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Contact the Artist
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of Dave Whamond |
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 Q. When did you first start drawing cartoons?
A. How did you get your professional start? I got my first start drawing comics for things like the school newspaper, the local small town paper and then I eventually started doing editorial cartoons for the Calgary Herald. I also did and still do a lot of editorial illustration work for magazines and newspapers across North America.
Q. How would you describe your style?
A. My style is a loose cartoony style which suits the fast pace that I work at but I long for the day when I can create a masterpiece like Pogo or Calvin and Hobbes where the line work is so well done and every comic is a work of art.
Q. Who were the cartoonists who most influenced you?
A. My influences are so wide ranging from Jeff MacNelly, Bill Watterson and Gary Larson to George Herriman and the old Krazy Kat cartoons. I also really like some of the newer comics like Zits, Liberty Meadows and Mutts. It seems like there is so much new talent out there but the comic pages are not able to accommodate them all.
Q. Which are your favorite characters in your strip?
A. My characters are always different but I seem to enjoy drawing a certain fellow with a big nose, small hat and trench coat. I may have to come up with a name for him as he keeps reappearing. I think that people can also identify more with a regular character.
Q. Do you create on a daily basis?
A. I create Reality Check in batches. I used to send six weeks at a time but now it is more like three weeks. This is slightly unorthodox when I talk to other cartoonists who maybe create a week at a time, but I like to work like crazy on it and then take a break from it for a few weeks and work on something else for a while. I find it is fresher that way. I like to sit with an extra large coffee in a room with no distractions with the exception of some music. The coffee tends to get my brain going and usually within the hour, ideas start to come to me. The frustrating part is when you sit there scribbling all morning and end up with nothing you can use. On a good day, however, when the planets are aligned, I can end up with an entire month's worth of ideas. I usually wait until the last minute to draw them all and I always seem to be short one or two comics to make up an entire batch (you need to send them in multiples of six). That seems to be the closest I have come to writer's block...when the Fed Ex guy is on his way and do you think I can think of one funny thing?
Q. What materials do you use to draw your comics?
A. I work with a crow quill pen and drawing paper for the dailies and a combo of quill pen and brush on illustration board for the Sunday comics.
Q. Do you have any suggestions on how to become a professional cartoonist?
A. I started off sending stuff out to syndicates but I recommend going to a good 4-year program at an art school. I educated myself in graphic design and illustration as it also teaches you how to think creatively as well as improve your skills in illustration. You will see things with a new eye. What I thought was quite good before art college I now realize would not cut it both illustratively and idea wise. I also think finding a regular forum for your work, such as a weekly magazine or newspaper, will help prepare you for becoming a syndicated cartoonist. This will be a good test to see if you can produce ideas regularly and handle the pressures of deadlines. You have to remember that the syndicates are also taking a risk on committing to you to produce a feature for years so any experience you have can only be a plus. There are a lot of weekly rags that don't pay much but will print your stuff if you are having trouble getting in with the bigger magazines and newspapers. Remember, everybody had to start somewhere.
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To contact the artist, write to:
Dave Whamond
c/o United Media
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Your letter to the cartoonist will be forwarded via snail mail
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