www.abwac.org.au
President’s Parlay
Number 45 Winter 2005
www.abwac.org.au 1300 658 581 ACA Board Patron Vane Lindesay (03) 9523 8635 President James Kemsley (02) 4871 2551 president@abwac.org.au Secretary Steve Panozzo (02) 8920 9996 secretary@abwac.org.au Treasurer Mick Horne (08) 9527 3000 treasurer@abwac.org.au Vice Presidents Brett Bower (NSW) (02) 9589 4717 nsw@abwac.org.au Rolf Heimann (Vic/Tas) (03) 9699 4858 vic@abwac.org.au Sean Leahy (Qld) (07) 3325 2822 qld@abwac.org.au John Martin (SA/NT) (08) 8297 8516 sa@abwac.org.au Greg Smith (WA) (08) 9409 5026 wa@abwac.org.au ABN 19 140 290 841 Inkspot is produced four times a year by the Australian Cartoonists’ Association. PO Box 318 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
ACA AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS National Cartoonists Society President Rick Stromoski Secretary Rick Kirkman www.reuben.org Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain President Graham Fowell Secretary Richard Tomes www.ccgb.org.uk FECO President-General Roger Penwill Secretary-General Peter Nieuwendijk www.fecoweb.org Australia Post Registration PP 533798/0015 Inkspot Insomniac: James Kemsley Inskpot Prifroader: Steve Panozzo Inkspot contributors:
Jason Chatfield, Gary Clark, Rod Emmerson, Lindsay Foyle, Alex Hallatt, Rolf Heimann, Chris Kelly, James Kemsley, Steve Panozzo, Ross Sharp, Chris Slane, Dr. Leigh Summers, Ian C. Thomas
Cover artwork by Daron Parton Cover design by Rod Emmerson
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T
o quote our always-diligent treasurer Mick Horne “Shere we go again!” Yes the Stanleys, our 21st, are just around the corner! For the vast majority of members the annual event is just that, something that happens once a year, however for the small organising group there isn’t a twelve months’ break, not even six. Planning for this year’s awards began back in December, less than a month after the Bowral weekend had been widely acknowledged as a success and assigned a spot in the Association’s history. So what have we been doing? Foremost we needed to pick a location that was available for the first weekend in November. Somewhere accessible, interesting and affordable. Early in the discussions the Steering Committee agreed the three-day regional get together was worth continuing and, for 2005, at least, NSW should again be the location. Essential is a venue within 90 minutes or so from a capital city, as it was with Ettalong and Bowral. The Committee checked out facilities and costs in the Hunter Valley, on the South Coast and in the Blue Mountains. Part of the brief included getting the local Council on side, both financially and physically; shoring up support of the area’s newspaper and forming an association with a locally based museum, gallery, festival, or the like, as we did in 2003 with Spikefest and in 2004 with The Bradman Foundation. Those boxes were ticked during the first part of the year and with the “bids” in, it a simple a case of elimination. We are now all qualified to pick the next Olympic city! The location that best filled all our criteria was the Blue Mountains. The promised support we received from Blue Mountains Tourism and others in that part of the world more than met our expectations. Their enthusiasm for the Stanleys and the opportunity to host a giggle of cartoonists for the weekend was encouraging to say the least. Yes, there are still places that welcome cartoonists with open arms! A couple of us spent two days in the Mountains visiting and getting quotes from the major hotels and resorts, aided and abetted by pressganging local mountain man, ACAer Phil Somerville, with his intimate knowledge of the area, who has now joined the Steering Committee. The quotes were considered; the excellent haggling and negotiating skills of NSW VP Brett Bower utilised; the recommendation made to and approved by the Board. Stanleys 2004 will take place at the luxurious Peppers Fairmont Resort in quaint, charming Leura, an ink pot’s splash from the famous Three Sisters, the Jamison Valley, Wentworth Falls and close enough to Springwood
to bring the Norman Lindsay Gallery into 2005’s package. There will be a Lindsay cartoon competition; the theme is FOOD with the exhibition and opening reception at the gallery on Friday night, 4 November. The “Lindsays” will be presented during the Stanleys on Saturday, 5 November. Norman’s place in the pantheon of Australian art, and from our perspective cartooning, makes this a prize worth chasing. The ACA boiler room, and assorted coal-shovellers, is well and truly fired up and into making this year one the best awards ever. Expect your “Stanleys in the Mountains” brochure and booking form in mid-September. An excellent price has been negotiated with the Fairmont, nearly half of their normal room rate! Of course the usual accommodation flyer will offer a choice of hotel prices to suit most wallets and purses. Anyone wanting to book accommodation early can download a PDF from the ACA website. At the last AGM, the Board was asked to investigate the possibility of reverting to the original Voting Book format of one full page per entry, which was the style until 2001. Originally printed, posted and paid for by the Bulletin, the Voting Book was one of the major costs of the Stanleys inherited by the Club when the sponsorship was withdrawn. It still is! Each year the book has continued to get larger and more expensive to produce and the number of volunteers putting it together has diminished. The ABWAC National Committee, as it was at the time, did the sums and saw a change was needed to stop the drain on the Club’s limited coffers and resources. They decided on the current design and A4 size. It was, and is, both cheaper to print and distribute. In line with the 2004 motion the Board sought quotes from printers, courier services and Australia Post. Once again, doing the sums and taking into consideration ACA finances and the number of volunteers involved in the book’s production, it has been resolved that we continue with the half page entry. The Board will present a full report to the AGM in November. To end! Thanks in spades to the resourceful and talented Kiwi contingent of the ACA who have given us our first, but hopefully not last, trans-Tasman edition of Inkspot. Perhaps the “Australasian Cartoonists’ Association” IS just around the corner? Maybe even a future Stanleys in the Land of the Long White Cloud?. Welldone Rod Emmerson, Bill Paynter, David Fletcher, Alex Hallatt. By the way, planning has already begun for Stanleys 2006! Details at the Fairmont! Creative scribbling,
The ACA is proud to announce the continuation of our association with PANPAfor 2005-06 with the renewal of its Associate Membership. Gary Clark has again been appointed by the ACA Board as PANPA liaison officer.
