Most of being a cartoonist is writing. Sure, being able to draw gets you noticed, but bad writing is never saved by good art.
So you get really good at a kind of active daydreaming — turning an idea or word over and over and examining it from as many angles as possible. For example, on this cartoon my thought process went something like this (caution, this gets messy):
Training -> trains -> engineers -> uniform and stopwatch -> train tracks -> pass…
Learning -> classroom -> teacher -> dunce cap -> chalkboard -> whiteboard -> student conferences -> pass…
Training wheels -> bicycles -> office chairs -> wheels -> cars -> student drivers -> warning signs -> caution student driver -> caution student accountant -> CAUTION! ACCOUNTANT IN TRAINING!
>More Mindflash cartoons by Mark Anderson.
Cartoonist Mark Anderson lives in the Chicago area with his wife, their children, two cats, a dog and several dust bunnies. Publications that use his cartoons include Reader’s Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, Barrons, Woman’s World, Harvard Business Review, Saturday Evening Post, American Legion Magazine, Funny Times and many more.