How Do You Do This Political Animation Thing?

I know, I know, I’ve already been remiss in blog-posting. This is due, in part, to the bloody events of the weekend, events that don’t happen all that often in the City of Saint Francis. (Sorry, Francis, but there are certain city ordinances that must be upheld.)

Now that I can safely say I know something about killing (surprisingly cooperative) fowl, let’s move on to one of the most common questions asked at the Mark Fiore Industries Consumer Questions and Complaints Division. “How do you make these cartoons?”

In this installment, I’ll explain the idea phase of my process.

First up, Trolling-for-Topics. I begin by reading the newspaper (Paper!)-- although most of my research is done online-- until something jumps out at me that makes me angry, strikes me as wrong or is hypocritical. The best animation ideas usually have their beginnings in a news article that pisses me off. This part of the process can happen gradually over the week(s) as I listen to the news, read or watch a bit of cable news. (I generally avoid most television news because it tends to make me feel slimy after a while.)

Next, I crawl into my sketchbook, where I have been writing notes about various news topics. Words, or an event may draw my attention—anything from depressing/sad news that originates in Darfur to more silly/obvious news that originates with White House Beerplomacy. I may jot down a word, like “beer,” or scribble a series of words, like “beer, beer me, teachable moment, makes it all better, using beers for health care and other needs,” etc.

After a while of doing that over several pages, words and ideas that are bouncing around on the inside of my brain begin to coalesce into something that I call the “kernel” of the cartoon. In this case, it was hitting on the term “Beerplomacy,” and the phrase “makes it all better.” From there it was a short leap to a beer advertisement that would espouse all the wonders of a magic beer. (Although most beer can be magic on some level.)

But I didn’t want to stay on the surface level of the madcap adventures of a White House beer gathering, that’s what cable news is for. I wanted to bring in other topics and issues and use Beerplomacy to talk about other things. No matter what, I still think a political animation should say something and make a point. The way I look at it, the Funny is a vehicle for the Serious or More Boring or Difficult to Understand. (Don’t ask me how this particular animation idea evolved, but that’s why I used frogs to explain the mystifyingly complex and boring credit default swaps.)

Most of the time, I don’t even know how the ideas work their way to the surface, but I’ve found that if I follow a few steps that have worked before, I’m more liable to hit on an animation idea that I like. Of course, sometimes ideas pop into my head when I’m riding my bike or taking a shower, but mostly they work their way onto a sketchbook page after loads of reading and sweating.

Check back soon for the next step in the process, and if you’re not into reading a political animator indulging in his process, you can see the quicker, video version here (looks like I'm not the only one that calls it a "kernel") and here.