Roger Penwill passes
The following is an extract from the article
Content revolution will define how ACCC view mergers by Jack Beverley PANPA Bulletin June 2005
What is happening is, in short a revolution in the way young people are accessing news. They donĂt want to rely on the morning paper for their up-to-date information. They don't want to rely on a God-like figure from above to tell them what's important. And to carry the religion analogy a bit further, they certainly donĂt want news presented As gospel. Instead, they want their news on demand, when it works for them. They want control over their media, instead of being controlled by it. In his delivery of the Henry Mayer lecture at the University of Queensland, Graeme Samuel of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission quoted the above extracts from the 'threat of the internet speech' pointing out that 'the speech was astonishing not so much for what it said, but as who said it'. He said 'Murdoch was the one person who has perhaps more to lose from a media revolution which might take control away from proprietors and put it in the hands of the audience. For the worlds biggest newspaper publisher, that's a lot to lose' he said. 'While the internet had obviously had a major impact on the way people communicate , it was set to be further revolutionized as broadband access became a widely available reality' he said. Samuel said the traditional view on media markets was that print was print and electronic was electronic and if print acquired electronic then it didn't involve greater concentration. The more research the ACCC did the more it confirmed his initial assessment that convergence was making those traditional definitions of media markets largely irrelevant. Samuel said that the impact of convergence and technological developments on media market dynamics and market definitions might be much sooner than expected and could be happening already. Ed note: Convergence.If you have not heard the word before take note of it, study it and if possible creatively think about it. Convergence is a merging of all forms of media from print to electronic media in all its changing forms. Convergence is a phase of technology changes and catch up that is reshaping all media and creating the challenge for everybody involved in this industry (including Cartoonists ) to rethink traditional views and creatively adapt. If ACA members wish to read more please ask you State VP for a copy of the current journal. Copies are very limited. I would recommend any ACA member serious about keeping up with developments in the Newspaper industry subscribe to the PANPA Bulletin at the special associate rate of $104 per year for 12 issues. To subscribe please contact Nick Murphie and request a subscription form. Email
news@panpa.org.au
PANPA Inc. PO Box 6425 South Sydney Business Hub Alexandria NSW 2015
It is very good news that more organisations from new countries are asking about joining FECO. At the time of writing this, there are three organisations wanting to join. As FECO celebrates its 20th birthday, this is clear sign that FECO continues to grow. This article is my last for Inkspot as President General. At the end of June this year Germany's Marlene Pohle will take over from me as the new President General. I am sure you will give her at least the same support you have given me and hopefully even more! Marlene is a respected cartoonist and very well known around the world. She is a regular entrant in many cartoon contests, an experienced member of cartoon juries and an attendee at countless cartoon festivals. Few people have such a good cv and qualifications to be the head of our organisation. Another of her attributes is that she is, of course, a woman. In a profession that is dominated by men, this fact projects a positive and progressive image for FECO. The target I set myself for my time as President, was to improve the standing and reputation of FECO, increase its membership and make it more democratic. I know there were many critics of FECO four years ago. I hope there are fewer now. I know Marlene will be enthusiastically following the FECO motto: "Drawing the world together" but I believe she will also make FECO into a more active force for the rights of cartoonists in the world. By this I do not necessarily mean human rights (which are of course important) but improving the way cartoonists are treated and respected by contest organisers and galleries and how they and their art are regarded by the public. I won't be disappearing from the FECO Board as I will become a FECO Vice-President. I will still be around to give Marlene any support I can. So thanks to all who have supported and encouraged me during the last four years and the very best wishes to Marlene and FECO for the future. FECO - onward and upward! Roger Penwill, Fading-out President General.
SECOND INTERNATIONAL CARAGIALE EXPOSITION Deadline: September 1, 2005. Theme: 1) Portrait or caricature of a great writer and journalist from East Europe: Ion Luca Caragiale. 2) Illustrations of Ion Luca Caragiale's literary work. 3) Have you a book of Ion Luca Caragiale published in your country? Send it to us and you will received a special prize. Size: Maximum A3 (30 X 42cm) The caricature sending by e-mail crn@rdslink.ro>crn@rdslink.ro 300 dpi, size 21 x 30 cm approximately) All participants will received the exhibition catalogue free of charge. Caragiale photos at http://www.cartoon-crn.com/caragiale.htm Address: Cartoonists Rights Network,Str-Eminescu, Nr-28A, Ap-27,OP-1, CP-172, Ploiesti, Romania MORE at http://www.caricatura.ro>www.caricatura.ro
Cartoon Competition 2005 Millennium Development Goals, Frankfurt Theme : Millennium development goals for a more equitable future and global partnership Entry Details : http://www.cartoon-competition.org
www.abwac.org.au
The Australian Cartoonists’ Association is now calling for submissions for the 21st Stanley Awards. Submissions are collated and published in the annual ACA Year Book, representing cartoons, comic strips, caricatures and illustrations published over the past year. The categories for the Stanley Awards are:
STANLEY AWARD CATEGORIES Comic Strip Cartoonist An artist whose published body of work is a primarily multi-panel sequential comic cartoon strip, adventure or illustrated comic strip. Editorial/Political Cartoonist An artist whose published body of work is political and/or social satire in cartoon form. It can be either single frame or comic strip. Single Gag Cartoonist An artist whose published body of work is a primarily single frame, non-editorial/political landscape or portrait panel gags. A cartoonist cannot enter the same feature in both the Comic Strip and the Single Gag categories.
Caricaturist An artist whose body of work is published caricatured likenesses or unpublished caricatured likenesses created as a professional service. Humorous Illustrator An artist whose published body of work is published humorous illustration to newspaper/magazine articles, books, advertising etc. Work deemed to be political, single-gag, caricature, or comic strip based will not be eligible for this category. General Illustrator An artist whose published body of work is published non-caricatured portraits and realist representations, stylized or metaphoric illustrations. Digital Illustrator An artist whose published body of work is published digitally-generated artwork. NOTE: Full members can opt to submit their artwork for the Year Book and chose NOT to be a competitive entry. Any such entries will be marked accordingly and will not be considered eligible for the Stanley Awards. Instead that submission will be considered an acknowledgment and record of that artist’s work.
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CONDITIONS OF ENTRY 1) You must be a full member of the Australian Cartoonists’ Association and have your 2005/2006 financial year membership fees paid in full. Please note that all memberships expire on June 30. If you have not renewed your membership this year for 2005/2006 you can not enter the Stanley Awards. Full Membership renewals can be submitted with your Stanleys entry. 2) All work submitted must have been professionally published between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. Proof of publication must be supplied if requested by the Board or Year Book sub-committee. Work on personal (or non-commercial) websites are not acceptable. 3) You may enter TWO categories. Work not included in its proper category will have the appropriate category assigned by the Year Book sub-committee. 4) All entries must be electronic submissions on correct sized pages. If you have difficulty is arranging scanning and emailing contact the ACA. 5) E-mail submissions are preferred. Submissions can also be on disk. If you chose B/W it must be 600 dpi (tiff). B/W entries must NOT be greyscale. If you chose greyscale (for colour work) it must be a 300 dpi tif file or jpeg. Colour entries at 300 dpi will also be accepted. They will be reproduced as greyscale BUT will be published online in colour on the ACA website. 6) Include your name, address, contact telephone number, e-mail address and website with your entry. 7) Please identify caricatures by adding the subject’s name within your page where possible. "Live" caricaturists must provide details of corporate experience if requested by the Board or Year Book sub-committee. 8) The Year Book sub-committee reserves the right to reject any entry it feels does not comply with the rules. The Year Book sub-committee reserves the right to reject entries that are substandard, plagiarised or copied. 9) By entering the Stanleys the artist gives permission for ACA to publish his/her work to promote Australian cartoonists and cartoons in ACA publications and website. ACA will not publish for financial gain any artwork without the express permission of the artist concerned. Copyright will reside with the artist. 10) The closing date is July 31, 2005. YEAR BOOK PAGE GUIDELINES The format of the 2005 Year Book is A4. Submissions are allocated one half of a page. Your artwork must be arranged to fit between a maximum page width of 180mm and a page depth of 110mm. There is a title strap to go above your submission. Please ensure you have supplied the correct details: name, telephone number, website and email. NOTE: This is the same as previous years. Your finished page on computer disk may be sent to: ACA Stanleys PO Box 580 Elizabeth, South Australia 5112 or you can e-mail your entry to stanleys@abwac.org.au All enquiries to Peter Broelman: 08 8255 9939 or via the email address.
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Current Editorial Cartoonist of the Year Stanley recipient Peter Broelman has just signed on with giant media group Australian Associated Press, Australia's national news agency, which gives editors of AAP's massive client list through out Australia and the Pacific region access to his award-winning daily cartoons now available also in colour. For non-AAP clients Broels' spin on the news of the day can be found on www.broelman.com.au
Brisbane's Courier-Mail illustrator and Stanleys award winner Brett Lethbridge has been busy in recent years dedicating his spare time to his passion of fine art. A couple of years back, he spent a year in residence in Sienna, Italy and has had numerous international exhibitions including Artfolio gallery at Raffles Hotel, Singapore, the Hyatt in Hamburg, the United Nations Mission in New York, and most recently Britto Central in Miami, Florida. Last year, he opened Lethbridge Gallery in Paddington, Brisbane. If you're in Brisbane and at a loose end, take the trouble to visit his gallery. It's a worthwhile experience. Otherwise, visit www.brettlethbridge.com As an illustrator of children's books, Victorian VP Rolf Heimann was invited to the New Zealand 'storyline' festival, billed as the largest event of its kind in the world. He took part in 'family days' and visited schools in Auckland, New Plymouth and Northland. The festival in June with a grand open day at the Aotea Centre in Auckland.
