Not Yet Sold: Ceiling groovy

"There's an app for that."

One from my rejection pile, which I like to ironically refer to as the "Not Yet Sold" pile. You can see more NYS cartoons here.

I wrote something longer than a cartoon caption

I saw a message on Twitter last week asking if anyone wanted to write about the easiest novels to finish for Sabotage Times, the website run by James Brown, who launched and originally edited Loaded magazine. I ended up telling them about a book club I joined a few months ago: You can read it here.

Stars on Canvas charity auction starts

The Stars on Canvas 2012 charity auction begins today and runs until December 2. That's my contribution above, which is in the Illustration section. You can bid for small canvases by cartoonists and illustrators as well as dozens by famous names from the worlds of sport, music and entertainment.

It is in aid of the Willow Foundation, which works with seriously ill 16 to 40-year-olds. The charity arranges special days and experiences to allow for a break from the difficulties of diagnosis and treatment.

The canvases will be sold online and will be exhibited at Maddox Arts, a London gallery that has donated the space. For details on how the auction works, visit the Stars on Canvas website.

Fairytale cartoon: Dressing up

"Once I'd tried on those clothes at your Grandmother's, I knew there was no going back.

This cartoon is probably very "wrong" on many levels. I apologise in advance. This could be a sequel to this cartoon except Red appears to have got younger. From the current Saga magazine.

Click here to buy Royston's cartoon book

Snow joke, it's that time of year again

I drew one of the Private Eye Christmas cards this year. You can see it by taking a magnifying glass to the bottom right-hand corner of the above promo image. Yes, it's another snowman cartoon (I'll post it here nearer the time). You get the pack of 12 cards when you subscribe, but they're also available to buy. Visit the Private Eye website.

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Technology cartoon: Case closed

"It's tough to admit that now I will never own a bookcase which swings open to reveal a hidden room ..."

I'm avoiding the whole e-books revolution, primarily for this reason.

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A cartoon for Halloween

"I miss the angry mob – they must be at home criticising you on Twitter again."

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Law cartoon: Court and antisocial

This was drawn to accompany an article in a law magazine, one of my regular jobs. I thought I'd throw in a topical reference to Judge Dredd, as the new film had just come out, and was pleased, and a little surprised, that they went for it.

See more law cartoons here.

Film cartoon: Oompa Loompa do-ba-dee-do

This is one for fans of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the original (and best) version of Roald Dahl's much-loved story.

It was fun to draw, and the famous Oompa-Loompa song ran through my head as I did so. The cartoon appears in the current issue of Saga magazine.

I considered writing "Royston tan cartoon" as the headline for this post, because whenever I Google myself (we've all done it) I get some results for the Singaporean film-maker Royston Tan, and I thought it would be funny if people searching for him find me instead. It may happen anyway now ... so hello Royston Tan fans!

In other news, a local paper, the Isle of Thanet Gazette, wrote a profile about me this week. Here's the picture they took. As you can see, I can draw three cartoons at the same time while balancing a bookshelf on my head. Read the interview here.

In case you're wondering what that small white thing is in the top right, it's a key from an old computer keyboard. Sometimes I press it.

Click here to buy Royston's cartoon book

Cartoon postcard: How to be a carer

Sometimes my work is about cartoon illustration, rather than joke cartoons, as in this promotional postcard drawn for Crossroads Care in Greater Manchester. Click here to find out about commissioning custom-made cartoons.

The Spectator meets The Walking Dead

"Zombies! The worst kind ..."

Here's a cartoon about zombies that appears in the current issue of The Spectator. It's not a show that usually inspires cartoon ideas, but I came up with this after watching an episode of The Walking Dead.

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Drawing for RD at the V&A

Much fun was had last Sunday at the Battle of the Cartoonists, part of the launch of this year's Big Draw, at the V&A in London. That's me, centre, above, with Steve Way, left, and Rob Murray, working on the Reader's Digest banner. Also on our team were Simon Meyrick-Jones and Nathan Ariss.

We were assigned the Raphael cartoon The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, so we drew a bunch of characters around an approximation of it – thanks, Steve! – some reacting to it, some not so much.

As usual, the drawing surface was horrible and the pens were smudgy, but the results have a certain scruffy appeal. Here's a few of the bits I drew.

Yes, I drew a Dalek, purely to appeal to the kids! It seemed to do the trick. And I make no apologies for the Salvador Dalek groaner.

See lots more post-Big Draw stuff at the Procartoonists.org blog here, here, and here.

Afterwards we ate, drank and got a little too merry, as is required at these things. Oh, and we didn't win. Private Eye won. Private Eye always win.

(Thanks to Ger Whyman and Nikki Harries for the photo).

