Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain : How to Come Up With Jokes for Cartoons and Comic Strips

by Christopher Hart and Stephan Pastis

One of the toughest tasks for the cartoonist is the problem of coming up with jokes for their cartoon drawings. For those facing such a challenge, this book offers a course in setting up cartoon gags.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823013812
• ISBN13: 9780823013814
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

one of Hart's more in-depth books

Christopher Hart's name appears on a number of beginner's how-to books, but he's not just a beginner's author, as this book demonstrates. This is one of the better, and more advanced, cartooning books out there. While it does go over yer usual "stick-man" first steps briefly, most of it is devoted to addressing stuff like panel layout, strip breakdowns, consistency of character design, timing in humor writing, marketing your work, etc. In every case, Hart speaks from experience: apparently he has written stand-up and TV comedy professionally, as well as doing animation, comic books, strips, and piloting the space shuttle. [I'm just guessing at that last one, but don't be surprised... ]Anyhoo, if you've advanced in your cartoons to the point where you're considering getting into the pool of publication, this book is a good resource for polishing and fine-tuning what you can do.

Much better than most catrooning books

Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain is a great resource for aspiring cartoonists, one, because as one reviewer said, it doesn't insult you about your ability. The book helps you learn about creating your own characters, laying out panel strips, making single-panel strips, tricks of the trade, what poses and looks are funnier for characters, help with joke writing, learning more about dialouge, text balloons, shading, techniques, how to get your work noticed and sold, how to protect your ideas, and a ton bit more. He even discusses hard and soft punch lines, good and bad setups, dimensions to draw the copy, what tools to use, different kinds of panels, drama vs. comedy, wide and close views, shadows, connected and double balloons, tips on submitting to publishers and syndicators, rating your own gags, meeting deadlines, handling writer's block, building character name recognition, and cartooning resources to both submit to and get more information on. An all-around great book for the beginner cartoonist and the serious cartoonist with a career in mind.

Finally, a good cartooning book!

Most cartooning books are, quite frankly, crap. There are a very few exceptions, This book is one of them! Hart covers many aspects of cartooning, from coming up with jokes, to character design, to design tips. If you are learning to cartoon, or just want a few pointers from an expert, this is the book to read! Another excellent one is How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way. These two books should be on every cartoonist's shelf

A great nuts-and-bolts book about cartooning

If you're confident in your drawing abilities, but have little knowledge about the specifics of putting together a comic strip, this is the best book I've seen. When I decided to dabble in comic strips, I didn't care about how to draw them; I was more curious about character views, composition, what makes a scene funny, ballon placement, and timing. This book covers all that and more.If your interested in the mechanics of what makes a comic funny, this book is a must-get. Those who know how to draw will get great advice on what makes a character look funny. If you don't know how to draw comics then get a different book that covers that topic...then buy this book.

Excellent how-to book

I found this book to be an excellent resource for aspiring cartoonists. Most other cartooning books I've looked at seem to say "Cartooning is a terrible career! You'll never make money!" or "Give up hope now! If you can't draw like me, you'll never succeed!" But Chris Hart's book is the exact opposite -- very informative, easy-to-follow, and overall very helpful. He also tells you where to put emphasis when designing a strip and developing characters. And most importantly, he gives tips on how to come up with ideas (funny ones), not just how to draw. Hart doesn't make you feel like his way is the only way, as other cartooning books do -- this book leaves aspiring cartoonists with a lot of hope!