tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64088522012-01-26T13:03:49.645+01:00Royston CartoonsCartoons and related matters by UK freelance Royston RobertsonRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.comBlogger5361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-31462386490574547222012-01-26T13:02:00.001+01:002012-01-26T13:03:49.653+01:00Prospect cartoon: Post haste"I refuse to be pigeonholed."
The February issue of Prospect magazine features an article about the Post Secret project, which this cartoon sits alongside. As usual, this was just coincidence and I had no idea they were planning that when I sent it in. This kind of thing has happened before and I wish it happened more often.
Here's a blog post I wrote a while back on the talking-object cartoon.Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-67260914146375906492012-01-19T13:10:00.000+01:002012-01-19T13:10:21.743+01:00Law cartoon: Impute vs InferThis cartoon, which pastiches the work of the pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, which was itself a pastiche of comic art, recently accompanied an article in a law magazine.
It was about the legal problems involved in separations with "cohabitant" couples. The difficulty appeared to be trying to establish what the parties' intentions had been, as there was no marriage contract, and the fine legal Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-64377108755171991582012-01-13T14:07:00.003+01:002012-01-13T14:10:08.149+01:00Beat the Cartoonist: Vote now
"Accurs'd stag nights!"
"This is the last time I volunteer to be a designated driver!"
"Hey, you at the front, no smoking in first class!"
"I don't know what you're all laughing about. This is the tumbrel."
These are the captions for Beat the Cartoonist on the Reader's Digest site. Click here to vote for your favourite. As usual, there are three from readers plus mine. Do your worst! Or your Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-15979573954523058762012-01-12T11:08:00.002+01:002012-01-12T11:12:20.816+01:00History cartoon: Scott of the Antarctic"I'm just going outside ... you can follow me on Twitter."
It's exactly 100 years since Robert Falcon Scott led his men on their ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. It's a story of British heroism and bravery in the face of terrible odds, and subject matter for many flippant and disrespectful jokes ever since.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-56213122964913285972012-01-05T10:31:00.002+01:002012-01-05T10:33:26.931+01:00Gag for the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival"I hope you're not planning on flying close to the sun?"
This week I submitted cartoons for exhibition at the 2012 Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival, the theme of which is "Flying". This is one of them.
Festival events take place through April and May. The main weekend of free activities, now known as Cartoonists Live, which includes live drawing, workshops, talks and caricaturing, takes place from Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-56471530691708498392012-01-01T04:02:00.002+01:002012-01-01T04:04:12.049+01:00New year cartoon: Happy 2012!I do a lot of Christmas cartoons, as we have seen, but not so many New Year ones. This was drawn for the current issue of a law magazine
Some context: CPD stands for continuing professional development. Lawyers, and other professions, have to do a certain number of CPD hours in a year, and giving lectures counts towards them, as does attending conferences, getting articles published etc.
It wasRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-4477522420773542842011-12-31T03:52:00.002+01:002011-12-31T03:52:14.832+01:00Beat ye CartoonistOne of my cartoons is the Beat the Cartoonist image in the January Reader's Digest, allowing readers to write their own captions then vote on the best.
Click here to take part.
And you can see my previous Beat the Cartoonist entries here. So far I have won three and lost one ...Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-48878042902068724992011-12-31T03:20:00.013+01:002011-12-31T10:27:39.511+01:00Another year over: My 2011As tradition dictates, it's time for the round-up of my cartooning year. So here are my highlights of 2012. This is not a round robin OK, as I haven't sent it directly to you and it doesn't contain details of my daughter losing her first tooth this year (although she did ...)
I went to the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival as usual, my sixth visit. I drew a Big Board, knocking out a olden-days versionRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-9360944106113580522011-12-24T13:54:00.001+01:002011-12-24T13:55:31.368+01:00Cartoon advent calendar: Day 24.It's the taking partHere's the final advent calendar cartoon. This was my Christmas card this year, and like the drawing from day one, the gag was in the Christmas issue of Reader's Digest.
I picked this as the final one as it looks forward to 2012. Thanks for reading and a merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all!
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-39652858132374925582011-12-23T03:49:00.001+01:002011-12-23T03:52:27.025+01:00Cartoon advent calendar: Day 23. Making a listToday's advent cartoon is another from the Christmas Private Eye.
I did one similar to this a few years ago, which didn't sell, where he had three lists: Nice, Naughty and Misunderstood. But it seemed right to rework it this year in the light of the riots across England, after which people were searching for reasons for young people going on the rampage.
"Alienated" and "disaffected" were wordsRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-10604946098413580162011-12-22T02:20:00.002+01:002011-12-22T02:27:18.638+01:00Cartoon advent calendar: Day 22. Turkey talk
This pocket cartoon was drawn this week, to accompany a local paper story about a woman who keeps a turkey as a pet -- a spot of seasonal silliness!
The glassy eyes of the turkey, to indicate cuteness, were the result of looking at my son's drawings. He draws them like that a lot, a trick picked up from watching Spongebob Squarepants and Pokémon cartoons.
It's not too late to buy Royston's Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-13930591757265386722011-12-21T12:10:00.000+01:002011-12-21T12:10:37.426+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 21. Recession Christmas"Luckily for you, we're only taking on temporary staff right now."
Today's advent calendar cartoon is from the Private Eye Christmas issue, which is out today. We're on the home stretch now ...
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-13217637401081640532011-12-20T12:07:00.001+01:002011-12-20T12:11:57.718+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 20. Scrooged"You can't have more coal for the fire, Mr Cratchit -- this firm is committed to reducing its carbon emissions."