Going into Battle once more

This Sunday I'll be taking part in the Battle of the Cartoonists at the launch of The Big Draw at the V&A in London at 2pm.

I took part, on the Procartoonists.org team, in 2008, at St Pancras International, and in 2010, above, at the Hays Galleria. I had planned to sit this one out but at the last minute another team was needed so Reader's Digest was asked to form one and I was asked if I wanted to take part.

The full list of teams is: Private Eye, Reader's Digest, The Sun, The Telegraph, The Guardian/Observer, Big Girls Drawers and Procartoonists.org. The seven teams will be tasked with coming up a comic response to seven cartoons (the non-funny kind) by Raphael. And we don't know which one we'll get until minutes before we start!

See the full list of cartoonists taking part here. To see more about the launch, which this year is called Big Draw, Big Make and runs from 11am-5pm, go here and download the programme. Come along and, er, nod approvingly ... apparently there's no clapping or cheering allowed in the Raphael Room!

Photo courtesy of Denis Dowland

Good time to support the Cartoon Museum

"Ohmigod, what big ears she has! Ohmigod, what a big nose she has! ..."

Here's another cartoon from the Animal Crackers exhibition at the Cartoon Museum in London. This is an old Private Eye one. The exhibition has almost a month to run (it finishes October 21) so get along to see it if you can.

The museum took a bit of a beating when it comes to visitor numbers during the Olympics, and has started opening seven days a week to make up the shortfall, so now is the ideal time to support it.

 
I took my kids along to see Animal Crackers recently and they had a great time. There's a "cartoon trail" for them to take part in and plenty of opportunity to create your own cartoons, above. The next exhibition, from October 24, celebrates 75 years of The Dandy, so I'm sure we'll all get along to that one too.

Buy Royston's cartoon book ... also available in the Cartoon Museum shop!

Doctor Who cartoon regenerated

I drew a "regenerated" version of my cartoon for the Doctor Who fansite Adventures with the Wife in Space, as Neil and Sue Perryman, who have been watching an episode of the 49-year-old series every day from the very beginning, are now on to the Peter Davison years. And the fifth Doctor was famous for a love of cricket and, er, celery.

The original version, in which Neil wears a Tom Baker scarf, was drawn last year for when the project got its own site (it had previously been part of another site).

As you can see, Neil also inflicts some of the dodgy spin-offs on his long-suffering missus. He asked if I was OK with him "customising" the cartoon for different episodes, with different screenshots and captions. I would normally be wary of allowing people to alter my drawings in this way, but it works for this site.

If you haven't yet seen the site, check it out at wifeinspace.com. It's very funny. And you can see lots more of my Doctor Who-based cartoons here.

Social media cartoon: Bird of freedom

This cartoon, about the role social media has played in uprisings and revolutions around the world, can be seen at the website of the Doha Centre for Media Freedom. Cartoons can also play a role in taking leaders to task. And sometimes they don't like it, as the current case of Aseem Trivedi shows.

History cartoons: Getting medieval

I seem to do a lot of history-based cartoons, often set in the Middle Ages/medieval period. I use these terms very loosely, please don't post, er, pedantic comments pointing out incorrect dress etc.

Sometimes this involves riffing on a specific theme, such as public executions ...
 

And, for some unknown reason, battering rams!

I think I first realised that this is a rich source of jokes when I provided cartoons for the BBC's short-lived Robin Hood Adventures magazine some years ago. There's more historical hilarity here, and here and here. 

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Topical cartoon: Closure of The Dandy

Topical gags can sometimes fall victim to the twin perils of print deadlines and other cartoonists coming up with the same idea.

This one, about the closure of The Dandy comic after 75 years, was accepted by Private Eye last Thursday but they phoned today to say that regrettably they won't be using it in the new issue, which is out tomorrow, as two similar cartoons have since appeared in national newspapers.

Such situations do crop up from time to time and a daily publication is always going to have the advantage. All is not lost, however, as the Eye still pays a (smaller) fee in such circumstances and I can still give it an outing here on my blog.

I was a little unsure about doing a cartoon on this subject, as my son is a Dandy fan and I know people who work for it, but I aimed for poignancy rather than a cheap shot.

Click here to buy Royston's cartoon book

Olympics cartoon: Step away from the TV

It's all over. And yes, like most cynics, I watched it and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. But now it's time to switch the telly off and get some fresh air.

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Reader's Digest cartoon: Train of thought

"Please keep all your belongings with you at all times."

From the August issue of Reader's Digest. I probably had an expression on my face much like the woman's here as I stared out of the train window and came up with this idea. This was also used as one of the Beat the Cartoonist drawings at this year's Shrewsbury festival.

Click here to buy Royston's cartoon book