Monday, January 28, 2013

Tayo Fatunla - Cartoonist Survey #278








Award winning cartoonist, illustrator, designer, caricaturist, storyteller and educator Tayo Fatunla was born in Wimbledon, England in 1961. He studied first in Nigeria at Lagos Baptist Academy and then at the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in Dover, New Jersey in the early 1980s. Tayo had his first cartoon published in the Nigerian children’s magazine, Apollo, when he was only 17; and while studying at the Kubert School, he was working as a designer and caricaturist for several clients.


In 1989 Tayo started working for the London based news weekly magazine, West Africa. That same year his educational feature on African Heritage, ‘Our Roots’, became a weekly serialized feature in the British paper Voice. Since then, he has drawn cartoons and illustrations for magazines, children’s books, posters, CD covers and more. He has also created cartoons for websites such as Cagle.com, BBC World Services and British Museum. His international client base includes newspapers such as Daily Times, Punch, Concord, New York Amsterdam News, New African, Thamesmead Times, Courrier International as well as DC Comics and many other publications.


Tayo has had three books published including two on black history, “Our Roots” and “Our Roots – Black History Sketchbook”. His third book, “Tayo – Thro’ The Years” was published in 2001 and is a compilation of his editorial cartoons that have been published in magazines, books and newspapers from around the world.


In addition to creating artwork, Tayo is also a visiting speaker and lecturer. He has spoken at the Addis Ababa University - School of Journalism and Communication in Ethiopia, the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, the National University of Ireland in Galway, Instituto Professionale Di Stato per L'industra L'artigianato in Italy and the University of Rouen in France. He has taught cartooning to the young and old at workshops and exhibitions all over the globe including, the U.K., Nigeria, Algeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Finland, France, the U.S., Egypt, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Mallorca and South Korea.


Tayo is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, National Union of Journalists UK, and the Professional Cartoonists Organisation UK. His work has been exhibited in the USA, France, Britain, Nigeria, Finland and Italy. He is married with two children and lives in Dartford, Kent, England. Visit his website and his blog to see more of his art and learn about his workshops. You can also purchase Tayo’s books here on his website.


What is your favorite pen to use?
PITT Artist Pen - Pen Brush


Do you draw in pencil first and if so do you use a standard pencil or a mechanical one?
I love my mechanical pencils 0.5 and 0.7

Do you do your coloring by hand or on the computer?
I use one or the other or use both depending on the technique I want to arrive at.



If you do your coloring by hand, what do you use?
Watercolour, Dr PH Martin's transparent watercolour and colouring pencils.



What type of paper do you use?
Plain paper 8.5 x 11 and sometimes on art boards and about the same size.

What thing(s) do you hate to draw?
A crowd but professionally will still have to do it...I have to be patient.


Do you buy your supplies from big chain art store catalogues/websites or a local one that you physically go to?
I like seeing what I want to buy in an art store...more or less window shopping for new and interesting and unique materials. Whenever I need to replace a material, I go online. I also shop in art stores in other countries just for new items as well.

Are there any rituals that you do before starting to draw?
None at all except thinking through my concept and being the judge of the idea.

Do you listen to music while you draw and if so what genre?
No ....it’s a distraction.

What was the first job as a cartoonist/illustrator that you were paid for?
A children’s cartoon strip in a magazine called APOLLO in Lagos, Nigeria. I was in High School then. I felt rich among my mates.

Did you read comics as a kid and if so what was your favorite?
British Comics - Beano, Dandy, Roy of the Rovers, Battle.
American Comics/strips - Marvel and DC comics.
Nigerian Comics - Pop and Powerman.


What is or was your favorite comic strip?
Peanuts...still is.


What was your favorite book as a child and do you still own a copy of it?
No particular one but mostly Fairy Tales books such as Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.

Did you have any formal art training and if so where did you receive it?
The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Dover New, Jersey now called The Kubert School.