Ebenezer Scrooge would do well if he was around today. He's committed to austerity measures, keeping costs low and running his business on as few staff as possible, and his "make do and mend" approach is also good for the planet.
This cartoon appears in the current edition of The Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-5294941034757125202011-12-19T12:19:00.000+01:002011-12-19T12:19:04.281+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 19. Modern SantaToday's advent cartoon is another cartoon drawn for a company Christmas card, a marketing company in this case.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-17208413697664033262011-12-18T11:53:00.000+01:002011-12-18T11:53:30.147+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 18. Food for thought"Apparently, it's organic"
Day 18 of the cartoon advent calendar and this is the fourth snowman joke, and there may well be more to come. This was in Prospect magazine at Christmas two years ago.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-36759791525913479602011-12-17T03:43:00.003+01:002011-12-17T03:47:22.951+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 17: Bear with me"You must come over to ours for Boxing Day."
This is one from a couple of years ago when there were lots of cartoons depicting polar bears on floating bits of ice. Maybe editors had had their fill though, as it didn't sell. Or maybe they thought that worrying about global financial crisis at Christmas time is enough, without also worrying about global warming.
To avoid a Frozen Planet Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-58444337357707299972011-12-16T11:22:00.004+01:002011-12-16T11:43:24.372+01:00Cartoon advent calendar: Day 16. Him againHere's another new one, from this week's Spectator Christmas issue, but clearly I was riffing here on a favourite theme ...
More Magritte cartoons
It's probably of interest to no-one but myself, but this month now has more blog posts than any other I've done. In your face, April 2010 (15) !Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-54080540828724476202011-12-15T06:48:00.002+01:002011-12-15T06:49:35.631+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 15. Exchanging gifts"I feel awful -- we only got them socks."
Back to the present for today's advent cartoon. This is in the new edition of Prospect.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-5773573416824366352011-12-14T11:23:00.003+01:002011-12-14T11:25:40.951+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 14. Question time"Oh no, look who's in ..."
Today's advent calendar cartoon is from Reader's Digest, Christmas 2009.
It's not too late to buy Royston's cartoon book for Christmas!Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-29790338154099999202011-12-13T14:17:00.004+01:002011-12-13T14:22:39.875+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 13. It's a calling"Oi! Are you looking at my four calling birds?"
For some reason that is lost in the mists of time, in 2008 Private Eye was keen to run gags, by different cartoonists, that used the caption "Oi! Are you looking at my bird?", and variations thereof. So I thought they might go for a festive take on that. They didn't.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-92169583649705681672011-12-12T12:46:00.000+01:002011-12-12T12:46:36.137+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 12. The nativity"If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this drama ..."
Here's today's advent cartoon. This was a Private Eye Christmas card cartoon last year.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-86087069919702127402011-12-11T02:00:00.003+01:002011-12-16T11:45:24.008+01:00Cartoon advent calendar: Day 11. Hello kitty
"Since that trip to the vet, these were the only baubles that Pickles would be playing with this year."
I know what you're thinking ... that's not a cartoon! But I did write the caption for this Christmas photo card.
A few years ago, I drew a Christmas cartoon for a card company that also sent me some photos to write captions for. They picked this one. It's a peurile joke, I know, but it all Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-688274979325269612011-12-10T02:30:00.000+01:002011-12-10T02:30:40.778+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 10. Lighten up"Very festive, but I can't seem to find the door."
Believe it or not, this one can currently be seen on a Christmas tree in a church!
St George's Church in Ramsgate asks local organisations to decorate trees every year, as a fundraising event, and Ramsgate Arts, for whom I did a talk, a couple of years ago, approached local artists to contribute images for theirs. This was also Prospect Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-44212401199187617232011-12-09T12:25:00.000+01:002011-12-09T12:25:19.040+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 9. The early adopter"I thought we's go for a digital tree this year."
Back up to date, todays advent cartoon is in this week's issue of the Spectator.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-45739327793083912882011-12-08T11:59:00.001+01:002011-12-08T12:00:59.046+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 8. Arty Christmas"It's my homage to Picasso."
Here's an art cartoon for day eight of the advent calendar. Drawn for a local paper last Christmas. That's three snowmen cartoon so far, and there's more to come.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-61751984303838165702011-12-07T10:32:00.001+01:002011-12-07T10:33:21.073+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 7. The accused"It is alleged that you did pose as a clergyman in order to carry out sham marriage ceremonies ..."
After the punnery of yesterday's advent cartoon, this one is possibly a little more sophisticated -- by which, I mean that some people didn't get it. Private Eye did though, and it was in the magazine last Christmas.
Royston's cartoon book: it's got no Christmas cartoons in it but the one on the Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-25544323392267392662011-12-06T11:54:00.001+01:002011-12-06T11:55:25.167+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 6. Clause and effect"The lawyer was suspicious of all the dodgy Clauses."
This was a cartoon for a law firm's Christmas card from 2006, though it was reused again this year by another law firm that had seen it on my portfolio site. Which was nice.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-2708155721894139842011-12-05T11:48:00.000+01:002011-12-05T11:48:55.357+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 5. Wise moveDay five, and here's the first religious cartoon. This is from Christmas 2007 and was in Prospect magazine. There was a lot of stuff in the media at the time about MPs and donations, members' interests etc.