Nineteen past and present Queensland members gathered at the Bronco Leagues Club in June for the inaugural Old No Tie Dinner. Those attending included Hugh Steward-Killick, Tony Bela, Jules Faber, Gary Clark, Becc Peters, Phil Judd, Jo Brooker, Mark Guthrie, Paul Zanetti and Kris Mitchell. Members went through their cartooning paces with the Best Cartoon Drawn on the night awarded to new Sunshine Coast member Paul Brennan. The prize, a full size football autographed by the 2005 Broncos team. Paul said his son (a devoted Broncos fan) would be thrilled to nick this trophy from his dad as soon as possible. The northern chapter also gathered in June for a night at the movies to see how the animated hit Madagascar shaped up.
Coffs Harbour Bunker Cartoon Gallery played host to Nik Scott's dogtoons in an exhibition called Hot Diggity Dog Cartoons. The show coincided with a dog show (Scott got to be a judge), talks by the Guide dogs for the Blind, stalls, games, a string quartet and even an appearance by a line dancing kelpie. The day was well attended and all proceeds went to the Guide Dogs and to the local RSPCA shelter. The exhibition, which was organised by Leigh Summers, ran through June and July.
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AAP is also offering weekly papers a ready-made full comic and feature page titled Comic Relief. The brainchild of Editor-in-Chief Tony Gillies, it features strips from ACA members, Gary Clark, David Fletcher, James Kemsley, Steve McGarry and Mark Lynch.
The exhibition Reclaiming Felix the Cat is on show at the State Library of NSW until 7 August. Exhibition curator, Judy Nelson gave a talk and a guided tour through the exhibition on Thursday, 9 June at 12:30pm.
VALE
Auspac Media has released their 2005 Feature Brochure with cover art highlighting a number of the comic strips they represent in Australia. Included on the front page is the work of John Martin, Gary Clark and Lee Sheppard. Auspac also syndicate comics and panels by ACAers Sean Leahy, Dave Allen, Mark Lynch, Roger Fletcher, Alan Rose and Rob Wiezel.
Victorian member and part-time composer Peter Foster had his musical 'Call of Guadalupe' staged and recorded in early June, and with 5 performances almost sold out, it can be deemed a success. Foster not only composed and conducted, but designed the costumes as well. Foster was born an the same day in 1931 as Pope John Paul II, so it is no wonder that he became a dedicated Christian. The cast of the musical consisted of members of the 'Catholic Charismatic Renewal' movement, and consequently many of them were amateurs. But what they lacked in professionalism they made up in enthusiasm, and this contributed to the charm of the performances.
Sean Leahy's colour daily version of Beyond The Black Stump replaced the veteran UK comic strip Fred Bassett in Melbourne's Herald-Sun in May. The weekend format strip, which was already appearing in the Saturday edition, is also now in full colour. The Herald-Sun follows the Launceston Examiner, the Albury Border-Mail and the Canberra Times running their daily comics in colour. The Western Australian chapter held a cartoon workshop weekend in Mandurah (just south of Perth) from the 14th - 15th May. A posse of 18 scribblers gathered at The Mandurah Gates Resort and a number of topics were tackled including computer skills, marketing, caricaturing and editorial cartooning. Guest speakers Rod Waller and Walkley Award winning Daily News cartoonist Allan Langoulant spoke about their respective careers and passed on some valuable pieces of advice. On the subject of WA, members held their first exhibition of the year at the Little Creatures Brewery, Fremantle. The exhibition featured an eclectic mix of over 70 works from local members. The 'Humorous look at Fremantle and other works ' exhibition was officially opened by local Mayor Stephen Lee and ran until the end of June. Victorian cartoonists had a July get-together at the Tivoli German Club, in Dandenong Road, where they heard the ACA's kids book superstar Leigh Hobbs speak about his cartooning hero Ronald Searle, backed by a pictorial display of the British Legend’s work prepared by Jim Bridges.
Pat Brady has received the 2005 Reuben as the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in front of a packed black tie audience at the 59th Annual NCS awards in Scottsdale, Arizona . It was the eighth time the Rose Is Rose syndicated cartoonist had been nominated for the prestigious award. The other nominees were Dave Speed Bump Coverly and Dan Bizarro Piraro (his third nomination in a row.) The award for Editorial Cartoons went to Florida Today's Jeff Parker while Glenn McCoy's The Duplex was judged Best Newspaper Comic strip. Successor to the late Hank Ketcham on Dennis The Menace, Marcus Hamilton received the award for Newspaper Panel Cartoons with Gag Cartoons going to Robert Weber. There is movement at the station! The top jobs of the ACA's three affiliate cartooning organizations have all had a change of personnel in the last couple of months. After two terms as president Steve McGarry has handed over the reins of the NCS to Rick Stromoski, Roger Penwill has done likewise with the running of FECO going to Marlene Pohle and Britain has seen Terry Christien succeed Graham Fowell as Chairman of the CCGB. The ACA congratulates all three on their respective appointments and wishes them calm seas and mild winds whilst steering their respective ships. Kemsley still has sixteen months of his sentence to serve, with little likelihood of time off for good behaviour. New Zealand Herald editorial cartoonist Rod Emmerson has picked up his second Qantas Media Award in just 2 years. The Qantas Awards are NZ's prestigious media awards and were attended by some 200 print media nominees and partners at the Wellington Town Hall. MC for the evening was the ever witty Dominion Post cartoonist Tom Scott.
VALE
cont'd
Is that EWE-MUR? Wanganui's Colin Langmead has generated a new series of cartoons around his Ewe Zealand Made panel. Thoughts for Ewe is now up and running and covers a variety of subjects from relationships, mother earth and pornography. For further information, you can contact Colin at langmead@npw.quik.co.nz Joanne Brooker was recognised for her contribution to artistic endeavours in Northern NSW at the 2005 Northern NSW Journalism Awards held at Crowne Plaza, Newcastle on June 18. Formerly known as the Prodis, the relaunched awards this year included a regional award for best editorial artist or cartoonist. Brooker's winning portfolio, included work published in The Walkley Magazine. The award is open to all artists working in the Northern NSW branch of the Media Alliance which stretches from the Hawkesbury River to the Queensland border. The judges were overwhelmed by Brooker's creative artistry and commented her 'beautiful work' had bought some well-known characters to life. For Brooker, the achievement had particular significance, as it is the first award she has won as a freelance illustrator after working for the Courier Mail for ten years. "I am particularly pleased because it's an artwork which I commissioned myself to create", Brooker said. For more information on the Northern NSW Journalism Awards visit www.alliance.org.au/nnswawards Entries open in January/February each year.
Hairbutt The Hippo Funnies are on sale now! By Jason Paulos & Bodine Amerikah, the collected adventures of Hairbutt The Hippo Private Eye - originally printed in Australian Mad Magazine during 1997-2000, includes unpublished strips and retoned pages from original art. The book is available now for the special low price of $10 (plus postage) from h t t p : / / w w w. l u l u . c o m / r a t r a c e . Recommended for mature readers! Daniel Zachariou writes to tell Inkspot that Supanova 2005 - Sydney (www.supanova.com.au) is on again in Sydney at Wharf 8, October 14-16. Visit the web site for details of Australian premier comic con. Many innovations are planned for the weekend including the Supanova Fan Film Festival while Sam Flash Gordon Jones, from the 80s movie of the same name, will be just one of the many celebrities attending. Mr. Squiggle will be the subject of a major exhibition at Sydney's Mosman Art Gallery in September. The diminutive graffiti artist, created by Norman Hetherington in 1959, will be on show alongside his fellow cast members, cartoons, drawings and other memorabilia. Norman has been described as "a national treasure" by the gallery. "Mr. Squiggle has has engaged so many generations", said gallery director Tony Geddes. Mr. Squiggle: The Art of Norman Hetherington (left) will be staged from 3 September until 9 October.
