Antigua and Barbuda
The Face Behind the Cartoons
- Details
- Design
- Sunday, 12 September 2010 06:55
- By D Francis
One of the first things, apart from the headline, that some people look for when they get their hands on The Daily Observer newspaper is the cartoon. And those who may have missed it will usually ask, "Have you see the cartoon today?"
Caribarena.com caught up with the man who has been behind this dynamic section within the local newspaper for over a decade to speak with him about his career.
Shane Daniel told us that he has always been fascinated with cartoons.
“Ever since I was a young child growing up watching cartoons, I always loved to draw what I see," he said. "I realized I was artistically inclined. I used to spend the entire summer holiday drawing cartoons.”
His talent grew with him into adulthood, and people began to notice his work.
“My first big break, I remember working for a printery; doing artwork for a printery called Gospel Press in Trinidad and Tobago when I was about in my early teens," he said. This was basically for work that would be published, so I came out into the spotlight then. I also worked for West Indian School of Theology, where I did comic strips for a magazine they had. Those were among my humble beginnings as a cartoonist.”
He came to Antigua in 1992 and studied at the A-Level department after completing secondary school in his homeland. Shortly after that, a job landed in his lap.
“A woman by the name of Norma James came up to me one day and said there was an ad in the newspaper looking for a satirical cartoonist, and immediately I saw an opportunity to express my talent, so I raced down to the Observer with my sketches and all in hand and I presented them to Mr Winston Derrick," he recalled.
"He told me, 'your work looks good'." He said, 'you’re not drawing Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse or those other cartoons ... you are drawing your own characters and that's what I want."
That was in 1994, and he has been working with them up to this day.
What, or who makes the cartoon of the day? You have to choose something that’s topical, Daniel said: "Current issues, you know, then look at it with a sense of humor and come up with a cartoon idea.”
He added, “When I started working at Observer, Mr Derrick and his late brother, Fergie, generated most of the cartoon ideas; they would basically choose who or what was the subject of the day. On rare occasions, I would come up with the cartoon idea back then.
At present, I am mainly responsible for coming up with the cartoon ideas. Sometimes there are a lot of hot topics going on, and you choose the one you think would be most interesting to the reader. Sometimes I get cartoon ideas from the sub-editors and on rare occasions from management.”
One of his greatest desires is to pursue a career goal in the area of animation. Someday, he also hopes to mount an exhibition of his cartoon collection and display it in the museum for all to see.
|
|
Daniel is encouraging people with this skill to follow their dreams. “Since it’s a tedious and a hard field of endeavour, people with an interest need to keep focussed, determined and committed to their goals," he said. "Work with a passion and they will reap the rewards.”
Follow us on Facebook
Popular Questions
Ask Your Question
Spotlight on Religion
Latest Design News
Search Directory
Directory Listings
App
Download Caribarena's Android App
Click To Download
16 Comments In This Article
the quality
joe joe
the quality
joe joe
Great work
Tobi
cartoons represent...
wada
GREAT WORK OVER THE YEARS
THE CARTOONS ARE GREAT BUT IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON, YOU HAVE LESTER BIRD AS YOUR HEADLINER FOR YEARS NOW LESTER BIRD IS NOT IN OFFICE AND YOU CONTINUE TO MAKE JOKES OF HIM............ ..........BUT I GUESS THAT IS WHAT WINSTON DERRICK HIRED YOU FOR.........TO BRING DOWN LESTER BIRD, WELL LESTER BIRD WINGS HAS BEEN CLIPPED.
NOW I WANT YOU TO START YOUR CARTOONS ON THE THREE MUSKETEERS IN THE UPP , BALDWIN, CORT & LOVELLE THEY HAVE SINK THE SHIP OF STATE, LET ME SEE IF YOU CAN PUT BLANKS IN THEIR MUSKET JUST LIKE HOW YOU CLIP LESTER WINGS OVER THE YEARS.
PLEASE DON'T TELL ME I HAVE TO ASK WINSTON DERRICK FIRST.
I WILL BE SAD, REMEMBER YOU SAID YOU CALL MOST OF THE SHOTS NOW.
LOOKING FORWARD TO ENJOY YOUR CARTOONS ABOUT THE THREE MUSKETEERS OFF THE UPP.
GREAT JOB Mr. DANIEL
Decker
Skyewill
TC
I tell u...
DJ
give credit where credit is due
fnpsr
Stupidity
Bartigua
@Perplexed
..
tenman
Some of us are so sick
I figure that some of us are so daft or we are blinded by our ** that we do not see any good in anyone else's expressions, in this case, the cartoonist. Something tells me that some persons have no respecct for the guy's work because it is the Observer. If it was an ALP-aligned which sought to prop up the party, then it would be alright.
I have no beef with Joe Joe, but then again, I do not expect better from him as he only sees the apparent "good" which the ALP does. In Joe Joe's opinion, the cartoons have fallen off, because they have made quite a bit of fun the ALP and some of the crappy and awful statements which some of their MPs and candidates have made.
Rusty Nail
Why
Perplexed
Have Mercy
THe same cartoonist
Maestro
the same cartoonist?
joe joe
RSS