Christmas shopping? Why not get them a book they'll actually read this year!Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-33224005762395625362011-12-04T06:20:00.000+01:002011-12-04T06:20:57.105+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 4. Giving and receiving"I think someone's stealing our wi-fi."
I hope you're all enjoying the advent calendar cartoons, and I can only apologise for the fact that each image does not come with a piece of funny-tasting chocolate in the shape of a robin. Today's is an unsold one from a couple of years ago.
The perfect stocking-filler ...Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-8000539904064283002011-12-03T03:17:00.003+01:002011-12-08T11:59:52.581+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 3. Meet and MagritteToday's advent cartoon is an oldie. This was in a Private Eye Christmas issue in 2008. Day three and I'm already revisiting past glories! Mind you, I don't think I've posted this here before, though there are other Magritte cartons.
Nothing says Christmas like a book of Royston cartoonsRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-67468118366545587862011-12-02T14:00:00.003+01:002011-12-20T11:54:29.274+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 2. Taking stock at Christmas"These gentlemen are here to discuss mistakes we may have made, where we are now, and what the future holds ..."
Here's today's advent cartoon. This was drawn for a trade publication, to be sent out as part of an e-card, and is one of my regular boardroom series of cartoons.
It's fun sometimes to drop new characters into the regular scenario, and often the jokes almost write themselves. For theRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-59967051076504672402011-12-01T10:03:00.001+01:002011-12-05T02:15:06.190+01:00Cartoon advent calendar:Day 1. Hacking Christmas"Perhaps you could tell us how you know if we've been bad or good?"
I'm going to treat you lucky people to a Christmas cartoon for each day leading up to December 24 -- a kind of cartoon advent calendar. They will be new and old, published and unpublished, some from magazines and others commissioned.
To kick things off, this is in the Christmas issue of Reader's Digest. Any resemblance to Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-64888652935885894342011-11-30T12:09:00.001+01:002011-11-30T12:09:46.004+01:00Strike cartoon: The home frontThe kids are off school today because of the public sector strike, which makes this cartoon, which I drew today for a local paper, somewhat autobiographical.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-38021407959243730862011-11-28T11:44:00.004+01:002011-11-28T11:48:46.612+01:00My cartoon collection ... still out now!I've just ordered a new batch of cartoon books, so it's probably a good time to remind you that one would make an ideal Christmas present ...
Penguin vs Polar Bear and Other Ridiculous Cartoons is 104 pages long and has lots of funny cartoons in it, taken from Private Eye, Reader’s Digest, The Spectator, Prospect, The Oldie, New Statesman and others.
Visit my shop to buy a signed copy for Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-4088445493364191022011-11-23T16:49:00.003+01:002011-11-23T16:50:57.081+01:00Not Yet Sold: Just say no, kidsLook, it made me laugh, OK?
It appears that I was probably alone though, hence it is currently dwelling in the file marked Rejected, er, I mean Not Yet Sold. You can see more here.Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-32950532194097938222011-11-23T16:49:00.002+01:002011-11-23T16:50:18.086+01:00Let's pause for a cup of teaCuppa tea? Oil on tea towel, by Royston Robertson, circa 2008
Having a sort out, I came across some old paintings I did in an evening class a few years ago. Here's one: a still life of a tea cup. Painted on an old tea towel, I kid you not. This is from my Typhoo period. Sugar, anyone?Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-56997612919886224192011-11-15T20:58:00.001+01:002011-11-15T21:00:18.435+01:00Cartoon for Doctor Who websiteI had some fun doing this cartoon, which can be seen on the Doctor Who fansite Adventures with the Wife in Space. The site is run by Neil Perryman, an old friend from my university days, who commissioned me via Facebook, having seen me banging on (and on) about my cartoons there.
The idea behind the site is that every day he watches an episode of Doctor Who with his non-fan wife Sue, in order Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-77946137040736241592011-11-15T20:34:00.002+01:002011-11-15T20:37:58.681+01:00Looks like I've got some competition ...There was much excitement in our house when my son Fergus, 9, got a cartoon in The Dandy. It was in last week's issue. He came third, out of five, in a competition to design a character for the comic strip The Bogies.
His creation is Lord Booger (based on Lord Sugar -- geddit?) and a strip based on the character will appear in next week's issue. The family business beckons ...
Text Click here Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-23840242225659512032011-11-09T12:11:00.000+01:002011-11-09T12:11:11.560+01:00Cowboy cartoon: Talkin' long captionsHere's a cartoon that comprehensively breaks the unwritten rule that captions should be snappy and to the point.
"This town ain't big enough for the two of us, so I'm proposing 1,000 new homes with a commitment to affordable housing plus adjacent retail park and leisure destination."
I spent quite a bit of time trawling local council websites to get the deathlessly dull phrases that they use Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-17354155201223832402011-11-03T02:05:00.001+01:002011-11-03T02:07:17.059+01:00Running cartoon: From Private Eye annual"What are we running for? For me, it's Cancer Research this year."
The Private Eye Annual 2011 is in the shops, and I've got a couple of cartoons in it, including the one above.
This cartoon illustrates that submitting cartoons is often about timing. I drew it about a year ago but it seemed like the wrong time to be sending it out, as we headed into winter, and no-one would be thinking about "Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-59397128496600875272011-11-02T22:40:00.004+01:002011-11-03T09:37:08.629+01:00Library pictureI was more than a little chuffed, when browsing in my local library here in Broadstairs, to come across a copy of my cartoon book. There it is, above, punching above its weight amid heftier tomes. I had heard that it was in there, I suppose it is a "supporting local artists" thing.