Six years ago, I was asked by Noz if I would take over the Vice President's position for Western Australia. The existing VP was moving interstate. Uncertain of myself, I took it on and sent out a letter to all the names on the list I had inherited. The letter was to introduce myself, and invite all to a meeting in Perth. Activities in our Perth lot had been very quiet for many months, and the turn up to the meeting was not great. From memory there were about 5 of us. One of those who attended was Mike Collins. Armed with degrees in Fine Arts and teaching Mike was working as a postie at the time to supplement his main passion - cartooning. As a cartoonist he developed a newspaper strip called Perfume, drew cartoons on a television children’s program, taught hundreds of children and adults cartooning and caricaturing (including some of our current members) and completed thousands of caricatures for West Australians. But Mike was not a member of ABWAC. This did not deter him from being enthusiastically involved in all our meetings, exhibitions and outings. He was very supportive. From time to time I would put the gentle pressure on him to become a member. He would jokingly brush it off, or make a half hearted promise to pay his fees and then quietly forget to. This charade went on for many years. But Mike was not a member of ABWAC. This did not deter him from being enthusiastically involved in all our meetings, exhibitions, and outings etc. He was very supportive. From time to time I would put the gentle pressure on him to become a member. He would jokingly brush it off, or make a half hearted promise to pay his fees and then quietly forget to.This charade went on for many years. We had a pre Xmas drinks outing in Perth to welcome Paul Rigby back to Perth, and welcome Smithy into the state VP position, and me into the Treasurers job. On this occasion I was presented with a fine caricature of myself in appreciation of my time as state VP. This treasured possession had been done by Mike, and proudly resides in my study. Surely, anyone who does fine work like that would love to be a member of ACA (as we were to become). But no, Mike stubbornly refused to join. But he was always happy and willing to pitch in with any activities we had going. For many years, members of the growing WA contingent would return with marvelous yarns from the Stanleys weekend. Mike listened to these with great interest, and finally made the pilgrimage last year with his partner Glennys to Bowral. This trip was Mike's 50th birthday present from Glennys. Like any first timer, he came away with his eyes wide open and full of enthusiasm. Great I thought. At long last he's hooked. Now he'll join. But no, it was not to be. Smithy has had the whip out, and the first half of this year has been its usual busy self. We've had several meetings, a conference weekend in Mandurah, and a very successful exhibition in the heart of Fremantle. The Mandurah conference had a great turnout with many fine presentations. Everyone came away with a lot of good value. I came away with something more valuable than the others. Clutched in my hot little hand was Mike's membership application along with his cheque for the fees. I (we) had finally done it. Six bloody long years, and Mike was an ACA member at long last. The form was dated 14th May 2005. On Monday 23rd May, our latest member assisted with the hanging of over seventy items for our next exhibition. It was opened two nights later, and Mike and Glennys both attended along with about forty other people. A fine night was had by all. That was less than four weeks ago. Last week I heard Mike was in hospital (intensive care ward). I don't know all the details, but I guess that doesn't matter. He passed away on Saturday. A friend sadly missed. You just never know when your pen is going to run dry. Mick Horne
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New Zealand may be
Gal’s Own Country but women cartoonists are thin on the ground
Alex Hallatt (herself a cartoonist) chats with Anna Crichton and Celia Allison The first cartoon conference I went to (Ayr, Scotland) was attended by about 60 male cartoonists. There were 3 women cartoonists. One worked mainly as a nurse, one was about 90, retired and Turkish and then there was me. When I emigrated to NZ in 2003, I was not surprised to see there were few women cartoonists . Therefore, it was startling to move to Lyttelton (population 4000 ish) and find that not only was there another cartoonist living there, but that that cartoonist was another woman: Celia Allison. I recently caught up with Celia at her home in the fashionable (ie. not dark) side of Lyttelton. Over an elaborately made coffee we tried to stick to the topic of women in NZ cartooning, the gist of which appears below. Racking our brains conjured up only another two women cartoonists in NZ: Anna Crichton and Rosemary McLeod (who works mainly as a journalist). Anna’s thoughts on the subject have been slotted in from correspondence.
Anna Crichton (www.annacrichton.com):
Why did you become a cartoonist? CA: I love drawing and I love making people laugh. As a child growing up in the country I lapped up the cartoons of Ronald Searle, Thelwell, Punch magazines and whatever else lay around the house. I have to confess I even collected the “Love Is..” cartoons from the Christchurch Press. At school I accompanied lessons with drawing caricatures of the teachers under the desk. AH: When I was growing up, there was a huge range of comics, which I read voraciously. They weren’t replicating TV animation or trying to sell toys, but existed in their own right - Whizzer and Chips, Buster, Cor!, Beezer, Krazy Comic, and the sublimely funny Oink! The characters and storylines seemed hilarious then and I loved the artwork and copied the way they drew speed lines, explosions, speech bubbles and every other thing the cartoonist needs in their artistic toolbox. I drew cartoons in school to make my friends laugh. We used to make comics about the teachers, which were quite cruel, but had us in fits of giggles during the lessons. AC: Cartooning seemed like a fun and glamorous world to be involved in. The notion of being able to satirise a public figure appealed to me. I liked the idea of being applauded for having insight, to be allowed to be nasty in a protected environment.
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Left: Celia Allison (www.cecily.co.nz): Above Sweet As Alex Hallat( Nz Herald)
What was your first paid commission? CA: I traded my first drawings at boarding school for either iceblocks or 20c pieces. In secondary school holidays, I made and sold greeting cards to local “artshops.” AH: I was paid £50 to design the book plate for the books which were given out as prizes by the Biological Sciences department at University. It was some time before I earned anything better than that!
AC: Sold a quick cartoon to a fisherman friend at the beach for a fish when about 11 years old - pic of him holding a huge fish, legs bent with the weight. Simple stuff. Who do you work for now? CA: I draw a single panel cartoon called “Cecily” which I syndicate to several NZ and Australian magazines, including the Dominion Post(Wellington), Next Magazine and Capital (Canberra). I also market associated products such as cards, tea-towels, calendars and other giftlines. I also produce a range of New Zealand based cards and products under the label “Moa Revival”. AH: Mostly UK clients in magazines and humour publishing, but I do coffee-related strips for Café (NZ) and Crema (Aus) magazines and a weekly panel for The New Zealand Herald’s Canvas Magazine called “Sweet As”. AC: Besides the regular gigs, I am working on a humour book called Animanalysis, with New York author Richard Rosen (who invented the word ‘psychobabble’). It will give readers an unprecedented glimpse into the secret lives of animals. Using my illustrations and deadpan captions we hope to create a world where the therapist and animal interact to reflect the fears, phobias and fetishes of human beings. Why do you think there are so few women in cartooning? AC: Boys read more comics than girls. When boys draw, they tend to doodle about with cartoon-style images, drawing monsters, men with guns - maybe it starts off as fantasy Rambo-type imagery. They refine it as time goes on when they realise they might be able to make some money out of it. CA: In our society we have been led to believe that women aren’t funny. NZ cartooning is generally pretty macho and men dominate the political and editorial arenas. There is an assumption in NZ that cartoons have to be political - women’s humour tends to focus on the human condition (AH: and gets shunted to the lifestyle sections and out of the main body of the paper). It’s usually the guys telling the jokes at parties and the women, propping up the men’s egos, laughing at them. AH: I think cartooning is a form of showing off, which is not a very feminine trait. Men tend to be better at blowing their own trumpets and saying “Look at this - this is what I think of this subject - do you think it’s funny?”. This goes along with what Celia said about men being the ones to tell jokes at parties. Women are less inclined to draw attention to themselves in this way. Perhaps I’m a cartoonist because I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy, although I’m still crap at telling jokes at parties. CA: I’m not a tomboy, but I’ve always liked to hold my own amongst men. AH: So we’re not submissive women! What do you think of the NZ cartooning market? CA: It feels pretty small and parochial but we are a pretty small country after all. I’m not aware of anyone in my arena within the country. AH: The editorial market here is limited, as many publications use stock images, or very cheap syndicated cartoons from the US and UK. If there is a budget for original artwork, you can expect to be paid the same (or less) in dollars as a UK publication would pay in pounds. There is also a poor understanding of copyright and the use of images. In the UK, most clients will pay for a licence for your cartoon, which will depend on what the cartoon is going to be used for. In NZ, many potential clients have asked me what my hourly rate is and some are unaware that if you provide an image for a use, that they don’t own the copyright to use it for anything else. AC: We’re not brazen and confident enough here in NZ to laugh at ourselves as the Aussies can do so well. I’ve had a few experiences with caricaturing well known personalities here who, at the last minute, got cold feet and decided on a photograph.
