Category: Industry

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/political-cartoonists-on-navigating-a-changing-media-landscape

I’ve personally shied away from outright divisive political commentary in my own work out of the fear of losing audience*, but lately I’ve seen more and more creators take a stand. In some regards, it is jarring when you find out someone you admired, and enjoyed the work of, is strongly opposed to your personal views and even hostile to your beliefs. In other ways, knowing where a creator stands helps you admire and respect them even more. But for either to happen, that creator must step out from behind the stage curtains and speak on their own behalf. I can’t deny that I’ve been disappointed to find out that some creators I respected and admired so much are sometimes wildly undeserving of my admiration (I won’t list the names).

But not so with editorial cartooning. They’re pitching directly across the plate from day one and you have no doubt where they stand. I can’t help but respect that. When you couple their talent as draftsman, it’s harder not to envy their careers. I just wish it wasn’t a dying artform, as the above PBS News Hour piece seems to indicate.

The PBS video mentions Thomas Nast and his battle against Tammany Hall in the late 1800’s; If you’re curious about that, here’s a article you can visit: https://www.mcny.org/story/thomas-nast-takes-down-tammany-cartoonists-crusade-against-political-boss.

Thinking about what Nast achieved, I still have hope that editorial cartooning may see an opportunity to balance the scales against power abuses in my lifetime.

~~~

*Not to say that I’ve avoided it completely…
https://unfedartist.com/comic/dentaldebate/
https://unfedartist.com/comic/zeropollution/
https://unfedartist.com/comic/making-a-difference-politics/

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20241209155445347/index.html

I really like what this offers to someone like me who works alone on my comics; but I also worry that it could be used against me. If I train an AI to only replicate my style, what happens if I lose control of that AI? Theoretically I could also sell my AI assistant to someone else, and they could then make their own art that looks like mine without any input from me – at which point it doesn’t matter that I’m involved. It’s a complicated thing to consider and I’m already getting a headache.

Another important point – there’s nothing stopping someone else from mimicking my artwork to begin with, and that means that I’m already competing against AI art if someone wishes to replicate my style. Does that mean I should jump in to using AI assistants for my comics so I can produce more work before someone else tries to beat me to it?

Honestly, I would have preferred to retire never having to consider any of these implications, but the genie is out of the bottle and we’re all forced to deal with it. I think these new developments make earning a living harder, not easier, for artists.