Initially I thought no-one had taken it out, but then I remembered that there's no way of knowing. The borrowing Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-30854806856901360692011-10-28T11:31:00.001+02:002011-10-28T11:36:51.269+02:00Religion cartoon: Keeping it in the family"He only got this job because of who his dad is."
After two posts about my social life (it's so rare that I have one!) it's time I posted a cartoon on this cartoon blog, so here's one from the November edition of Prospect.
Watching BBC Four's Holy Flying Circus the other day reminded me how much Monty Python's Life of Brian opened the door to allow us all to be a bit non-reverential about Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-29211446790873998152011-10-28T11:16:00.000+02:002011-10-28T11:16:29.837+02:00Partying with 'smartoonists' at the Guildhall
Cartoonists were outside their usual comfort zone at the Private Eye Golden Jubilee party on Wednesday -- the culmination of the magazine's 50th celebrations -- not because of the splendour of the venue, but rather the "smart dress" instruction on the invite.
The grandeur of the Guildhall, in the City of London, was punctured by the placing of cutouts of famous Private Eye "victims" (Robert Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-89329168853603230802011-10-23T14:09:00.003+02:002011-10-25T02:10:48.097+02:00Out and about with the Cartoonists' ClubLast weekend I went on a trip to Somerset with the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain, for the 2011 AGM/jolly. This, I should point out, was immediately prior to the Private Eye opening, so I had an heroic four days in a row of drinking and socialising. First time I've done that since I was a student, I think.
There were 20-odd of us on the trip, a few of whom are pictured above, at Cheddar Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-23323765914884416092011-10-21T16:22:00.000+02:002011-10-21T16:22:07.292+02:00Art cartoon: Sorry, VincentRegular readers will know I like to do art-based cartoons, so here's my take on a famous Van Gogh. Click the image to enlarge.
This one is in, er, slightly poor taste, so lots of mags passed on it. But it has found its natural home in the November issue of the adult comic Poot, which is not averse to a bit of gross-out humour. They have a softer side though, and it was Poot that added this Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-60848103660124301572011-10-19T14:31:00.003+02:002011-11-03T02:11:14.280+01:00Exhibition cartoon: Private Eye at the V&A"Must dash ... I want to spend some time on my social-networking websites."
I went along to the opening of Private Eye: The First 50 Years at the V&A on Monday. As is often the case with these things, I spent so much time chatting to people (there were more cartoonists there than I've ever seen in one place before) that I didn't get to see much of the show. I'll have a proper look next time I'm Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-12545946366694314592011-10-13T13:39:00.004+02:002011-10-13T13:48:46.782+02:00Restaurant cartoon: Crowdsourcing ideas"Don't fill up with bread."
I'm always reluctant to use hip, techie words -- largely because you never know if they're still going to be around next week -- but this cartoon, which is in the current Private Eye, was the result of an experiment in "crowdsourcing".
OK, crowd is probably putting it a bit strongly, but a handful of people responded when I put the following message on Twitter a Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-2888160756915303122011-10-07T00:30:00.000+02:002011-10-07T00:30:59.033+02:00Weather cartoon: Forever autumnHere's a cartoon I drew for a newspaper article about the unseasonably hot autumn weather we had recently. Normally these cartoons are black and white but sometimes it's nice to add some colour, and those autumnal shades are rather nice, I think.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-73885115206376645062011-10-01T03:35:00.009+02:002011-10-01T13:23:36.767+02:00TV cartoon: Careful what you wish forFans of Doctor Who will know that the current series has been leading up to death of the Doctor tonight. Sounds unlikely that they would kill off a much-loved franchise, er, character, but unlikely things do happen: it's October 1 and it's hot and sunny.
Click play
For some though, you should be careful what you wish for ...
"Do you ever get a hollow feeling when you've looked forward to Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-50928809098142654632011-09-25T12:18:00.000+02:002011-09-25T12:18:07.674+02:00A real-life cartoon and a sound thrashingIt's a sunny Sunday. Ideal car-washing weather. Can't be bothered though, so here's a cartoon about car washing instead.
Occasionally a cartoon idea comes along that doesn't take much writing because it is plucked from real-life experience. This one came while washing our car outside the house one day in the summer.
Within about five minutes I had heard the first comment and the second one Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-63359796530211103162011-09-22T13:22:00.001+02:002011-09-22T14:14:07.045+02:00Not Yet Sold: Cats cartoon"You really must have nine lives."
I'm not sure if this one works, or if it is that original, but I was really pleased with my design for the "crash test cat dummy"! All comments welcome below, as usual.
More in this series of rejected cartoons: Not Yet Sold.Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-44030974998861518162011-09-14T11:51:00.000+02:002011-09-14T11:51:32.911+02:00News cartoon: Ten years on"It's 9/11, 24/7"
Some might accuse me of being disrespectful with this cartoon, which is in this week's Private Eye, but it is about excessive media coverage rather than 9/11 itself.
Of course the recent 10th anniversary should have been marked to a significant degree, but I always get an uneasy feeling at the way those images of death and destruction are played and replayed like an action filmRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-72878634714187539502011-09-08T11:32:00.001+02:002011-09-09T16:20:00.266+02:00Military cartoon: Portfolio site updated
My "static" portfolio site has been a little too static for longer than I care to remember, but last week I finally got around to updating it. I've added lots of more recent cartoons, ditched some of the older ones, and have put up a few that haven't been online before, like this one. Check out the site here: www.roystonrobertson.co.ukRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-55275138161138211012011-09-05T11:49:00.001+02:002011-09-05T11:50:32.719+02:00Mucky in Margate and rude in RydeHere's an article I wrote for the September issue of The Jester, newsletter of the Cartoonists' Club, about two recent cartoon-based excursions:
Reader, I have been corrupted over recent weeks – not once but twice! My mind has been disturbed by filth of such depravity that it is little wonder Her Majesty's guardians of morality and taste pursued it through the courts.
