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The Curious Incident of the Really Talented Guy

Over the years questions has been posed to me concerning the fact that in my creative career I do more than just “one thing” – I do spot illustrations, greeting cards, children’s books, comic strips, magazine gags and the occasional e-book cover. Aren’t I making things difficult for myself? some people ask. Won’t it be hard for art directors to figure out just what it is that I do? Good questions. And sometimes I wonder that myself. Maybe I should just focus on “one thing”, one schtick which will really make me successful, instead of busying myself with a multitude of creative projects. But then I look at the work of Mark Haddon, and I get inspired to wanna do it all!

Some of you may know Mark Haddon as the author of the very successful book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, but did you know that he is also an author and illustrator of children’s books, as well as a cartoonist for The New Statesman, The Spectator, Private Eye, The Sunday Telegraph and The Guardian? He also creates lovely caricatures, like the one of Alfred Hitchcock you see above. Oh, and he writes for TV and radio, and he writes poetry, too. And I don’t think all this creativity is hurting his career none, either. Hats off to Bookish, for the link.

So whaddya think? One thing, or many things?

  • http://www.stevescott.com.au/ Steve Scott

    Yes!! I some times wrestle with this dilemma. Should I do develop one look or try my hands at loads of different things. But then I think . . . “how boring’. I want to try out different mediums, feels and looks.
    Plus theres that danger of being typecast. Oh the person only does X.
    I don’t think trying different styles & mediums hurt Picasso’s career either.
    Cheers
    Steve
    absolutley love this site by the way. Thanks for introducing me to a whole load of great talents.

  • http://www.stevescott.com.au Steve Scott

    Yes!! I some times wrestle with this dilemma. Should I do develop one look or try my hands at loads of different things. But then I think . . . “how boring’. I want to try out different mediums, feels and looks.
    Plus theres that danger of being typecast. Oh the person only does X.
    I don’t think trying different styles & mediums hurt Picasso’s career either.
    Cheers
    Steve
    absolutley love this site by the way. Thanks for introducing me to a whole load of great talents.

  • http://elnegromagnifico.blogspot.com/ Al aka El Negro Magnifico

    I say “why not?” Do it all, especially if you do it all well.

  • http://elnegromagnifico.blogspot.com Al aka El Negro Magnifico

    I say “why not?” Do it all, especially if you do it all well.

  • http://www.upso.org/ upso

    many things. don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!
    it can get stressfull if you focus on something like illustration for greeting cards, or magazine illustration.. because if you have a couple slow weeks (or months!) you question if what you are doing is worth while. but if you have the opportunity to work on a bunch of things like design, web art, illustration.. maybe even music or publishing.. then you open yourself up to many successes. (of course.. many failures at times as well. but its just more fun that way)

  • http://www.upso.org upso

    many things. don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!
    it can get stressfull if you focus on something like illustration for greeting cards, or magazine illustration.. because if you have a couple slow weeks (or months!) you question if what you are doing is worth while. but if you have the opportunity to work on a bunch of things like design, web art, illustration.. maybe even music or publishing.. then you open yourself up to many successes. (of course.. many failures at times as well. but its just more fun that way)

  • http://www.duvekot.ca/eliane eliane

    I never choose, I allways do what I am asked to do.

  • http://www.duvekot.ca/eliane eliane

    I never choose, I allways do what I am asked to do.

  • http://www.linesandcolors.com/ Charley Parker

    I sometimes struggle with this as well. You run the risk of having your attention scattered, but it’s better than being compartmentalized. Art is a big ol’ smorgasboard; why limit yourself?

  • http://www.linesandcolors.com Charley Parker

    I sometimes struggle with this as well. You run the risk of having your attention scattered, but it’s better than being compartmentalized. Art is a big ol’ smorgasboard; why limit yourself?

  • http://micropressdesign.com/ micro

    i would be bored to tears if i stayed with the same style. experimentation and exploration are what keep things new and fresh.

  • http://micropressdesign.com/ micro

    i would be bored to tears if i stayed with the same style. experimentation and exploration are what keep things new and fresh.

  • http://slimbolala.blogspot.com/ slimbolala

    I’m a big fan of the many fingers / many pies approach. Certainly, it can make things harder, but it can also have wonderful benefits.

    And Mark’s illos are beautiful. I’m particularly ga-ga for the black and white caricature stuff. Fantastic line, weigh, and expression. I have a feeling I’ll be digging through his stuff for a while.

