In our final talk with artist of the month Kate Scurfield, we asked what she thought about the future of cartooning in the digital age.
E-mail has revolutionised delivery of images, although some editors (young ones) have used it to shorten deadlines. I believe as broadband speeds improve, the system will permit more elaborate websites for cartoonists including animation which is our greatest marketing tool.
My concern lies with plagiarism and electronic copying of our work. We can only reasonably protect our work in the UK and an increasing amount of my work goes overseas. I feel we are always playing catch up with the computer nerds and one day someone will sell a clever tool to remove watermarks at the flick of a switch. I have personally suffered from copyists both here and overseas and it is potentially a big threat. Artists have to think of a better way of protecting their work from being copied.
I dream of owning a Mac and a graphics pad and dig pen, but I will never give up drawing on watercolor paper and using a paintbrush.
Our thanks to Kate and look out for a new Artist of the Month for July next Friday.