I refer to the saucy Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-31254340473787998222011-09-05T11:13:00.001+02:002011-09-05T11:18:48.963+02:00Technology cartoon: Spam, spam, spam ..."You'd get a lot more work done if you didn't reply to every spam email with, 'Thank you for your kind offer ...'"
Today I unwittingly sent a spam message to hundreds of followers on Twitter. So I'm posting this cartoon here as an apology to them and a thank-you for a) realising the message clearly wasn't from me b) offering advice and tips and c) not un-following!
It was my own fault for Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-14613909120067711602011-08-31T15:40:00.001+02:002011-08-31T15:41:55.853+02:00Finance cartoon: End of the holidays"I have nothing to declare but the fact that I am completely skint."
As the summer holidays come to an end, here's a cartoon that seems relevant. This was drawn for the money pages of July's Reader's Digest, to illustrate an article about holiday spending and the poor value of the pound.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-62132570839714103502011-08-19T22:37:00.003+02:002011-08-20T02:53:05.769+02:00Film cartoon: All riseI haven't yet seen Rotpota, as the cool kids call it, but I intend to. I'm a fan of the original and I hope that the new one will finally eradicate the appalling Tim Burton "re-imagining" from my memory. This cartoon can be seen in this week's edition of The Spectator.
Here's another cartoon on an "Ascent of Man" riff.Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-85553069860249276092011-08-18T11:04:00.001+02:002011-08-18T11:08:10.075+02:00Boardroom cartoon: Game on"Don't worry if you don't know the rules – we're making it up as we go along."
In the light of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World, a business client wanted a cartoon about how organisations can deal with the issue of accountability, to establish who is ultimately responsible when things go wrong instead of playing the "blame game".
This series of cartoons always features the Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-81271190242899820752011-08-15T11:36:00.000+02:002011-08-15T11:36:13.946+02:00Not Yet Sold: Astrology cartoon"Hey, what sign are you?"
Quite often when I dig out cartoons for this occasional feature on much-rejected gags I think, "Hmm, if I change this guy a bit, and maybe reword that" ... and the cartoon ends up being reworked, rather than shown here.
This is one I've pretty much given up on though. It still makes me chuckle, but sometimes you have to admit defeat. What do you think? All comments Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-34150785091580467552011-08-11T13:06:00.000+02:002011-08-11T13:06:56.556+02:00Beat the Cartoonist: Vote now
"Tut! Men and their sheds, eh?"
"He agreed we should provide accommodation for my mother."
"There must be better ways to shed weight."
"I always use the home-delivery service these days."
These are the captions for Beat the Cartoonist on the Reader's Digest site. You can vote for your favourite here. There are three from readers plus mine. I'm not going to reveal which is mine, of course. Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-11750299907341197702011-08-05T11:02:00.000+02:002011-08-05T11:02:20.741+02:00Law cartoon: Monster funDrawing cartoons for trade and business magazines inevitably means you do a lot of office-based cartoons. That's fine -- particularly as office cartoons often allow for re-use sales later on -- but occasionally it's nice to let rip with something a bit more extravagant, and I think this one is certainly that.
It was drawn for a law magazine to illustrate an article about claiming for vehicles Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-13178370360109372272011-07-30T03:13:00.000+02:002011-07-30T03:13:28.655+02:00Science cartoon: DisconCERNted*"Run! I've discovered the Higgs bison."
I make no apologies for the groan-worthy pun in this cartoon. Why should I? It's not my fault if cartoon editors pick puns over all the other eruditely witty and bitingly satirical cartoons that I submit ...
Actually the passage of this cartoon into the August (and indeed august**) Prospect magazine may have been smoothed by the fact that it features a Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-39331404417866266902011-07-29T12:15:00.000+02:002011-07-29T12:15:50.637+02:00Ghosts cartoon: Fade to grey"If another barman cracks the joke about not serving spirits, I'm leaving ..."
This cartoon is from Isle, a magazine for the Thanet area, where I live. It accompanied a feature about a team of "ghostbusters" who seek out supernatural goings on in supposedly haunted old pubs.
As an experiment, I drew the characters on a separate layer to the background and used a filter in Photoshop to give themRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-42299792567466880052011-07-26T11:06:00.004+02:002011-07-26T11:11:39.308+02:00Can you beat the cartoonist?What on earth is going on here? It's one of my drawings being used in the "Beat the Cartoonist" caption contest in the new Reader's Digest, that's what.
Click here if you can you think of a caption. The three best suggestions will be posted on the magazine's website by August 11, alongside my original caption (anonymously, of course). Visitors to the site then vote for their favourite. The Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-59171180387495937162011-07-15T13:19:00.001+02:002011-07-15T13:20:53.048+02:00Celebrities cartoon: Red turns up the Heat"Ohmigod, what big ears she has! Ohmigod, what a big nose she has! ..."
Here's a cartoon from the current Private Eye. This was on a page that was dedicated entirely to gag cartoons, which was good to see.
