By Edwin Tan (c) 2009
So here's my entry for the Under 30 Catergory of the competition. I really wasn't sure what cartoon to submit. Regular readers will know that my cartoons tend to be either about the problems with pharmacy or how people are racist, so I had to think outside the square for this one. I thought back to my sketchbook in Melbourne, and remembered drawing this little cartoon involving a really cynical checkout chick with the above gag. I wasn't really sure if people would get it, mainly because the whole "paper or plastic?" thing is quite American. But then I thought, heck, the Brits seem to be so obsessed with reusing shopping bags and making you pack your own bags at the checkout, that I thought it might just work.
So I sketched it out and sent it off just for the hell of it. Anyway, I received the letter the other day saying that I was one of the eleven runners-up of over 500 entries. So I was pretty stoked. Then the chairman handwrote a short note at the bottom that really made my day:
'For what it's worth, you were one of the two finalists, and lost by a couple of votes. That said, it's a great gag and I'd say publishable too.'
So yeah, that was pretty awesome.
The only other cartooning competition I've ever entered was back in Year 8. I was a finalist in some Australian Young Cartoonists thing, with my "Olympic themed" cartoon depicting a swimmer being chased by a shark and exclaiming 'I didn't know the Sydney water was this bad'. My brother thought of the punchline and it was in relation to the 1998 Sydney water crisis where the city's main water supply had supposedly been contaminated. When I look back on it, it's actually quite a funny gag. Thanks, Winston. But alas, I was beaten by some other kid who's cartoon depicted some synchonised swimmers in a whirlpool and the caption: "Looks like someone's pulled the plug". Sure the cartoon was neater and better drawn, but I thought it was kinda lame. Maybe I was (and still am) just a tad bitter. Ah, the memories of youth.
Anyway, I'm not sure, but the entries from this year's British cartoon competition may be uploaded onto the Cartoon Museum website in the near future. So if they are, I'll let you guys know so we can check out the other entries.
PS - No, I didn't win anything. First place got like £250. Now I know how those people on the Weakest Link feel.
So I sketched it out and sent it off just for the hell of it. Anyway, I received the letter the other day saying that I was one of the eleven runners-up of over 500 entries. So I was pretty stoked. Then the chairman handwrote a short note at the bottom that really made my day:
'For what it's worth, you were one of the two finalists, and lost by a couple of votes. That said, it's a great gag and I'd say publishable too.'
So yeah, that was pretty awesome.
The only other cartooning competition I've ever entered was back in Year 8. I was a finalist in some Australian Young Cartoonists thing, with my "Olympic themed" cartoon depicting a swimmer being chased by a shark and exclaiming 'I didn't know the Sydney water was this bad'. My brother thought of the punchline and it was in relation to the 1998 Sydney water crisis where the city's main water supply had supposedly been contaminated. When I look back on it, it's actually quite a funny gag. Thanks, Winston. But alas, I was beaten by some other kid who's cartoon depicted some synchonised swimmers in a whirlpool and the caption: "Looks like someone's pulled the plug". Sure the cartoon was neater and better drawn, but I thought it was kinda lame. Maybe I was (and still am) just a tad bitter. Ah, the memories of youth.
Anyway, I'm not sure, but the entries from this year's British cartoon competition may be uploaded onto the Cartoon Museum website in the near future. So if they are, I'll let you guys know so we can check out the other entries.
PS - No, I didn't win anything. First place got like £250. Now I know how those people on the Weakest Link feel.
1 comment:
Good on ya Ed! I love it!
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