First friday is a monthly cultural even in Philly when old city's art galleries unveil their new collections. This attracts all kinds of artsy people and local artist selling their work on the street. This is the location for my act. This month was the first of what I hope will be many more nights of drawing cartoons on the street for money.
For only one dollar I will predict and draw your future. Somebody brave enough will step up. I will ask them some questions about who they are and what they like and then just draw them as a caveman or genie or many other random characters. The cartoons are no great works of art. I draw as fast as humanly possible because the more I draw the more money I can make.
It is alot of fun but more importantly I get real world experience of being funny and working a crowd. It's much more about the entertainment than the art. I learned that the key to making it work is drawing a crowd. If people see somebody do it and laugh then they will do it to. Drawing a crowd is fun and nothing works like yelling like a mad man about the future. Then I have to stay in this goofy character, taking myself and my supposed powers so seriously that nobody could possibly take me seriosly. Sort of like Lesslie Neilson in Naked Gun.
I feel practice like this is necessary to becoming a well rounded cartoonsist. My hours of practicing drawing cartoons will be for nothing if I don't master these skills I can practice on the street. The point of cartoons is to be funny, entertaining, and to 'work a crowd'. I also get to see first hand what people think is funny and what isn't. Plus I make enough money to get good and drunk that night.