This is another where I've combined a contemporary issue with a fairy tale. In this case the story came first. I was thinking about those famous lines when it occurred to me that Red Riding Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-47401861769281563402011-07-07T21:20:00.002+02:002011-07-15T04:08:51.946+02:00Holiday cartoon: Seasons in the sun"You really shouldn't eat foods that are out of season."
As the summer holidays approach, here's a nice, sunshiny beach cartoon from the July issue of Reader's Digest.
I was also commissioned to do two cartoons for the Money pages this month. It's nice to see them using gag cartoons for this, rather than "straight" illustrations, for a change. More magazines should do that. After all, cartoons Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-71331243961856121982011-06-30T11:45:00.001+02:002011-06-30T11:46:22.745+02:00The visual joke: Battle is restagedI often draw cartoons that have no caption, but it is rare that I do one that also has no words within it. It's good to do this kind of cartoon though, as they can work internationally. This one appears in the June issue of Prospect magazine.
After my post yesterday about revisiting the past, I should disclose that this cartoon is, if not a sequel, then at least a companion piece to the cartoon Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-3018415123794525182011-06-29T17:33:00.001+02:002011-06-29T17:35:03.597+02:00Cartoon for Henley Regatta exhibitionThose of you interested in boating matters may like to know that there's a cartoon exhibition at this year's Henley Regatta, which starts today and runs until July 3.
I've got two cartoons in the show, and as I know nothing at all about rowing they are both Owl and Pussycat jokes! The one above, which was in Private Eye, sold when it was exhibited at the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival this year. SoRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-16819005132727623552011-06-29T12:15:00.002+02:002011-06-29T12:21:36.930+02:00Pop culture cartoon: Retromania"I'm rehashing an old magazine piece about how popular culture keeps revisiting the past."
The idea for this cartoon, which is in the current Private Eye, came while reading an article by Simon Reynolds about his new book Retromania, which is about how 21st century pop culture is endlessly revisiting the past.
I really enjoyed Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again, a study of post-punk and new Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-72547466819531632452011-06-22T11:40:00.002+02:002011-06-22T11:44:50.153+02:00Debt cartoon: Plus some cartooning linksHere's a cartoon published recently in a law magazine I work for, drawn to accompany an article about insolvency.
There's not much to say about this one, but if you are craving lots of words on the subject of cartooning from me -- and why wouldn't you be! -- check out the Bloghorn, online diary of the Professional Cartoonists Organisation, which I write for regularly.
Subjects I've written Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-2037175719187749692011-06-17T13:34:00.001+02:002011-06-17T13:34:37.749+02:00Local boy done goodI was pleasantly surprised to see my board on the Great Wall of Ramsgate singled out for a piece in the Thanet Extra, one of the local papers. Click to enlarge (if you squint really hard you can even make out my website address ...)
There's more on my involvement in the Great Wall project here and here.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-12045441824992507822011-06-08T12:49:00.000+02:002011-06-08T12:49:53.139+02:00Phone cartoon: Eyes down"Let us pray."
I've taken the plunge and bought my first smartphone, so now I resemble one of the characters in this cartoon, which was in The Spectator a few months back. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon and I'll get some feeling back in my neck.
If you look at the web on a mobile phone, then you may like to now that I have now optimised this blog so it looks OK in that format. I say "Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-46780260131706524472011-05-31T10:20:00.002+02:002011-05-31T10:20:54.017+02:00Crime cartoon: A brush with the law"You say, 'Comedy catchphrase', the law says, 'Bomb threat'."
A jokey or humorous comment can get you in trouble in these paranoid times, as this character is finding out. For international readers who don't know who he is, Wikipedia is your friend. This appears in the June issue of Reader's Digest.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-52080750980146427322011-05-27T12:40:00.000+02:002011-05-27T12:40:18.098+02:00Smoking cartoon: Many words of warningHere's a cartoon from this week's Private Eye with a ridiculous amount of words in it. It's more of an essay really, than a gag cartoon. Click the image to enlarge, if you don't have your reading glasses with you.
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-28942734189491744812011-05-24T13:25:00.001+02:002011-05-24T13:27:40.567+02:00Cartoonists rejoice! The ash cloud is back"I'm afraid I can't make it in today because of the ash cloud."
Yes, before you can say Eyjafjallajökull, it seems we have another volcanic ash cloud from our friends in Iceland. It's a different volcano this time, and probably not as serious, but it's still a gift for cartoonists. Here's one I did last time round, combining it with another theme favoured by cartoonists, the smokers' huddle.
Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-71366890221182387522011-05-20T12:31:00.000+02:002011-05-20T12:31:16.648+02:00Warning: Contains nudity!*[*Shameless headline to attract attention] Recently I went to Whitstable to check out this exhibition of nudes on postcards to which I contributed. Anyone could enter and the cards were stuck, unframed, on the gallery walls. A simple idea which produced a huge range of interpretations and a very enjoyable show.
All entries had to be submitted via the mail. So, as you can see, mine is a bit Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-77709154310750510372011-05-16T14:51:00.004+02:002011-05-16T14:58:23.497+02:00Law cartoon: Rhyme and reason"I'd say you have a watertight case there, boys"
Here's a cartoon I drew recently for a law magazine. Combining contemporary issues with nursery rhymes, fairly tales etc is a technique much used by cartoonists. This is another example, and another. And so it goes ...
