In a comment on my previous post about a possible new site, Mirko suggested that I could re-publish my “commercial” cartoons with English translations on this site. I could of course do that, but the issue is that most of these cartoons don’t make much sense outside their context. When a customer asks me to make a cartoon, they usually give me some input, like the text for an article or the theme of a campaign, and I use that for inspiration. Without that context, the joke often isn’t clear, or even worse – not funny at all.
But nevertheless, I really have to work on my marketing. It’s very odd, but since I ended the Happysad series, I haven’t received a single request for an illustration job. Coincidence? Or do people now think I’ve quit drawing altogether? Or maybe it’s confirmation of my theory that there is larger demand for cartoons in times of crisis – or so I’ve noticed in the past few years. Then the economy slowly getting back on its feet means bad news for me, apparently…
To make it perfectly clear: I’m still in business! So if you happen to be working for a company – particularly a Belgian one, although that is not a strict requirement – which could use some fun illustrations to brighten up its corporate communication, brochures, employee magazines, safety campaigns, etc… try to put in a good word for me! There are few examples of earlier work under the tab ‘Cartoons’ above.
Jeroen
Cynical version: People thought that by hiring you, you getting money would make you continue happysad longer.
Optimistic version: Your comics made people feel a connection to you, and thus want to hire you when they would have otherwise gone elsewhere, or no one at all.
Both the cynical and optimistic versions somehow assume his drawings are not good enough to sell themselves. I happen to think this is not the case.