Do you feel that the Internet is a blessing or a curse?
Tremendous blessing. It has opened doors.


Did either of your parents draw?
Not one bit. My Uncle, Augustus Abosede did.... he was encouraging.

Who in your life is/was the most supportive of your art?
My parents. They paid my way to The Kubert School. I am grateful to them.

Do you keep a sketchbook?
Not really but I file my sketches.


Have you ever taught cartooning/drawing and if so did you enjoy the experience?
I teach Cartooning often at wherever I am invited to do Workshop sessions and as at when required. The experiences have been so great and has taken me to places I would never have been. There's an aspect of tourism that comes into play when I travel around holding Cartoon Workshop sessions. I have educated and inspired many. The enthusiasm to teach Cartooning came out of assisting Mr. Joe Kubert at the Saturday Sketch Classes held at the Art school.


Do you feel that talent or passion is more important in drawing?
The talent needs to be developed into something you are passionate about and not only to make a living from it.

Do you collect anything and if so what?
I collect art materials. Some I have not used in years.

If you were an animated cartoon character who do you think you would be?
When I was growing up I always wanted to be Mr. Fantastic of the FANTASTIC FOUR. Not sure I want to see myself elasticated now.


Are you a righty or lefty?
Righty from birth!

If you weren't an artist what would you want to do for work?
Write books and tell lots and lots of stories to children. It never crossed my mind once to want to do any other work apart from drawing.


In one or two sentences describe your drawing area.
I am a Cartoonist, Comic Artist and Illustrator and I draw editorial cartoons from an African perspective about global issues. I am encouraged by requests to reproduce my cartoons and I also do educational drawings to help inform and educate, such as my historical feature OUR ROOTS which began at The Kubert School.


Do you play any musical instruments?
Tambourines.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to pursue drawing as a career what would it be?
A baby must crawl before he or she can walk. Learn to draw first and then draw later and look up to great artists who can inspire you. Charles Schultz inspired me and Nigerian cartoonists such as Toyin Akingbule and Kenny Adamson as well.

Who is your favorite artist?
The late great Joe Kubert for his awesome Narrative Art. He tutored me.



Enjoy this short video of Tayo speaking about African cartooning by Nicoletta Fagioli.


Thank you again Tayo, for taking the time to participate!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Madison Art Shop $30 Gift Certificate Giveaway

If you are anything like me, you love looking through and picking out art supplies. It’s even more fun when someone else is paying for them.


Madison Art Shop is giving one lucky reader of David Wasting Paper a $30.00 gift certificate to their website. Whether it is pencils, paper, paint or furniture, Madison Art Shop carries it all.


So head over to Madison Art Shop and look around, then leave a comment on this post and let me know what you would buy.

Official Entry Rules:

Click the link to visit Madison Art Shop. Have a look around and pick out something that you would like to get if you were the winner of the $30 gift certificate. Next, leave a comment on this post letting me know what you would choose if you are selected as the winner, anytime between now and Thursday, January 31, 2013 prior to midnight Eastern Time. Only one entry per person.

Please note that in order to avoid spam, I need to approve all comments. Because of this, your comment will not show up immediately. I will approve comments a few times throughout the day.

This giveaway is limited to US residents only. I will choose one winner randomly from all of the comments using Random.org.

The contest winner's name will be posted on Friday, February 1, 2013 and the winner will have one week to email me at dmp1234@yahoo.com.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Only A Couple Of Weeks Left To Enter The David Wasting Paper Young Cartoonist Contest


There are only a couple of weeks left for kids ages 13 to 16 to enter the David Wasting Paper Young Cartoonist Contest.

Don't miss out, as the contest is free to enter and there are over $600 in prizes!


Click here for entry instructions and full list of prizes.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Christoph Hitz - Cartoonist Survey #277




Christoph Hitz is an illustrator and designer who was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland. He studied graphic design at Kunstgewerbeschule, Zurich and was the winner of 2 out of 3 national student awards. When he graduated with a BA in Graphic Design in 1990, he finished at the top of his class.