Click here to buy Royston's cartoon bookRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-41072175397479705622011-05-14T01:54:00.001+02:002011-05-14T17:45:35.598+02:00Finally made it to the Letters page
It has long been an ambition of mine to make the letters page of Private Eye, preferably in a missive from a "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" type, foaming at the mouth and threatening to cancel his subscription because of his anger at a cartoon. Instead, I seem to have pleased some people and moved them (right, click to enlarge). Ah well, that will have to do.
The cartoon is question is this oneRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-74910596741647467112011-05-13T22:27:00.001+02:002011-05-14T02:38:10.679+02:00Life imitating cartoons. Part 4Here is another in my occasional "Life imitating cartoons" series. This was in a newspaper last week ...
Compare with this newspaper cartoon from the European elections of 2009 ...
"Something tells me they're expecting a low voter turnout."
More cartoony "predictions" here:
Life imitating cartoons. Part 1
Life imitating cartoons. Part 2
Life imitating cartoons. Part 3Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-56927795974435312962011-05-04T15:06:00.003+02:002011-05-06T13:21:31.235+02:00Question time ..."But what are you running from?"
Here's an interview I did for the April issue of The Jester, newsletter of the Cartoonists' Club. Ian Ellery, the editor, puts the same questions to a club member each month, some on cartooning, some not:
How did you first get in to cartooning?
I think I have always been into it. I started submitting gag cartoons and getting them published in 1997, but I've Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-37457636932405372152011-05-01T12:31:00.008+02:002011-05-02T11:39:30.572+02:00Computer says: New blog address
This blog now has its own dedicated URL: www.roystoncartoons.com
If you have this site bookmarked or have a link on your site/blog, please update it, though it should redirect from the old Blogger address.
Unfortunately, in the move I seem to have lost all my reciprocal links to other sites! I am in the process of restoring them, so bear with me. If you had a link here and I do not restore it,Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-88940975738055385242011-04-29T12:11:00.001+02:002011-04-30T01:50:45.964+02:00Wedding cartoon: Counting the cost"Calm down, it's helping me pay for all this."
This is not about that wedding, of course, just about weddings generally and how expensive they can be, particularly if you can't get the taxpayer to help out. This appears in the May issue of Prospect magazine.
The cartoon is more detailed and complex than most that I do. It's nice to push the boat out occasionally. It is a wedding, after all.
Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-61129095684417739392011-04-27T15:10:00.001+02:002011-05-11T00:10:46.184+02:00Doctor Who cartoon: Goodbye Sarah JaneThis cartoon was intended as a genuine tribute to the actress Elisabeth Sladen, who died last week, rather than an exercise in humour. It appears in the current Private Eye.
I think I got the balance right -- it is intended to be moving without being too sentimental -- as I've had a positive reaction to it.
Since I drew it, I've seen similar cartoons on the web. This is inevitable with topical Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-36487636089441316032011-04-27T12:29:00.002+02:002011-04-27T12:31:44.136+02:00Beat the Cartoonist at ShrewsburyReader's Digest had a presence at the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival for the first time this year, with a stall and a talk on cartooning. You can read an article about it by Alex Hughes over at the Bloghorn.
They ran a version of their Beat the Cartoonist competition, and a cartoon of mine, above, was one of those used. The contest wasn't quite the same as the magazine version as the Digest team Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-70827682450521211252011-04-26T10:45:00.006+02:002011-04-26T10:52:36.990+02:00Cartoon for "Post Nude" exhibitionI drew a version of this recent Private Eye cartoon -- yes, now he's totally naked! -- on a postcard for an exhibition called Post Nude, to be held at the Horsebridge Arts and Community Centre, just up the road in Whitstable.
It's open to anyone and the idea is that you create on a postcard an original nude in any medium (photograph, pencil, paint, collage etc -- they didn't actually say cartoonRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-28760344091335057002011-04-25T11:54:00.003+02:002011-04-26T01:16:55.899+02:00Great Wall, lovely weatherAs expected, Saturday was something of a scorcher down at the seaside. I had a small table selling my wares at the grand opening of the Great Wall of Ramsgate, and a fun day it was too.
There were other people selling watercolours, oil paintings, crafts etc, but it was not really an art-buying crowd. Those attending were, perfectly understandably, more interested in acquiring ice-creams and Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-13428479837580959882011-04-21T13:28:00.000+02:002011-04-21T13:28:29.663+02:00Selling books and art in sunny RamsgateThis weekend, on Easter Saturday, you will find me once again standing in front of my Great Wall of Ramsgate cartoon, but this time without the scarf and duffel coat (hopefully!) and with a small table piled with my cartoon books, signed prints and original artwork.
It's the official "unveiling" of this community art project at the Main Sands. There will be dance and music (not from me) and Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-78122766558858483422011-04-20T19:06:00.009+02:002011-04-26T01:27:54.035+02:00Kicking it old school: My Big BoardNote: Draw this ... but in the olden days
"What? There's no 'Victorianise' filter in Photoshop??"
This was attached to my Big Board at the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival at the weekend, where the theme was Sport. I'd originally planned something else but they wanted a Victorian theme for the Market Square boards, to celebrate the "Olympian Games" held in nearby Much Wenlock in 1850, which inspired Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-53109725289700770312011-04-19T02:25:00.001+02:002011-04-20T19:16:53.432+02:00Staring into the abyss at ShrewsburySo, another Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival has been and gone. Monday was the traditional comedown day -- it's always a weekend that involves lots of work and socialising and very little sleep -- and today I find myself facing deadlines brought forward because of Easter, so the full report will have to wait until later.