NATIONAL CARTOONISTS' SOCIETY
HAIL
McGARRY by Rick Stromoski
I first met Steve McGarry at the Reuben Awards weekend in New York in 1996 at the Waldorf Astoria. We chatted at length, downed many a beer, and true to form I've since learned, left me with the bar bill. Our friendship grew over time which was amazing since it was at least two years before I could fully understand a word he said. "Ello Tricky Bullocks... tell that tosser e's a bleedin' fanny merchant ta bugger off tickety-boo.." Huh? ...errr Okay. But besides our language differences the relationship blossomed. So much so that over time we even decided to do a feature together. With Steve's savvy business acumen and mastery of the syndication business, it wasn't long before both of our incomes grew by the tens of dollars in just a few short years. His brilliant insight into the art-form extended to instructing me on improving my own drawing style and work ethic. Why, I can still hear his steady words of encouragement when my own self-doubt about the execution of a particular drawing would creep in; "JUST BLOODY DRAW THE DAMN THING, PEN MONKEY!!" He always had these little pet names for me like that, "Chimp...Igor...Lumpy...Ricky Retardo..." just to name a few. Steve deserves a world of thanks for the time and effort he has put into his Presidency. He and his family have spent hundreds of hours creating movies, scanning hundreds of images, designing the brochures and printed materials, planning and executing the seminars, writing, directing and rehearsing the shows and performing as well. Steve arranged the NCS's attendance at Charles Schulz's Medal of Freedom ceremony in Washington DC less than a month into his Presidency, instigated the NCS presence at the San Diego Comicon and overhauled the NCS website which is a massive and comprehensive history of the NCS. During Steve's tenure he has embraced and brought into our fold the likes of Matt Groening, Gahan Wilson, Sandra Boynton and he was even able to coax Berke Breathed out of solitary confinement in order to tweak us at the San Francisco Reubens. I have a very large seat to fill. One would say and enormous, gigantic seat of massive proportions to fill. He is the best friend the NCS ever had. I can vouch for that personally. Rick Stromoski is the new president of the NCS, their 32nd. His strip "Soup to Nutz" is syndicated by United Media; he worked with Steve McGarry on "Mullets" strip. Steve McGarry's website is www.stevemcgarry.com
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Postcard from
AUCKLAND Rod Emmerson gives a glimpse of life across the Tasman
'It's safe to come home now'. This was the message being considered earlier in the year by the Clark Govt to its 600,000 ex-pats living in Australia. The idea lasted a nano-second before it was shot down but it's a serious subject. Kiwis I know living in Australia would laugh at such a campaign. Australians watching it would probably wish human headlines like Derryn Hinch would just go back anyway. What the fuss is all about is the trans-tasman 'Brain Drain' which has left the kiwi homeland short of skilled labour. Australia suffers from the same affliction (just ask Qld's hospital boards) and has been openly sourcing skilled labour in NZ for ages. But in a South Pacific microcosm the effects are far more noticeable, especially in a population of just 4 million (or the size of greater Sydney). As a result, unemployment is low and the economy has been belting along. Which is why there are now some 40,000 Australians living permanently in NZ, and the numbers climb rapidly. Ask them when they're going home and they're surprisingly indecisive. Apart from living in the sporting world's enemy camp, Kiwis have gone to exceptional lengths to keep visitors here. Business and govt has had to rethink to attract highly skilled immigrants.< For those Nzers who have stayed behind, yet a new dilemma has surfaced. It's now been revealed in a study by KPMG, that so many kiwi
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Maoridom has percolated into all levels of everyday life, to the point where many NZers mix Maori language with their English. Far from a PR exercise trotted out on royal visits, it is all the world a living breathing cultural beast. Its both intimidating and intoxicating but there are those who think the indigenous embrace has gone a pinch too far. People like the former Governor of the National's Don Brash climbing in opinion polls, despite a lack of policies - NZ Herald 28/06/05 Reserve Bank and blokes have shot through, that the chances for leader of the opposition, National's Don Brash. eligible kiwi girls of finding a mate are less than He's coupled himself to the Treaty Gravy Train a woman in her 80s. Yep, there's a bloke drought and has managed to build a race-based platform on, and the girls aren't happy. The same study for the next election. Billboard wars spell it out was done in Australia and a similar result - Iwi vs Kiwi campaign for 2005. Whatever the surfaced, but once again, in a small population, election outcome, it's a long way from the effects are far more noticeable. Hence young Australia's indigenous track record. The same kiwi blokes must be having a party and a half. can be said for refugees. But then, NZers found their feminine side early. While Prime Minature Howard went Women got the right to vote in 1893 and entered to extraordinary lengths to turn away the Tampa, local politics the same year. They've been there those same refugee teenage children have grown ever since, and in great numbers. Today, the 4 up and taken citizenship in the bosom of Helen most influential people in the country are all Clark. Further more, their kiwi citizenship women - PM, Governor-General, Chief Justice allows them to board-ride at Bondi, despite and Speaker of the House. So too is the newly Howard's resolution that they will never set foot appointed representative at the UN; as is the on Australian soil. leader of the newly formed Maori Party. The view of Australia from a pacific This also translates well to vantage point has been very enlightening and bureaucracies and business. In the 2002 extremely rewarding. elections, almost a 3rd of all MPs were women. A great place for a poisen pen. And if you can't beat them, join them. Just ask Labour's transexual MP Georgina Beyer. Last year, it was predominently Maori women who led the charge against the govt over the foreshore and seabed debate. But then rod.emmerson@nzherald.co.nz
NEWS FROM THE BUNKER by Leigh Summers
Hi Groovers. The latest public program at the Bunker proved to be a howling success (ouch) with Nik Scott, cartoonist and dog lover, opening his witty show Hot Diggity Dog to an enthusiastic gathering over wine and cheese. The following day Nik was dogmatic in his admiration of all things canine, spending hours sketching 100s of dogs (accompanied by their human companions) at Hot Diggity Dog Day, a fundraiser for the BCG and the local RSPCA Animal Shelter. Nik endeared himself to the crowds and undertook the gruelling task of judging the Bunkerís inaugural dog show. The exhibition has been very warmly received by strong audiences, and, the great crowds of both two and four legged creatures the following day means we will repeat this event again, sooner rather than later. Meanwhile the Bunker is busily preparing for the Rotary Cartoon Awards. This year promises to be better than ever and we hope to see new faces as well as old at the presentation night on 27th August 2005. I am also calling for works to be submitted for our first Nude, Rude
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and Lewd: The Bunker Goes Blue exhibition. I am seeking works that take the ëmickieí out of sexuality. It seems to be a subject that is taken far too seriously these days. Interested cartoonists are invited to send a maximum of ten works that may be suitable for exhibition. If you would like to send works for consideration please ensure that each work has your name, address, and title of work if appropriate, written clearly in pencil on the top right hand corner on the back of the work. Pencil is bestbecause it does not show through the image in the way that ink does. (If theworks are already completed and have details already marked on the back inink or other, then that is fine) Works will be returned to you after theexhibition closes. Cartoonists are of course very welcome to donate the works to thecollections but this is certainly not expected of you. If you would liketo donate work or works
to the Bunker collections, please make this veryclear in an accompanying letter and I will rush a Donation form out to you. If you are unsure about which images to send please donít hesitate tosend them electronically first. The exhibition opens following the RotaryCartoon Awards. At this stage, I would like all hard copies ofcartoons to reach my office by 10th of October 2005 at the latest. (Earlier is very welcome.) This gives me plenty of time to decide which works will beincluded and adequate time to get the works framed and labels made. As an important aside cartoonists may submit work anonymously, but please let me know if you would like your name withheld from the label! It is envisioned Lewd, Nude and Rude: The Bunker Goes Blue will open on Saturday 29th October 2005 and will run for 3 weeks. It will be billed as an Adults Only exhibition with age restrictions enforced.Hope to see as many entries as possible. It promises to be hilarious. I can be contacted on HYPERLINK "mailto:bunkergallery@bigpond.com" bunkergallery@bigpond.com or by telephone 02 6651 7343 if you have any queries. Until later, Leigh Summers Director: Bunker Cartoon Gallery (02) 6651 7343 bunkergallery@bigpond.com
