I returned last night from a fantastic weekend at the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival. Above is the 6ft by 8ft Big Board cartoon I drew (sponsored in this pic by Holland and Barrett, it seems. Click image to enlarge.)
I was pleased with the way the cartoon turned out, and it got lots of chuckles from the passing public, which is always good. Last year I followed the pencil lines a bit too slavishly, and it ended up looking a bit wonky as a result. This year I kept it much more loose, and it shows. I also added grey tone with acrylic paint, which helped.
It was the best Shrewsbury festival yet, I reckon, despite the colder weather. There was lots of superb work on show ... on the boards, the Humurals (a kind of mural of gag cartoons) and the many exhibitions, not to mention in sketchbooks ... and tablecloths!
Above: Paper tablecloth drawing by Steve Bright. The cartoonists are, clockwise from left, Clive Goddard, Ian Baker, Royston Robertson and Mike Turner. There is always lots of drawing on paper tablecloths during the evening meals at Shrewsbury. Thanks to ace cartoonist Steve Bright (former DC Thomson artist, co-creator of Bananaman) for this one. Pic by Steve Bright
Above: Cartoonists Clive Goddard, Royston Robertson and Steve Bright. As well as being a brilliant chance for the public to meet cartoonists and see them at work, it's a great chance for the cartoonists to meet up and chat. It is, after all, a fairly solitary profession for most of us. Pic by Sam Emms
Above: Clive Goddard and Royston Robertson singing the Belgian punk-pop classic Ca Plane Pour Moi at the Saturday evening sing-song. Guitar was provided by cartoonists Tim Harries, Noel Ford and Roger Penwill. Last year a bunch of us sang this song, but the only words we knew were "Ooo-ooo-eee-ooo", but this year Tim kindly provided the full lyrics. The full French lyrics, of course. There was much improvising, especially as Clive did not have his reading glasses. Pic by Gerard Whyman.
That's enough Shrewsbury coverage for now, though there may be more as more people produce their pictures! A fantastic event, and I'm already looking forward to next year ...
Royston's portfolio website