Here is a challenge you can try, to help you get into the habit of thinking up ideas for cartoons on a daily basis.
Get a calendar, either paper or digital.
Write a different adjective for every day of the month.
Each day, try to think of a cartoon to illustrate that day’s word.
Try to stretch yourself by coming up with several ideas for the same adjective. The first idea that pops into mind is not always the one that we settle on using.
Think about how the word could have different interpretations.
For example, “stormy” could refer to stormy weather, or it might also be a somewhat fiery relationship. You might also want to think about any associated phases and sayings such as “storm in a teacup” or “the calm before the storm.
Try using a thesaurus as well to give you ideas.
You could also try doing a mind map to see what ideas that might lead to.
Remember, it’s not about thinking up great ideas - it’s about practising the habit of thinking of ideas.
The more you practice thinking up ideas, the more you increase the chances of thinking up good ones.
The examples in this section are all from a cartooning forum that I’m a member of. For several months now we have been participating in a word of the day challenge, all of the words featured being adjectives.
For your own prompts you could try adjectives, or you could common household items, different animals etc. Everyday, draw out a different piece of paper and try to think up an Idea fo a cartoon based on the prompt