THETHEKIWI SCRUM EARLY YEARS Some of the biggest names in the early history of Australian cartooning were ex-pat NZers
by Alan Moir
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couple had enormous influence on the course of Australian black & white art, one going on to become perhaps the most influencial political cartoonist in the world. And there were a few who stayed at home, excellent cartoonists unknown here, like Trevor Lloyd, William Blomfield, and after WW2, Sir Gordon Minhinnick, (yes, you read that correctly, two NZ cartoonists have been knighted), and since then, a host of current artists covered elsewhere on these pages. But back to those early 20th Century years. There are three names that stand out in Australia, 'Unk' White, George Finey, and the big-gun, the supervolcano, David Low. David Low was born in Dunedin and educated in Christchurch, and was one of those annoyingly talented kids who was sending and having light cartoons published in London at the age of 11. He then won the Australian New Idea monthly cartoon competition six times. By the age of 16 he was drawing two full-page political cartoons each issue for the weekly Christchurch Spectator.
In 1911, at the age of 20, he joined The Bulletin as its Melbourne cartoonist (Federal Parliament was held there until Canberra was built in 1927). From then until 1919, when he moved to Fleet St, Low developed his drawing styles, his wit and humour, and his already obvious political intuitions. His first drawings were in the simple May style of pen & crosshatch. He then dabbled briefly with washes in the style of the US Puck magazine.
But during WW1, when the quality of 'Bulletin' newsprint was like blotting paper, Low found the most successful technique was to ‘keep it simple’, brush and ink in the Japanese style. He took this style to London in 1919, and with his refreshing irreverent wit, was an instant success. His peak, though, was later, in the late 20s and 1930s, when he was virtually alone in the media, recognising the dangers of the growing European fascist dictators. His cartoons, simple, direct, witty but powerful, were an inspiration to cartoonists around the world, and he made it to Hitler’s 'Death List'. He was the knighted in 1962, a year before his death. 'Unk' White and George Finey cartooned mainly in Australia for The Bulletin and Smith’s Weekly, White drawing mainly beautifully graphic gags using a lot of drybrush, and Finey specialising in caricatures in an extraordinarily simple and powerful style, with sweeping lines mercilessly pinpointing the subjects’ character, predating Scarfe and Steadman by about 40 years. Another London-based NZer , little known here, but well-known in Britain was Harold Rowntree, who drew thousands of gag cartoons for Punch, for 30 years from 1905 during its heyday, becoming one of the magazines most prolific contributors in its history.
was at that time the editorial cartoonist. He succeeded Dyson a couple of years later. But Hope began drawing powerful full page cartoons for the weekly magazine, The Communist in early 1921. The problem was one of his main targets was the British Labour Party and movement, which owned The Daily Herald, and which he saw as compromising and weak. So he used a pseudonym Espoire (French for Hope) for his powerful, controversial, and eventually libellous cartoons in The Communist . Legal action against one of his cartoons finally sent the weekly bankrupt in 1923, and the Daily Herald finally woke up to who Hope was, and he was sacked. The Printers Union refused to handle any more of his cartoons and he emmigrated to Canada in 1924, and disappeared from cartooning life. But his cartoons in The Communist rank with the strongest cartoons ever produced in English language papers. There were other NZers working overseas, mainly in England, such as , in the 60s and 70s, Kent and Gibbard, but it was those early three in particular who had the biggest impact here in Australia, working as a fifth column, poisoning your brains, until the Great Takeover.
And Will Hope. Hope began drawing sports cartoons for the Fleet St paper, the Daily Herald, for which Will Dyson
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Shakey-Isle Slaves By Chris Slane - the political cartoonist for the NZListener, and was chief sculptor and puppeteer for the TV series, Space Knights.
VIDEO -Inside a gloomy cavern legions of ragged hobbits labour feverishly at ink-splattered drawing boards, computer screens and scamper along worn paths to cast plastic cells on to towering piles. A huge pendulum ticks rapidly backwards and forwards. AUDIO – Voice over- “These wretched overworked creatures are New Zealand animators. “ The animation industry in New Zealand is doing quite well at present. Ranging from from adult satire to chidren’s education, homegrown ethnic-based humour to made-for-export, never before has so much animation been produced by so few kiwis.
The Maori Simpsons?
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The prime-time TV ratings surprise of the year was New Zealand’s first animated show bro’Town. Based on the politically-incorrect ethnic comedy theatre of Naked Samoans Talk about Their Knives, it chronicles the lives five flatulent Polynesian teenagers growing up in multicultural, suburban Auckland. The characters producer Elizabeth Mitchell fell in love with were 14 year olds, but “knowing you wouldn’t get away with the Nakeds playing 14 year olds as live action, nor just any 14 year old boys, so animation seemed an obvious answer.” That decision has paid off, becoming TV3’s highest–rating show for most of its six episode run. The writers were able escape censure of satire of other racial groups by being equal-opportunity insulters. “The good thing about bro’ Town is that the joke isn’t just on the Maori and Pacific Island people, but on everybody else as well – the Asians, Indians, but also the Pakeha or Europeans,” one fan told the Sunday Star-Times. The show is seen by viewers as reflecting the truth about NZ cultural relations. “I know overseas people find the fact that we use God ( resplendent in a lava-lava ) and Jesus very boundary-pushing. Dad, as a character is probably pretty daring in much of the stuff he does. I remember being really excited when we got the word that we could use “wuck you!” in The Wong One episode.” Like The Simpsons, bro’Town features celebs such as Lucy Lawless, who conducts a lesson on safe sex for the gang. Each half-hour episode consists of 16,000 drawings and took nearly six months to make. This all took a frustrating three years. “During the time we took to raise the money, we also found out lots more about how animation actually worked,” says Mitchell, “and were therefore able to set up our own studio, rather than farming the work out, which is what we would have done if we had received the funding earlier.” Mitchell had the problem of finding enough animators in NZ . She started an in-house training course, via WINZ, and looked overseas for more. Work, shared between Firehorse Films, Anim8 in Auckland, and DQ Studios in Hyderabad, India, involved more than 100 staff. bro’Town’s first two series received $3,331,340 from NZ On Air, but it was no easy matter to arrange an animated series. ”We kind of had everything stacked against us”, admits Mitchell. “ NZ
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On Air had been burned in the past by non-delivery of animation projects, so they needed a lot of convincing. Also, they didn’t know me or Firehorse Films from a bar of soap”. NZ On Air did not have a specific allocation in the comedy budget for traditional 2D animation, so money was also sought from TV3, private investment and product placement. Mitchell agrees animation seems to be popular at present. “Yep I reckon we could say there’s a modest boom. As part of the WINZ course that we ran, WINZ commissioned us to do some research into the 2D future of NZ ... so we’ve been asking people lots of questions about this, and it does seem as though everyone is very busy at the moment, and lots of them seem to credit bro’Town as being some kind of catalyst to this “boom”. bro’Town is playing in Fiji and just about to sign with an Australian broadcaster, and all indications are that there will be some sales to the rest of the world when 13 episodes of the new series is finished. DVDs of series one have been one of the best selling this and last year. A bro’Town annual 2005 will be published by Random House later this year. T-shirts and other merchandise are also planned.
