Putting the ‘art’ in cartoon
It’s hard to work out why I ended up doing what I do, what leads us to where we end up? People, parents, peer pressure or any other things that perhaps don’t even start with the letter ‘P’? I think I’ve mentioned in a previous blog entry that I was always fascinated by records, the labels, the way they spin around, the sleeve art and even the vinyl itself with those occasional secret messages etched into the run out groove. There was always something alluring and mysterious about records for me and I will admit to occasionally buying things just because I liked the sleeve design. This could be one of the reasons I ended up being a graphic designer, even if I never got to design a record cover 🙁
What’s brilliant about working for yourself is that you can pick and choose what you do, you can also diversify and get involved in things that wouldn’t be possible if you were employed and bound by a job description. Previously I’ve mentioned that I write for Classic Pop Magazine about design and the music industry and I’ve just recently completed another four page feature.
This time I explored the world of cartoons in the music industry, something that was probably started by The Archies, most commonly known for their 1969 hit ‘Sugar Sugar’ – HERE is a YouTube link for you to enjoy! I skipped over The Archies and The Beatles, Osmonds and Jackson 5 who all had their own cartoon TV series. I won’t go into the details as you can buy the magazine or download the app to see the final piece but I really enjoyed putting this one together. A lot of the amazing creative talent behind gorgeous designs for Erasure (see blog pic), Deee-lite, ABC and many others from the ‘classic pop’ era contacted me and provided fascinating insight into the creative process.
It was a joy to discover how these things came to be – directly from the people involved. Thankfully the magazine/publisher were equally enthusiastic about the finished piece and have asked me to come up with ideas for future features. Who knew that spending all my pocket money on records would lead to an occasional career as a pop journalist!
- Blog
- February 21, 2014