About once a year, I go to an elementary school classroom somewhere and attempt to recruit innocent, unsuspecting children to the wicked life of creating cartoons. I basically spread two messages. One is that it's at least possible to make a living writing and/or drawing. And the other is that if you want to be able to do these things well, you need to practice, practice and practice some more. Based on past experiences, I think young folks are too quick to say "I can't do that" (whatever it is) if they can't achieve professional standards within the hour.
I'm not particularly out to convert anyone to that occupation but I do think school should expose children to more possibilities…and maybe if they are, they'll find some good probability in there and pursue it to good effect. Besides, I would have loved it back when I was in third grade if a guy who writes cartoons and comic books had come to my classroom, preempted an hour of Arithmetic to show us cartoons and draw my favorite characters on the blackboard. Which is what I did yesterday at a third grade class in West Hollywood.
I dragged my friend Mickey Paraskevas along to assist. Mickey is a fine illustrator of childrens' books…and a big thrill ran through the building (and a smile across Mickey's face) when it was discovered they had several of his books in the school's library. I taught the kids how to draw Charlie Brown and Garfield and Mickey Mouse and Spongebob Squarepants. Mickey taught them how to draw the Ferocious Beast from his books and TV show, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. Some of the drawings the kids did were pretty darned good and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if twenty years from now, someone comes up to me at a convention or someplace and says, "I'm a professional cartoonist now and it all started when you and Mickey Paraskevas came to my class." Even if that never happens, I think some kids got the idea that you can learn how to develop some sort of skill and then use it to good advantage.
We started with the screening of a Garfield episode I wrote and then I got down to the basics of how cartoons are drawn. I am not a great artist but in a way, that helps in this kind of situation. When my pal Sergio Aragonés draws, I don't think you can learn a damned thing. It goes by so fast and it comes so much out of instinct that the process is largely invisible. When I draw, it looks humanly possible and the wires show. It's like a sleight of hand magician doing it slowly enough that you can see how it's done. Also, what the kids produce doesn't compare that unfavorably to what I do up there at the black or whiteboard.
The thing I've learned doing this — though I can always use the reminder — is how important these characters are to kids that age. They went nuts when I drew Scooby Doo on the blackboard and they oohed and ahhed when I explained that the person who does the voice now of Scooby is also now the voice of Garfield. That's Frank Welker…and Frank, if you're reading this page and you tell me you do: One little girl then asked me, "Isn't he also the voice of Fred?" Some of these kids really know their cartoons.
At one point near the end, as a kind of grand finale, I started drawing cartoon characters and they had to guess who I was drawing. I was halfway through Daffy Duck when all of the young'uns behind me were chanting "Donald Duck! Donald Duck!" I decided that rather than make them all wrong, I'd make it Donald Duck…so I added the sailor hat and rounded out the head and…sure enough: Donald Duck. Sort of. For what it's worth, their two favorite characters in the world seem to be Spongebob and Bugs Bunny, not necessarily in that order. They really know Bugs…although when I drew Yosemite Sam, almost no one knew who that was and my drawing wasn't that bad. I realized later that they probably know Bugs more from the merchandise than the cartoons, and there isn't much Sam merchandise out there.
Anyway, it was a fun day and I thank Mickey again, and I'll go back and do it for another third grade class at this school as soon as there is one. (Note to Self: Before you do, learn how to draw Dora the Explorer…and someone else on the Spongebob show besides Spongebob.)