Dogging The Media
Buglife
Even more satirical are the two-minute animations of Media Dog, part of the current affairs show Eating Media Lunch. Apart from voices, it is the sole effort of cartoonist Anthony Ellison - a man casting a jaundiced eye over pop and celebrity culture. It is an
Experience in advertising and late-night comedy performance gave Luke Nola, creator/director at RepublicTV a head start when it came to creating and directing his own animated concepts. He specialises in mildly educational animation for children. “Did you know that 90% of
animation style stripped to its basics - think a cynical Clutch Cargo or Roger Ramjet. Ellison doesn’t use story boards, just writes a script, takes it into the recording studio and sees what happens. “I try to keep it as topical as possible as the lead-in time before an episode goes to air is only a couple of weeks. It takes approximately seven days to produce an episode from start to finish. I average about twenty seconds a day, which sounds quite impressive until you realise that Media Dog is based primarily around talking heads. Because the process of animation can be quite boring, if it’s all mapped in advance then I’m more than likely to retire early for the evening. Working this way seems to keep the current project alive and interesting. Later, I’ll mix and edit the sound myself - giving me the freedom to make changes.” “I produce Media Dog and all my animation on a beat-up old iMac which crashes approximately fifty times a week.” Ellison uses full animation when time allows but it’s often not the case. “Any additional animation is an added bonus. I try and place an emphasis on production design and a constantly moving camera in order to alleviate the potential boredom factor of limited animation upon the viewer. Also, “lavish” design provides a nice counterpoint to the lowbrowedness of some of the humour. “I’ve always been interested in film. My first films were stopmotion puppet animations, very arty and East European. A real barrel of laughs... It’s hard work in the sense that you’re pouring so much energy into so little time onscreen. In the last two years the sum output of my work runs for less than thirty minutes. It must be even worse for a photographer… if you’re reviewing a creative life in published frames per second.” Ellison contrasts a background in print journalism with animation for television. “Writing for animation is different from strip cartoons in that the reader can absorb more in a non-linear fashion whereas an animated cartoon travels in a straight line from start to finish.”
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the bacteria on your skin is not your own?” This is the concept behind the weird animated series “Life On Ben” Here the expression “TV Host” takes on a whole new meaning as we meet microbial inhabitants of his body; germs, pus, snot and ringworm characters who ooze, spit, and fart as they educate. “For this series I wanted the look to be lush and organic. Plasticine suits the story and subject matter - makes it tangible. Kids pick up on the handmade, number 8 wire look, feel they can reach out and scrunch it.” For Nola CGI was out of the question. “To reproduce reality of a 3D world digitally is really expensive. Those guys working the lighting effects in Shrek and Robots took years to get those effects. You can’t just dial that up.” Fellow writers Glenn Wood and Paul Yates were careful to ensure scripts were scientifically accurate. The Department of Microbiology at Auckland University was consulted to ensure each episode contains a new factual lesson. It is the sad song of the animator that short timeframes and limited budgets make for excruciating pains for animators as they attempt to meet unrealistic deadlines. Luckily TVNZ and NZ On Air have been very understanding of the process and have been generous with completion dates. From approval of the pilot show to completion of
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the series, 18 months have elapsed. It took Nola and animator Anthony Ellworthy ( Fireman Sam and Tim Burton’s next feature “The Corpse Bride”) eight months to complete 10 two-minute episodes, achieving a rate of eight seconds of footage per day. It must be a labour of love for Nola. How else to explain the unhealthy interest in greeblies? Apparently, it all comes from Nola’s childhood and his mother’s obsession with washing him. “There’ll be germs on you”, she used to say,” You can’t see them because they are tiny, but they’re still there”. Now everyone will be able to see them, crawling across in their TV screens on TV2 in July.
Jane And The Weta Jane and the Dragon is a 26-episode, 3D animated series being developed by Weta Workshop in partnership with New Zealand author/illustrator Martin Baynton. It is a co-production with Canadian children’s’ television producers Nelvana. Weta Workshop uses digital effects technology to retain the new hand-drawn feel, based on the style of Baynton’s best selling books. Weta Workshop also had to import animators from overseas to work on the new television series. It screens in Australasia, North America and Europe early next year.
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From Bad Taste To Bottletop Cameron Chittock is another animator who writes, directs, and produces his own series for television. In 1998 Chittock created
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his own series, Oscar And Friends, with funding of $1.32 million from NZ on Air and Southern Star Entertainment in Australia. The 26 x 5 min claymation series was rated number 10 for children on ITV in the UK and successfully syndicated to the US - a rarity for any NZ children’s show. Overseas contacts paid off when Aardman Productions sent a number of animators, like Richard Goleszoski, out to NZ - bringing helpful ideas on how to approach a low-budget TV series. “They set a high-benchmark for us locals to work to and made sure it was made to a high international standard.” Chittock gained his first experience with Peter Jackson on Bad Taste as a member of the special effects team, part of which involved turning up at a butcher each morning to collect intestines, brains and sundry stringy bits for that day’s shoot. He went on to be head of puppet-making on Meet The Feebles, for which he won a Film Design Award. Bottletop Bill, his next series will soon air on the ABC. Novel use of computers produces a hand-built, 2-D collage-style animation. Characters construct themselves onscreen and interact with an evolving world. These wonderful textures were achieved using photographs of everyday objects found around the home- a deliberate part of the look, designed to encourage 3-6 year olds to build things themselves. What started as a New Zealand idea was fleshed out by Australian writers, voiced by Australian actors, financed by Southern Star Entertainment, Channel 5 in the UK and the Singapore Economic Development Board. The series is showing now in Ontario, the UK’s C5 in August, the ABC in Australia in August and TVNZ at some stage. Chittock believes the backyard spirit of kiwis is what feeds innovation and a hands-on, do-it-yourself attitude. That background enabled him to create an animation workshop from scratch in Singapore, even training the locals in basic art department skills. In two years a crew of 50 produced 26 x 12 min episodes at the 1000 m2 factory. In contrast to some overseas shows created purely as a form of marketing for their merchandising, Chittock prefers director–driven shows, but believes animators need to create a fan base, “When you have a million fans all over the world who have watched your film, then you can go to a producer and say ‘based on this fan-base we can justify making the feature.’ That’s when they take you seriously.” NZ On Air has had an important role in supporting local animation, especially programming targeted to children. They see a trade off for the high cost of animation compared to other genres as opportunities for multiple transmission and international
sales. A series of animations of Hairy McLary stories has had a long and successful life, in NZ and Australia in particular. An animated series of Margaret Mahy stories has also been successful. NZ On Air also funds short animations called ‘intersticials’, which must be under two minutes long. They believe the timeframe required for completion of animation projects is a barrier to marketing. Broadcasters need at least six months of good ratings, to determine if a series has long-term public appeal, but a shortage of animation at time of commission can turn into glut by completion. New technology can offer attractive efficiencies but runs the risk of unexpectedly increased production costs.