He started out working for a small ad agency where he designed billboards and created short commercials for television. Christoph then teamed up with a copywriter and the two of them freelanced; creating ads for various ad agencies. Soon he was doing illustrations for magazines and newspapers in Switzerland and eventually had a two year run on a monthly comic strip called ‘Fish & Partner’ for Media Daten Magazine.


When Christoph moved to the United States in the mid 80's, his first clients were, The Village Voice, RCA Records and The Washington Post. Now his editorial illustrations can be seen in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, PC World, Barron's, Mother Jones, The Huffington Post, Forbes and many others.


In addition to illustrations for newspaper and periodicals, Christoph has designed CD covers, posters, logos, websites, snowboards and even a streetcar.


Christoph lives in the Catskills in upstate New York with his wife Deborah and son Emmett. See much more of his work here on his Christoph Hitz Illustration website and also on his blog at drawger.


What is your favorite pen to use?
My Wacom digital pen.

Do you draw in pencil first and if so do you use a standard pencil or a mechanical one?
I usually use a ball pen for all the sketches.


Do you do your coloring by hand or on the computer?
By now I'll do all the coloring in the computer.


If you do your coloring by hand, what do you use?
Guache, watercolor, colored pencils, ruby lith, zipatone...

What type of paper do you use?
Regular copy paper from Staples.


What thing(s) do you hate to draw?
Hands, it's always work to get it right.


Do you buy your supplies from big chain art store catalogues/websites or a local one that you physically go to?
It depends, I patronize a local art supplier and I shop at places like Office Depot / Staples.


Are there any rituals that you do before starting to draw?
Have a coffee, walk the dogs Buster and Zuzu, turn the radio on.

Do you listen to music while you draw and if so what genre?
I listen to WAMC or WNYC and stream music using an app called "Tunein".


Did you read comics as a kid and if so what was your favorite?
Yup, my grandmother used to work in a news stand and I got to sit on the floor and read all the newest comic magazines and eat candy.

What is or was your favorite comic strip?
Tintin and Asterix & Obelix.


What was your favorite book as a child and do you still own a copy of it?
ZottelZick und Zwerg by the Swiss illustrator Alois Carigiet. My mom gave me an English edition a few years back to pass on to my son Emmett.


Did you have any formal art training and if so where did you receive it?
4 years of Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich, Switzerland.

Do you feel that the Internet is a blessing or a curse?
A killer blessing.


Did either of your parents draw?
Yes.

Who in your life is/was the most supportive of your art?
My parents.

Do you keep a sketchbook?
I used to carry a sketch book, I use regular copy paper for my sketches that I bind into sketch books at the end of the year. I'm currently testing digital sketchbooks in my iPad.


Have you ever taught cartooning/drawing and if so did you enjoy the experience?
Nobody has ever asked me to do so. This spring I'll have my first keynote presentation at my son’s high school.

Do you feel that talent or passion is more important in drawing?
I think one needs both to succeed.

Do you collect anything and if so what?
As a kid I had a formidable rock collection... today its rusty industrial objects.


If you were an animated cartoon character who do you think you would be?
Calimero.


Are you a righty or lefty?
Righty.

If you weren't an artist what would you want to do for work?
A cook, carpenter, inventor, potter, gardener.



In one or two sentences describe your drawing area.
A converted two car garage full of computers, tools, toys, paper, paint , etc.


Do you play any musical instruments?
The jaw harp.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to pursue drawing as a career what would it be?
As a student emulate a lot of illustrators and try to get the best teachers possible, practice every day.

Who is your favorite artist?
Mozart.

Thanks again for your time Christoph!


Don't forget, there is still plenty of time for kids ages 13 to 16 to enter the David Wasting Paper Young Cartoonist Contest!  Click here for details.