How to draw Editorial Cartoons

Editorial cartoon is one of the visual elements that readers would usually look first when reading newspapers. Editorial cartoons are funny, informative, insightful or hard-hitting, depending on the preference of the cartoonist. OK, the very basic requirement to draw an editorial cartoon is that one should know how to draw or at least willing to learn how to draw cartoon. Here are the steps on how to draw editorial cartoons:

• First, you need to keep abreast of the issues in the community where your papers will be circulated. In the case of school or university setting, you have to know of issues in the campus that affect the stakeholders. In the case of the issues outside, take those that have impact on the students, teachers, etc. Listen to other arguments or debates on various issues so that you will get ideas or reference for your ideas. With that, you can compare notes so to speak and know where to attack the issue when you finally visualize it.

• Carefully study the issue. Analyze what you want to emphasize in the drawing and how to visualize it in a way that is hilarious or funny without sacrificing the point you want to show. Look for visual elements that can help you enhance the point of your cartoon.

• Now comes the drawing process. Use pencil in drawing your visual. Depending on your skills, you can do rough sketches or better yet do the penciling method with details.

• Once done, you can have enough time to review you drawing. Review the point that you want to show in the face of the issue. You can revise if if you think there is a much effective way of presenting the point of issue.

• The next step is inking. Then cleaning up your drawing of pencil lines, etc.

• Review the editorial cartoon before scanning. (In my case, I scan and email the editorial cartoon to the newspaper.)

PVC Card Making

Layout

• Design your ID in any program you are confident using. In my case, I design it using Adobe Photoshop. So the final ID design is “save as” jpeg. As far as resolution is concern, 100 resolution is fine. Don't overload because it will turn the file heavy.
• Open a Word Document (landscape orientation with custom size as 11.65"x7.75). Import the front and back designs and arranged them in such a way that all five (5) IDs are on top while their corresponding back design at the bottom. Meaning, you have 5 IDs in one document.
• Open the Picture Format window of the Word to manipulate the arrangement of your front and back faces of the ID. Set each side to 3.4 height and 2.15 width respectively.
• When printing with using inkjet printer, always use the mirror image of the printer.

Materials

• Your materials are PVC printing sheets and PVC Plastic core whose both sides (after peeling off the cellophane, are adhesive.
• Your PVC sheet has two sides - the printable side and the protective layer side which you peel off after lamination. The printable side of your PVC sheet is similar to a transparency film while the other side, which is soft. Scratch the corner side to determine which side to print.
• After printing, separate by cutting horizontally the upper portion (that is, the faces of the IDs) and the bottom (that is the back of the IDs) and assemble by facing them together as the final ID would look. Be sure that you align the front and back side and then use a scotch tape or stapler to hold them together on right side.
• Now, cut the PVC plastic (core) horizontally. Peel off the thin film covering both sides of one cut and insert it into the middle of the two sheets.
• Make it sure that the sheets adhere to the PVC plastic core before running the assembled materials in the laminating machine. Set the laminating machine to cold setting. Note: A setting hotter than normally required, can warp the PVC plastic.
• Cut the laminated material into individual PVC ID using PVC Cutter. Afterwards, you can peel off the partially transparent protective layer on both sides of the cut ID to see the shiny finished product.