Hands Across The Drain Ambitious animation created in a small market requires some form of international backing. Staines Down Drains is being coproduced with Australian animation studio Yoram Gross-EM and New Zealand’s Flux Animation. In the original concept by kiwi Jim Mora, two kids are suddenly sucked down the pipes and into Drain Land. With $500,000 of help from NZOnAir, the 26x24 2D animation series for 8-10 year -olds will be finished in winter 2006/2007. “Private investors in New Zealand are not used to looking at entertainment ventures, says Chittock. “It is high–risk and returns are slow to come in. Not like investing in real-estate where you might buy a building, renovate, then sell it and get your money back immediately. It takes a similar investment up front and a wait of some years in production. Only then, if your animated series has good TV sales and ratings, do you make your money back. The real profits come from merchandising. “ So what makes good animation? Chittock believes it is delivering in the shot what you are required to do, while expressing character. Not under-doing it, not overdoing it, but understanding where the scene fits into the scheme of things and keeping a larger vision of what you are doing. “What works for animation doesn’t necessarily work with drama and what works for drama doesn’t necessarily work with animation.” “With the advent of great computer programs like Flash and Stop Motion Pro, cheaper high-res stills cameras, increased knowledge of them and what they can do, “it’s a great time to be an animator,“ Luke Nola reckons. “Set up price for your own back shed is less, heaps of competition, though - so all the more reason to do good stuff.” Animation has wide opportunities; for merchandising, the ability to go anywhere, do anything, and be able to create a unique visual style.
The Unmentioned. Then there is Buzz and Poppy, Hairy MacLary, The Margaret Mahy Series, Fish Bay, The Adventures of Massey Ferguson, Underwater Melon Man, Artoonz and Black Sheep, to name a few. We also lay claim to Shrek director, NZ-born Andrew Adamson.
WHAT MAKES KIWIS LAUGH? Writer, film-maker and comedian Andrew Lumdsen spent time with the bureaucrats who fund home-made comedy for radio and television and discovered that they know best She explained the meanings of the graphs various axis in much the same tone as she would use to coax a nailgun from a wide-eyed man who may possible be in the midst of a rather intense psychotic episode. She pointed to the oblong located over the center of the axis and stated; You need to be making comedy inside this area here. She couldn't seem to control the involuntary haste that caused her eyes to be drawn sharply to the one person who involuntarily snorted in a manner that could have been considered either intellectually shocked, contemptuously derisive, or both. However she was interpreting it I didn't really like the way she looked at me. Instead all I could do was think Yes, but I have been on buses with more than 66 people on board. Yet, she was telling me that 66 people, indicative as they were of the varied tastes of the nation, had been asked a series of carefully thought out questions that addressed the very notion of what comedy meant. Their answers of these 66 people would now form the basis of all funding decisions relating to comedy by our nations taxpayer funded broadcasting body, NZ on Air, for the next few years. According the graphs oblong, what the 66 people apparently wanted was comedy that was adventurous and intellectual, yet at the same time entertaining and familiar. Breaking her stare she declared that the consensus was that a sitcom set in a hairdressers or a real estate agents would be considered quite good. It was then I felt compelled to ask my question. Of the 66 people you surveyed I tremulously queried, how many of them simply wanted their comedy to be funny? None of them apparently. It seems that someone neglected to put that question on the approved list. www.radarswebsite.com
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article #4 CHRIS KELLY
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n this article we’ll have a bash at using four or five different programs (counting the pencil) to create a very simple cartoon.
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nternet & Photoshop: Now let’s get a Rolls Royce internet grill because it’s easier than drawing one & it makes a nice effect. Open your browser & access the Google search engine (google.com if not on your browser). Type Rolls Royce into the search field & press Search. You’ll get a lot of web addresses but we don’t want those.
We’ll use natural media (pen, pencil or beer bottle dipped in ink) to create a base sketch, Photoshop to scan the sketch, your internet browser to find a small image to add to the cartoon in Photoshop, the browser to find another image to copy into Illustrator to trace a required outline for our cartoon, Painter to color in the cartoon & finally Illustrator to add some text With such a simple cartoon, you might ask why so much software to do what was surely once done with a pen & eight drops of ink. Good question. I might not do all my cartoons like this either, but this was the easiest way for me to do this one. It also facilitates later changes, electronical transmission & use of bits in other cartoons later. The cathedral was later used in a cartoon about George Pell & the RR grill in yet another cartoon
Above the search field you’ll see web. Click images for a page of Rolls Royce thumbnails. Check size info for a bigger pic & click a thumbnail to open a page offering a larger version of the image. Take that offer. When this image opens, Control-click (Mac) or right-click (PC) on the image & choose Copy. Return to Photoshop & paste the image into your doc. Scale till it fits the front of the car & then use a mask rather than an eraser (see ATD#3) to hide unwanted portions of the image
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nternet & Illustrator: Now we need a cathedral outline for the backdrop. Therefore we need a cathedral. Type St Peter’s Basilica into Google, press Search & copy as before. Open an Illustrator file, paste & Save in the .ai format
To make it easier to trace around this, fade & lock the image. Double click the layer in the layer palette & from the dialog box, select Template, Lock & click OK. The normal eye icon changes to the template icon. If no lock icon appears next to the template icon, click next to it to lock the template layer Create a new layer above the template layer. Use the pen tool to trace around the top of St Peters & adjust the stroke to desired width. Select & copy your pen tool artwork. Switch to Photoshop & paste & scale the artwork to fit the cartoon. For this cartoon, I applied a mask & used a soft brush to fade the artwork at the sides. Save & Close The method described below is not the only way all these programs could be used to complete this cartoon. Several stages could have been done in just the one program. However, the idea is to provide a working example of how to use these programs in unison rather than be constrained to just one program at any one time to complete a cartoon This cartoon is part of a collection for a book called (possibly) “Nun Soup” which is currently at that delicate stage known to all as “you call that a contract?”. Thanks to all those ACA members who have provided valuable advice about this delicate stage also. It has been much appreciated
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en & Photoshop: … pencil if you please, then ink with a 0.6 Artline borrowed from Peter Byrne’s office at NEWS Ltd. Scan the cartoon in grayscale & open in Photoshop on a single background layer in a .psd format file. PSD is Photoshop’s native format (see Ask The Doctor #2) & a format in which other programs can also work efficiently. For the purposes of this exercise we will save our file in the psd format only Drag the background layer down to the new layer icon to create a new layer called Background Copy & rename it Sketch. Change the blending mode for this layer to Multiply (see ATD#1). This effectively turns a sketch on a white opaque page into a sketch on a transparency which will allow us to paint below it later. Select the bgrd layer & fill with white. Save as Cartoon.psd
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ainter & Chalkwork: Open the Photoshop file in Painter. Create a new layer below the Sketch layer, choose a blunt chalk from the brushes palette, a rough texture from the paper palette, black from the color palette & chalk in some road texture below the car. Save in the psd format & Close
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hotoshop or Illustrator for Text: 1) Open in Photoshop & use the Text tool to creat the text. Select the text & use the Warp Text Tool for interesting or subtle effects. Save. To send as a flattened file, copy the file, flatten & save in tiff, jpg or gif formats as required by your client - OR - 2) Open in Illustrator & use the Text tool to create the text. Illustrator has many more options for text, so on more complicated artwork, this may be your best bet. To send as a flattened file, copy the file, select all the text, choose Type>Create Outlines & save in the eps format or as required by your client. The reason for outlining text is that if your client’s computer does not have your fonts (highly likely) their computer will substitute a default font & ruin your artwork Questions to the Doctor at <info@chriskelly.net.au> Till the next Inkspot. Cheers. Chris
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