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POLITICAL CARTOONING : LEARN HOW TO DRAW POLITICAL CARTOONS & CARICATURES
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[The above words are pictures of text, below is the actual text if you need to copy a paragraph or two]
POLITICAL CARTOONING.
The caricaturist of to-day who holds a good salaried position has no sinecure. He must represent one or the
other of the political elements—shifting from side to side weakens his arguments. He must take up the gauntlet of his chosen party and adhere strictly to its principles. His ideas must be confined to the welfare of the paper that gives him employment as well as his party. He cannot shift about, attacking at random. He must first ascertain if an attack is to the welfare or detriment of his publication, or else he may injure its circulation. He must not create imaginary wrongs, but attack such political dealings as are known facts. With his pencil he must speak the sentiments of the public, not his own entirely. Should the circulation drop off a few thousand copies or gain a few thousand it is liable to be the cause of the cartoon ; for naturally a powerful cartoon, such as will cause comment on the street and at the club, or notices to appear in newspapers in its favor, will induce the public to buy the paper, and swell its circulation. For this sort of cartoon the caricaturist is ever on the alert. Freelancing or peddling jokes, sketches and drawings is perhaps the most satisfactory way to begin. It brings the unknown artist to the notice of many publishers of varied tastes.
If your drawings do not suit the fancy of one publisher they may another, and so you will eventually find a publisher who will insist on having a contract with you for your entire product. To my knowledge most of the artists whose names are familiar to us have started in this manner on their professional journey.
While it is generally known that most cartoonists command good salaries, you must not lose sight of the fact that many made martyrs of themselves in the beginning on salaries of five and eight dollars a week,—their salaries increasing with long service and popularity of their work.