A common question answered by Chad the Cartoonist.

There are many ways to develop a humorous comic strip idea - unfortunately there are also many ways to come up with non-humorous strip ideas, but we'll just concentrate on some of the humorous ones.

INSTANT INSPIRATION

Every now & then, an idea might strike in an instant. You may be sitting, drinking a cup of coffee, minding your own business - and WHAM! From out of nowhere a completely brilliant comic strip idea smacks you upside the head! The problems with this are that it doesn't happen very often and if it does, chances are you're not going to write it down. Needless to say, if you don't write it down, you'll probably forget it within minutes. It will be lost to the ages. So the lesson here is, WRITE IT DOWN!

Because the INSTANT INSPIRATION phenomenon is about as rare as an Amish Discothèque, the following is a list of just a few of the ways that may help you in creating that perfect cartoon idea.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Come up with an idea based on something that has happened to you, a friend or a family member. Over the years I've been cartooning, many ideas I've used have been based on things that happen to me throughout my daily life. Almost everybody has at least a couple of funny stories that would make a great comic strip. See below.

Hasn't this happened to us all? Personally, I was always the whistling bear.

BAD PUNS

A wise man once said, "The only good pun, is a bad pun." Truer words were never spoken - Mainly because there is no such thing as a good pun. However, that doesn't mean that bad puns don't make good comic strips. See below.

ANTHROPOMORPHISM

Not only is it a funny word, but also it's a funny concept. Anthropomorphism is the act of giving an animal or inanimate object human qualities. This technique has been used for many years by cartoonists all over the world - so it obviously works. Whether it's a dancing toaster or a spider shaving its legs, the possibilities are endless. See below.

I'd like to take this opportunity to state for the record that I love my mother-in-law.

THE RIDICULOUS

This is one of my favorite techniques. It consists of picturing a ridiculous image in your mind, and then trying to think of the appropriately funny words to go with it. However, sometimes words aren't even necessary - the picture itself may be enough. The secret here is to be as open-minded as possible - the more silly the better. See below.

HISTORICAL

I'm a big history buff (I also like to read history in the buff.) Because of this, I draw a lot of cartoons with a historical theme. I love to pull out a history book and just flip through it until I find an event or character that lends itself to an amusing twist. I've touched on such events as the Trojan War, the Moon landing, Lewis & Clark, George Washington and many, many more. There are literally thousands & thousands of possibilities. See below.

PAIRING

Take two objects at opposing ends of the spectrum and pair them up. This is very effective with many situations of conflict. Just think of two diametrically opposing factors and then combine them into one entity. See below.

In this strip the ridiculous pairing is white-water rafting and glass-bottom boats.

In this one the pairing is casual Fridays with the Center for Disease Control.

LETTING YOUR MIND FLOW

Any of the above categories work great for coming up with funny cartoon ideas, but if you're unable to find a suitable place to concentrate, it may be very difficult to come up with ideas.

Approximately 75% of my cartoon ideas come from just before I fall asleep or when I'm just waking up. There's something very conducive to free-flow thinking when you're slipping in or out of such a relaxing state. I also find that going for walks or taking a leisurely drive is a good time to come up with ideas. Basically, for me anyway, I need to be someplace quiet where I won't be interrupted by phone calls, television or rabid pit bulls. Wherever you choose to come up with ideas, always keep a pencil & paper handy so that you can immediately write down your ideas.

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW CHAD'S MIND WORKS

First of all, just the fact that Chad's mind works at all is a subject of debate, but the following is an example of how a cartoon is formed.

One rainy day I was driving down the road and trying to think of a cartoon idea. I was looking at one of the raindrops on the windshield, when I began thinking about the journey of that particular raindrop. It could have recently been a drop of water in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean - or maybe it was last a bit of fog in a steamy rainforest somewhere.

Then I began thinking about how fascinating it would be to be able to track the amazing migration of a single drop of water. That's when the "cartoon" part of my mind kicked in. I pictured a tiny radio-tracking collar (such as biologists use on numerous animals including migrating caribou) strapped around a single raindrop. Then I started thinking about the advanced technology that would be necessary to craft a tracking collar so miniscule. This got me to thinking about how far technology has come in just the past 50 years. Tracking collars had to have been much bigger and much more uncomfortable in the early days of scientific migratory research - which eventually led me to the below cartoon.

All of this occurred in a time-span of about 5 minutes starting with just a single raindrop. Strange, eh?

IN SUMMARY

Remember, when trying to think of a hilarious comic strip idea, the main thing is to have fun with it. If one idea isn't quite coming together, move on to something else. If you have to force it, it won't work. You may find a method of coming up with great ideas that isn't mentioned in the above list. Great! If that's the case, please email me and let me know - I'd love to include it in the list.

So, off you go now - be a creative, cartooning genius! And don't forget - WRITE IT DOWN and then send it to TUNDRA at info@tundracomics.com