Meanwhile, here's a pic (courtesy of Ian Ellery) of me with knitted brow, facingRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-56051984919066787182011-04-14T02:46:00.001+02:002011-04-14T02:49:32.336+02:00Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival gets under wayThe 2011 Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival starts today and runs until Sunday. I'll be there from tomorrow, working on a Big Board in the market square and trying to get to see and do as much cartoony stuff as possible.
There will be talks, exhibitions, caricaturing, workshops, the lot. I'll be making Twitter updates -- follow @roystoncartoons -- and will write a full report next week. There will alsoRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-91706456549507114982011-04-11T11:53:00.005+02:002011-04-11T13:46:00.231+02:00Exhibition cartoon: Ideas man"Sure, I came up with fire and the wheel – but you're only as good as your last idea."
This original drawing is in a selling exhibition of cartoons in my native North Yorkshire, although as I live 275 miles away I probably won't be going to see the show.
The exhibition, Three Centuries of Cartoon Art, is organised by the Chris Beetles Gallery of St James's, London, but will be held at Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-34470001284558773132011-04-01T11:44:00.000+02:002011-04-01T11:44:15.680+02:00Weather cartoon: Letting it all hang out"Tut! Some people! First bit of warm weather ..."
Apologies for the full-frontal nudity, there's no watershed on the internet! This cartoon is in the new issue of Private Eye. It was inspired by the warm weather we had last week. The first sings of spring, we all cried! As I write, it is grey and overcast.
This gag is kind of "sequel" to this one from summer 2009.
Click here to buy Royston's Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-6860589044194940982011-03-23T11:46:00.018+01:002011-03-24T10:34:00.017+01:00Exhibition cartoon: Marriage à la Mode
Last night I went to the opening of the exhibition Marriage à la Mode at the Cartoon Museum in London. I've got a couple of cartoons in the show, including the one above.
The exhibition ties in with the upcoming Royal Wedding, though it is subtitled "Royals and Commoners In and Out of Love", so it is probably unlikely to get the thumbs up from the palace.
This cartoon, which was in Private EyeRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-38919186786192572362011-03-14T13:16:00.006+01:002011-03-23T17:08:14.920+01:00Sport cartoon for the Shrewsbury festival
The Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival takes place next month, and the theme this year is Olympian Sports. Here is a gag I submitted for exhibition, one from Private Eye in 2009. Click to enlarge. The dates are April 14-17 and you can see details of what's on here: www.shrewsburycartoonfestival.com
I'll be there, as usual. This year I'll be doing a Big Board in the Market Square, so pop along and sayRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-57107640991046520262011-03-12T17:14:00.008+01:002011-03-23T17:10:01.160+01:00Car-toon from my new book"Look out – speed camera!"
Here's a cartoon from a recent Reader's Digest that also features in my new book Penguin vs Polar Bear and Other Ridiculous Cartoons.
Earlier this week the comic-strip writer Roger Kettle (Andy Capp, Beau Peep, Horace) bought a copy of the book and later contacted me with some very nice comments about it. Totally unsolicited, by the way!
"It arrived today, Royston, Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-85491144657887349642011-03-09T10:53:00.001+01:002011-03-14T10:59:40.109+01:00Out now: My new cartoon book ...My first collection of magazine gag cartoons is available now. It's called Penguin vs Polar Bear and Other Ridiculous Cartoons, is 104 pages long and, well, has lots of cartoons in it.
Here's part of the back-cover blurb: "An encounter between a penguin and a polar bear may sound ridiculous, but it is just as plausible as a prehistoric man attending a job interview, or a cat completing a sudoku.Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-18048983404738783622011-03-03T11:47:00.004+01:002011-03-23T17:11:59.225+01:00Great Wall of Ramsgate cartoon close-upI put this montage together to accompany an article in The Jester, the Cartoonists' Club newsletter, about my Great Wall of Ramsgate cartoon.
As I mentioned in my first blog post on this, the cartoon was based on one published in Reader's Digest a few years back. But that featured just one character. When it came to recreating the cartoon on a 8ft by 4ft board he looked very lonely, so I decidedRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-25975187842972700242011-03-01T01:10:00.003+01:002011-03-24T19:29:16.033+01:00Music cartoon: Whale of a time"Forget whale song, I'm giving them some death metal."
I haven't blogged as much as I'd have liked to lately. This is due to a combination of things, one of which is that I've been busy lately putting together a book collecting cartoons I've had published over the years. More on that once they're back from the printers, but in the meantime here's another cartoon from current issue of the FoghornRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-4298447082852397632011-02-21T12:54:00.002+01:002011-03-01T01:16:41.851+01:00Not Yet Sold: Yet another HMV cartoon"I've pimped your sound system."
As regular readers of this blog will know, I've done many, many HMV dog cartoons over the years. It's like an illness. Quite a few have been published but some, such as this one, are languishing in the Not Yet Sold files.
Click here for more in this series of rejected cartoons: Not Yet Sold.
As is often the case with my rejected cartoons though, this makes an Royston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408852.post-743377316588049162011-02-17T10:31:00.000+01:002011-02-17T10:31:41.546+01:00Conditions right at last for cloudspotting cartoon"Hey, that one looks just like a visible mass of condensed water vapour floating in the atmosphere."
I got such a positive reaction to this cloudspotting cartoon which appeared in print a year ago, that I immediately tried to come up with more cartoons on the subject. The cartoon above is one of them and can be seen in this week's Private Eye.
As I've mentioned here before, there can be a largeRoyston Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14371324283924480755noreply@blogger.com0