Hi All,
As a supporter of cartoonists and cartooning in all its forms, I’m always excited to share new tools that might help create a bigger audience for cartoons – and a chance to make more money! To that end, please welcome Cartoonanaut Bob Eckstein, who boldly goes where no cartoonist has gone before. Bob’s a friend of mine (we Bobs like to hang out together), an excellent cartoonist, and always looking for the next new thing to replace the last new thing for cartooning. In this post, he claims to have found it. Take it away, Bob.
Thanks, fellow Bob.
What three wishes would you request as a cartoon lover? Be a fly on the wall of the studios of Peter Arno, Charles Addams, or Roz Chast? Create a great cartoon? Or how about being IN a gag cartoon yourself? If you could actually enter a cartoon and move around to find even more gags, wouldn’t that be great? As a Thurber aficionado, I’d jump at the chance to peer behind the Thurber couch or get into bed with his bickering couple beneath the barking seal.
Now I can – and you can too with Mental Canvas.
Mental Canvas is opening the eyes of the cartoon community with 3-D cartoons! This super cool program finally breaks the fourth wall and invites the viewer to enter the cartoon itself. These are not 3-D cartoons where you need movie glasses to see a dimensional illusion of my dancing turkey. Instead, planes are created within the piece.
You, the viewer, control the depth at which you enter the cartoon and move through the space. This is exciting and has never been done before.
Now Mental Canvas is calling on creatives to join them in reimagining drawing for the digital age. They are offering a $100K prize pool with 18 winners, spanning five categories: Architecture and Places, Education, Comics, Napkin Sketches, and Storytelling. Entering is as simple as downloading the Mental Canvas software on Windows or iOS and registering for the competition. Submissions close on November 8th, 2021.
Here is my first rudimentary effort to use the program (and zero chance of winning a prize, so I won’t be much competition) called “Finally.” It is meant to celebrate finally being able to revisit art museums in the two greatest art cities in the world. I will admit there is a learning curve, but if I can do it …
The video below illustrates how the viewer can enter the space I created. Want to explore the space yourself? You can do that here.
~ Bob Eckstein
Bob Eckstein is a NY Times bestseller. His latest book is The Elements of Stress.
See more of his work on CartoonStock.com.
Thanks, Bob. I encourage all the cartoonists out there, pro and aspiring alike, to try out Mental Canvas and tell me what you think. If YOU create something great, let me know, and we’ll select the best of the bunch for a follow-up post.
Yours in Good Humor,
Bob (Mankoff)
Calling all artists! Announcing the $100K Mental Canvas Challenge!
Mental Canvas is inviting all creatives to reimagine drawing for the digital age. There is a $100K prize pool with 18 winners, spanning five categories: Architecture and Places, Education, Comics, Napkin Sketches, and Storytelling. Entering is as simple as downloading the Mental Canvas software on Windows or iOS and registering for the competition. Submissions close on November 8th, 2021. Enter now!
Mental Canvas picks up where pen and paper leave off, taking drawing to a place it’s never been. Learn More.