  • http://slimbolala.blogspot.com slimbolala

    I’m a big fan of the many fingers / many pies approach. Certainly, it can make things harder, but it can also have wonderful benefits.

    And Mark’s illos are beautiful. I’m particularly ga-ga for the black and white caricature stuff. Fantastic line, weigh, and expression. I have a feeling I’ll be digging through his stuff for a while.

  • http://terrytoledo.com/ terrytoledo

    1) Success is a relative goal

    2) You only live once, experience as much as you can

    Thanks for bringing such great art together on this site!

  • http://terrytoledo.com terrytoledo

    1) Success is a relative goal

    2) You only live once, experience as much as you can

    Thanks for bringing such great art together on this site!

  • http://chuckbb.blogspot.com/ chuck bb

    it used to be jack of all trades, master of one. These days its Jack of All Trades, Master of Three.. DO IT ALL!!!!

  • http://chuckbb.blogspot.com chuck bb

    it used to be jack of all trades, master of one. These days its Jack of All Trades, Master of Three.. DO IT ALL!!!!

  • Caeli

    Mark Haddon should just keep on doing whatever he likes…. his ‘Agent Z’ childrens’ books are some of the funniest things ever written! (And the illustrations for them aren’t half bad either…)

  • Caeli

    Mark Haddon should just keep on doing whatever he likes…. his ‘Agent Z’ childrens’ books are some of the funniest things ever written! (And the illustrations for them aren’t half bad either…)

  • http://www.austinkleon.com/ Austin

    renaissance man/woman is the way to go.

  • http://www.austinkleon.com Austin

    renaissance man/woman is the way to go.

  • tali

    yes! do it all!

    although, he should’ve hired someone who only does web design to design his site.. ah! so unusable!

    love his work tho… strange incident is one of my favourite books!

  • tali

    yes! do it all!

    although, he should’ve hired someone who only does web design to design his site.. ah! so unusable!

    love his work tho… strange incident is one of my favourite books!

  • http://ArtWanted.com/Elizzabeth Elizabeth Stringer

    Hey so long as you are enjoying using all your many talents… What’s wrong with that. If it’s working for you then don’t change a thing. It means that you are more flexible and able to adapt to the work and challenges that come along. I admire that you are successful in so many different avenues of art. You can push any one or all of your talents and still come out on top.

  • http://ArtWanted.com/Elizzabeth Elizabeth Stringer

    Hey so long as you are enjoying using all your many talents… What’s wrong with that. If it’s working for you then don’t change a thing. It means that you are more flexible and able to adapt to the work and challenges that come along. I admire that you are successful in so many different avenues of art. You can push any one or all of your talents and still come out on top.

  • http://www.somisguided.com/ Monique

    Another plug for Haddon. His new poetry book is beautifully designed. You can’t tell in the amazon cover image, but there’s a scroll wheel that turns little images and the book title through two cut-out windows. It is fantastic and beautiful. I don’t mind reading poetry but it’s not the first thing I reach for. In this case, I didn’t care what was in the book. I wanted it as objet. Oh and the poems are pretty good now that I’ve gotten beyond my materialistic desires.

  • http://www.somisguided.com Monique

    Another plug for Haddon. His new poetry book is beautifully designed. You can’t tell in the amazon cover image, but there’s a scroll wheel that turns little images and the book title through two cut-out windows. It is fantastic and beautiful. I don’t mind reading poetry but it’s not the first thing I reach for. In this case, I didn’t care what was in the book. I wanted it as objet. Oh and the poems are pretty good now that I’ve gotten beyond my materialistic desires.

  • david fremont

    hyper creativity. welcome to the club. who needs to sleep? comix, music, painting, 3-d collage,animation, illustration, posters, kids books, scripts. too much for one head. I don’t hear full conversations and i put eggs in the freezer. but ii’s good to know i’m not alone. it all needs to get out, and if it stays in we go wacky. be glad yer not a file clerk, who probably has tons of creativity and it all gets filed away.

  • david fremont

    hyper creativity. welcome to the club. who needs to sleep? comix, music, painting, 3-d collage,animation, illustration, posters, kids books, scripts. too much for one head. I don’t hear full conversations and i put eggs in the freezer. but ii’s good to know i’m not alone. it all needs to get out, and if it stays in we go wacky. be glad yer not a file clerk, who probably has tons of creativity and it all gets filed away.