In ‘Why Cats Paint - A History Of Feline Aesthetics’ authors Heather Busch and Burton Silver looked into why some cats apparently are willing to daub their paws in paint and make their mark upon a canvas.
The book was somewhat tonque in cheek, although a few people have taken it seriously. One slight red flag to some readers was, how on earth are supposed to clean the paint off the paws afterwards, as dipping them in water is probably not going to be an option unless are willing or risk losing several layers of skin.
In this article we’re going to look at how you can generate some ideas for cat cartoons.
Whenever you see the phrase; ‘over to you’, that’s your cue to try and think up some ideas for yourself.
Here’s what we’re doing to cover:
What do cats do?
Antagonists
Cat personalities
Cat videos
Cats commenting on the human condition
What do cats do?
You mean other than eat and sleep? Well, not much else most of the time.....
Okay, but what else do they do?
Catch things
Play (when interested)
Sit on owner’s lap
Find warm places to sit/sleep
Remind owner it’s food time
Scratch things
Clean themselves
Let’s take the first example ‘catch things’. So what might they try to catch? Mice and birds are the usual candidates. How could you turn the situation around?
Here are a few things to ponder:
What about a giant mouse?
A mouse with attitude?
A team of mice
A big bird
Think of examples from cartoons where the prey has turned the table (think Tom and Jerry or Sylvester and Tweety Pie)
Over to you:
Take one of the categories for what cats do. Now look to turn the situation around and make it more unusual.
Antagonists
Who acts as an antagonist to a cat? Dogs are the usual suspects. However, it could be another cat. A friend of mine’s mother used to have a macaw parrot which both he and the family cat were afraid of.
In the case of Tom and Jerry, Jerry the mouse turns into an antagonist.
Over to you:
How does an antagonist make a cat’s life more difficult?
Now think about how a cat come overcome the antagonist.
Can you think of a non-traditional animal or character that could act as an antagonist?
Cat personalities
Cat characteristics can vary from breed to breed. It’s a lot more pronounced in dogs, but there are still differences between say a Maine Coon Cat and a Siamese.
Over to you:
Spend ten minutes looking up four or five cat breeds. What quirks of each breed might lend themselves to a cartoon?
Cat videos
A-ha! An official excuse to watch cat videos! Videos of all kinds can a great source of ideas. Just make sure to set a timer before you start watching so as not to spend so much time that you never get around to drawing.
Over to you:
Watch a couple of cat videos and see what ideas you can get from them. Don’t forget that timer!
Cats commenting on the human condition
Cats have always known that they are the true bosses and that humans are only there to act as their servants. What else do you think cats might have to say on the human condition?
Over to you:
What do you think cats might have to say on the following:
Dating
Recycling
Smart phones
Work
Fashion
What about dogs?
I get it, not everyone likes cats. Basically, if you substitute the word ‘cat’ for ‘dog’ then it should work equally well.
Here’s what we covered:
What do cats do?
Antagonists
Cat personalities
Cat videos
Cats commenting on the human condition
What next?
I put out a daily Cartoon Newsletter which features a variety of cartoons and occasional cartooning tips as well. Enter your name and email in the orange box below and I’ll wing you a copy.