Rejected Halloween cards, easy costumes, and cartoons for your Sunday fun
October 20, 2019
In This Issue:
Behind the Scenes: Halloween Cards
Easy Costumes
Top Cartoons
Behind the Scenes: Halloween Cards
I uncovered some old Halloween card ideas this week. As many of you know, I freelance for Recycled Paper Greetings -- so I send them ideas for greeting cards, and they decide whether or not they want to produce them.
Well, I found a batch of concepts I sent in a few years ago, and these were all photo-based cards. I usually do cartoon cards, but sometimes it's fun to go to a stock-photo website, search for funny images, and try to come up with tag lines. (If the card actually gets mass-produced I have to buy the rights to the photo, and that gets expensive -- which is why I usually just stick to cartoons.)
Anyway, as I was looking through these old, rejected cards, I realized they all have something in common: They feature characters who are making questionable life choices.
Let's take a look.
Sometimes I get too focused on amusing myself, instead of writing cards with mass-market appeal.
But I did have luck with another angle: Focusing on what the characters are thinking. For example, this card was out on shelves for a while:
I had pitched two other versions of this idea -- both of which were rejected. Here they are:
I agree with the card company: The shorter version (with just the one line up top) was the best. Shorter is almost always better.
This next card follows that same theme: taking us inside the character's head. This one is out on shelves now.
I actually submitted a few versions of that concept. Lil' Pippin was the idea that made it all the way, but I also pitched Stewie here...
Hopefully Stewie is not sad that his card was rejected. I like to think that he is off solving crimes somewhere.
For the most recent batch of Halloween ideas (submitted last year), I went back to doing cartoons. I submitted around 15 ideas, and I'm happy to report that two ideas made it to shelves!
Here's one of them:
That one was inspired by all the spiders around my neighborhood. Here, I took a picture of one:
And here's the other card that got produced:
This one is a spin-off of a cartoon about eating holiday treats. I just drew a costume on the woman and turned the container into a pumpkin. Here is the original cartoon:
Sadly, this character is based on me, and that's EXACTLY how I behave with any sort of treat.
So there's a look at some cards that made it to stores (look for them in Target, WalMart, and local retailers) and some cards that didn't. If you have any questions about my greeting card work, reply and let me know!
Easy Costumes
Claire and I were at Michael's Art Supply the other day, and they had some funny (and cheap) masks. If you're looking for a simple costume, this is it. Here is Claire, modeling the look:
Lovely, right? They have other options as well:
If you're up for spending a little more money, get a mask from Archie McPhee. Longtime readers will know I love my chicken mask.
And here are a few more easy-costume ideas for you, courtesy of a rejected Halloween card from last year's batch of ideas:
If you don't have a costume, don't worry! Just follow this advice (from yet another rejected Halloween card).
FRONT:
INSIDE:
If you have any other ideas for super simple costumes, let me know! And good luck.
Cartoons!
I post cartoons regularly on Instagram, Facebook, and on my website. So follow along!
These cartoons were the most popular over the past few weeks. First, one about a bowl:
Here's my beloved bowl:
This one, about home repair, was also popular. It seems like many people follow my family's strategy of waiting things out...
Over on Instagram, I also shared this photo:
Finally, this cartoon got a lot of shares and comments. I've posted it before, and people always seem to like it. I want to make another one based on the comments I got! This time I promise I'll add some men in there. (If you can think of weird/funny things that make you happy, let me know!)
I recently had the pen one happen, and I can tell you: It made me very happy.
Question About Merch
I have a question for anyone who wants to weigh in... I'm thinking of selling some merchandise on my website, such as prints, mugs, tote bags, stickers, etc. Maybe even some formerly rejected cards that would appeal to a niche audience!
Are there certain products you'd like to see? Are there any online stores (by cartoonists or artists) that you really like? I'm taking a look at what others are doing to get ideas for what might work for my art.
If you've got any input, just reply and let me know. And thank you!
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