Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

"Where do you get your ideas?" is one of those ubiquitous questions that cartoonists get asked.

I wish I could cite one source.

After you've been cartooning for a while, you're always on scanning mode; looking for ideas wherever you are.

It's rare that I am able to overhear something that's a punchline. Thinking about buzzwords can help, but I think that the last panel of the comic below, staring at a wall, is what a lot of cartoonists do, and it's probably the most productive!

Here are 4 panels on the topic of ideas that I originally drew for an interview. The piece was not used. It's published here for the first time.