Abbas Naaseri / I remember the early days of my work, when I was around 12 years old. I used to send my drawings to a cartoon magazine from my small hometown. At that time, tracing paper wasn’t commonly available, so people would rub cooking oil on white paper to make it transparent and copy a drawing. I thought that since I didn’t copy them and just drew them by looking at the magazine, my work should be published. In 1992, I mailed an envelope that contained some money — maybe equal to the cost of ten magazine issues — along with my drawings. In my childish and naive mind, I thought I had to pay to get published. I even wrote a note saying, “This money is for publishing my drawings.”
In the May 1993 issue of the magazine, Mr. Javad Alizadeh wrote in a tone that still scares me to this day. (Although he had every right to be upset with what I had done. Maybe he even wrote kindly — but I still feel intimidated by him.) He wrote:
“Bojnourd – Mr. Abbas Naaseri,
Publishing cartoons is neither about money nor pressure… If the work is good, it will be published.” They also sent me some previous issues of the magazine along with kind advice. I realized my mistake. Two or three years later, my drawings were finally published — thanks to his guidance.
Later, the first payment I received from Mr. Alizadeh had a special kind of sweetness for me.
32 years have passed since that time, and I’m still learning. But these days, we’re witnessing a wave of complaints from beginners around the world — about not winning prizes or not getting recognition. If we look closely at their work, we realize that they are more fans of cartoons than actual cartoonists. They are still struggling at an amateur level, and they need to study real artworks and practice much more. But instead, they rudely question others and throw around accusations.
Dear friends, let your lines first take the shape of real cartoons — let them toddle, learn to walk. Only then can you expect to win a 100-meter race. Sometimes I feel like if a master points out their mistakes, they might just slap him in return. You can see their rudeness clearly in their comments.
The sapling of art requires patience. Otherwise, you’ll eat the fruit unripe and suffer a stomachache. I think you should wait! You need to wait until the fruit grows and becomes sweet. But the choice is yours: you can eat the fruit unripe, or wait for it to become sweet.
This is a heartfelt note for those who are just starting out — from someone who once stood where you stand now. Whether you take it as advice or find it annoying, that’s up to you.
But the future of cartoons and art truly needs you — with real skill, and without any illusion of mastery.
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Weekly Single Page of Cartoonmag
No 50
Saturday , 02. Aug . 2025
This single page has been prepared to remind the news and calls published on the cartoon magazine website and it is supposed to be published every Saturday.
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