Annoyed? Draw! Clay Bennett's political cartoons

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The 53-year-old artist Clay Bennett began drawing cartoons at school, and now the walls of his office are hung with numerous letters. Among the author's highest achievements is the Pulitzer Prize received 9 years ago. The secret of his skill is pretty simple. In order to create good political cartoons, you must always be aware of the news and regularly get annoyed on a variety of occasions.

As a child, Clay Bennett loved to draw. At the age of 10, he began to publish his own handwritten version of the comic magazine "Mad". A year later, the first glory came. The future artist drew a caricature of one of the teachers, and the school director became seriously interested in his work, who did not fail to personally meet the parents of the young scoffer. But the classmates of the upcoming Pulitzer Prize winner were jubilant.

While studying at the University of North Alabama, Clay Bennett participated in the release of the university press: he drew cartoons for the official newspaper of his native college and edited student samizdat. After receiving his diploma, the artist began to collaborate in periodicals, now he is part of the staff of the newspaper with the intricate name "Chattanooga Times Free Press".

Clay Bennett illustrates editorials on serious political and social topics, thereby diluting this very seriousness and pathos. Hundreds of scribbled and scribbled scribbled scrawls are scattered throughout the staff cartoonist's office. While the artist is pondering another political caricature, he draws all sorts of nonsense.

This is the first stage of work on the drawing. When a good idea crystallizes, Clay Bennett scans the pen sketches and adds text and colors on the computer. Since the caricature is supposed to illustrate a serious editorial, the artist tries not to overdo it with bright colors, so as not to distract the reader once again and maintain proper modesty.

The path from the first idea to its final implementation is not short: usually everything about everything takes from 4 to 5 hours. But things can move faster: "Usually, when I read the news and something really hurts me, the next day I draw a caricature about it." In general, in the morning in the newspaper - in the evening … hmm, in the newspaper, but in a different one.

So this is where inspiration comes from! Clay Bennett's advice is to draw pictures of what annoys you. Did you get a job or study, life got stuck, are all people idiots? Lead in your hands!