OSKALOOSA —
Some local youth got to exercise their creativity at the Oskaloosa Public Library Wednesday afternoon as cartoonist David Ayala gave a seminar on cartooning.
Ayala gave the first of three cartooning lessons that was funded by memorial money donated in memory of David Jackson, of Oskaloosa. Jackson was a mathematics teacher in Des Moines who liked to draw cartoons for fun.
Ayala gave the children a quick run down on the art of drawing cartoons.
“I’ve been drawing for 20 years,” he said.
Ayala said for cartoonists to plan their story first before drawing. He also advised the children to start at the end of the story and work their ways back to the beginning.
Artists can use cheap notebook paper to make rough “thumbnail” pictures of their comic strips. Thumbnails are small stick figure sketches to get basic ideas down on paper. Then, those ideas can be fleshed out with more intricate artwork later.
Ayala advised the children to not use black pencils to sketch their cartoons before inking them. The ink can smudge when you erase the underlying pencil drawing. Ayala said he likes using red colored pencils to make the initial sketch.
The hardest part of cartooning is drawing 24 pages worth of material — which equals more than 200 pictures — for a publisher to print for $3. However, if you could sell thousands of copies of your cartoon at $3 apiece, an artist could make some real money, he said.
“The real money in comics is in licensing the character,” Ayala said. Then, the character will appear on items ranging from T-shirts to coffee mugs, he said.
Next Wednesday, Ayala continues the comic seminar with drawing humor and caricatures.
Marjorie Jackson, who donated the memorial money to fund the cartoon series was pleased with the Wednesday session.
“I think it’s wonderful. He’d like it,” she said in reference to her son, David.
CNHI/SE Iowa
Related Photos
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Cartoonist David Ayala gives a seminar on drawing cartoons at the Oskaloosa Public Library Wednesday afternoon. Herald photo by Duane Nollen
Discussion
Young people venture into the visual arts
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