even when I’m drawing just faces. I create an imaginary scenario in my head where the character is either about to do something, or has just finished doing something. I then draw as FAST as I can trying to get the MOTION down. Once I establish that, i work on the details. When I’m drawing caricature i try FIRST to draw the PERSONALITY of the person, and then the literal likeness. I feel its our quirks that make us look like ourselves, much more than our collective parts.

How long does it generally take to create one piece?

It varies . When I drawing live caricature at events it takes anywhere from 2-5 minutes. When I ding cartoon drawings for a client or for fun it can take minutes or hours. I spend a LOT of time thinking and in visioning the cartoon situation, scenarios, character designs and voices in my head days before the actual execution. When I do the actual picture its easy because I lived with the characters.

What do you find the hardest to draw?

Machinery! cars, trucks, bikes !!! YAAA! I used models from the toy store, or photo references, and they take time!!!

What do your friends and family think of you being a cartoonist?

They aint impressed! My wife STILL dreams of the day that I get a “real job”.

What do you think is the best part about being a cartoonist?

Getting paid to make fun of people and never having to really “grow up!” As a cartoonist you have the “right” to look at life through a funhouse mirror. A lot of adults don’t have that luxury, and don’t run in those circles. The varieties of people you meet in this industry are the most fun, the most caring and nurturing that I’ve ever met.

What has been the standout post on Chewing Pencils for you? Why?

It aint just ONE! I would have to say that the posts on story writing are EXCELLENT and very idiot proof. I’ve already started to use some of the stuff I’ve read there!

Anything else you’d like to say….

I will forever be thankful to God for blessing me with this talent. For all of you would be cartoonists out there I KKKKKKNNNNNOOOOOOOOWWW it sounds corny, but please BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Unless you are really lucky, you will not be making much money at this at first. There will be times when people will be telling you that you are wasting your time. DON’T BELIEVE THEM. Keep practicing, keep submitting ideas to different markets, keep hanging out with likeminded people and you will at some point hit your groove and find your niche. The alternative is sitting in your rocking chair at 80 , staring out the window and wishing that you could have followed your dream. Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is like a broken winging bird that cannot fly.  

Thanks for being our Friday Feature Artist Elgin!

If you would like to appear here one Friday, just email me and I’ll send you the questions and add you to the queue!