Blackhawks and a cartoonists life

From Saturday June 12, 2010 Chicago Tribune

Contrary to popular belief, the life of a cartoonist is not as cushy as one might think. It entails long hours drawing multiple concepts called roughs which then go through editors who sometimes make suggested changes before the cartoon is drawn or more roughs are requested. The process can be long and grueling especially as the clock is ticking away towards deadline . Wednesday evening, June 9, as the final minutes of the Stanley Cup Final wound down I prepared for a long night of work. I would be drawing multiple cartoons for two separate clients, ESPN.com and the Chicago Tribune, both wanting the same content: A Stanley Cup Champion cartoon. So I settled in to watch the game, which went into overtime before ending about 10 p.m Denver time

I started first drawing multiple roughs for the Tribune because they needed to see some concepts and their deadline for the Commemorative edition I was drawing for was a bit earlier than the ESPN one. A news room in the midst of a big story like the Blackhawks winning their first Cup in 49 years can best be described as controlled chaos, often times without the control part. Mike Kellams, my editor at the Trib, does an incredible job of directing traffic during times like these. After I submit 6 different roughs, we agree on a drawing to ink and paint . I finished the last detail of color about 1:15 a.m. Denver time and e-mail it. Here’s the cartoon I sent.

Next it’s onto the ESPN cartoon. I can’t use any of the roughs that I sent to the Tribune. I can’t cross-pollinate my two biggest clients and I remain aware of that fact when doing my roughs for the Tribune. I can’t use all my ideas in the first batch, which in this case isn’t a problem. The Trib is specific about what angle they want me approach the cartoon from. The process for ESPN is a little more streamlined because by this time it’s 3:30 a.m. EST which is what the clock says in the newsrooms at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. My editor at ESPN, Michael Knisley, is fast asleep by now preparing for another 12 or 14 hour day ahead of him. Michael gives me free reign to create the cartoon I think is best on late breaking stories, but always reserves the right to call me at 7 a.m to have me make a change or completely redraw if need be. So I draw a few thumbnail roughs for myself before I settle on an image I like. The image is inked and sent by e-mail to ESPN by 5:30 EST. Here’s the ESPN Result:

I’m done. But not quite. I’m bugged by the first cartoon I sent to the Trib. My experience at the Rocky tells me that people love straight forward iconic images the day after a Championship. You want Rocky Balboa stuff that can resonate, literally for decades. I want to take one more stab at an image for the Trib. I know it’s a risk. On busy nights like this one, covering a big story the work is dictated by page flow. Copy editors and page designers must keep an even amount of pages being sent to the pressroom so as not to overload the delicate process and miracle that goes into creating a daily newspaper . There’s a chance that even if I draw a new cartoon the Trib may not be able to go back into a page to sub out a new image that has already been sent to the pressroom to prepare it for print. But the deadline they gave me was 9 a.m Chicago time, so I think it’s worth rolling the dice. After more coffee and some pondering and sketching, I draw and ink this cartoon at 5:45 a.m.Denver time.

Mike Kellams, still awake as well at the Tribune, likes the image, but the page flow thing will make it tough to sub it for the previous cartoon. I’m cool with that. I gave it another shot which gives me the satisfaction that I’ve given it everything I’ve got. Time for a glass of milk, Poptarts and enjoying the sunrise before it’s off to bed at 7 a.m. Gotta be back at the drawing board by noon.

A day in the life. A brief over view of what it’s like in my world behind the drawing board.