“Pic arrived Brendan its lovely thanks mil. I’ll be passing on your details to anyone who’s asking! Hope to have it on display at the reception!” - Áine
“That's perfect Brendan. We are delighted with it” - Ciara
“Yes it's perfect. I love it. Thanks for everything. Can’t wait to receive it” - Grainne
“Wow that is so good! Thanks a million!” - Katie
I received mostly engagement-themed orders in February. Customers asking for those tend to lean more towards wanting a "treasured keepsake" rather than "crazy cartoon". But I also got a few comedy requests - one running an Iron Man holding a selfie stick and bottle of Heineken, and one dressed up in SCUBA gear in front of a tractor on the beach.
Whatever the scenario is, if you can describe it (and it isn't too rude!) then we can usually get it into the cartoon.
“That looks perfect” - Janice
“Thanks so much Brendan. Brilliant” - John
Many thanks. It’s great” - Grace
“That's fantastic we love it thanks a million” - Orla
This month I had my first ever request to include a drone flying over the wedding scene. I expect that will eventually be a popular element in the wedding cartoons as drone photography becomes a thing.
Also had the first order where the customer asked for a dinosaur in the background, stomping around on Inisbofin. More of a niche requirement that one it's fair to say.
As always, thanks to everyone who ordered cartoons. These were a joy to work on. I can't say I'm ever bored.
“Thanks so much, she's going to love this” - Emma
“I received it today Brendan. It’s brilliant, thanks for the great service and getting it to me today!” - Sandra
“Just wanted to let you know that Tom was absolutely delighted with the caricature”- Terri
“Hi Brendan. That’s very good. They will love it” -Eric
An example of the process of ordering a cartoon, from start to finish
First, the customer left this message via the Enquiry Form
“Hi it's my brother's birthday on February 6th. I think this would make a great present! He loves playing the bass guitar, Waterford GAA and Liverpool FC. Bass guitar most important! Would it be possible to get some wording like happy 50th Tom love Mom, Carolyn, Terri and Colm?”
After agreeing the delivery times, she emailed some reference photos and I sent back these rough drafts. First draft is always just working on the face, and I only continue once the face looks ok to the customer.
Customer replied -
"Love number 2. Really looks like him! The music theme is the way to go. Should definitely have the bass guitar. Not so concerned about the sports teams. You need not put them in if it is difficult.”
Working with cartoon no 2 I did this update ...
Customer was happy with that and just asked for one final amendment - to change the GAA jersey for a cheque shirt
Final pic ready for framing then …
Everything goes out via signed delivery, with a tracking number. A few days later I received this message …
“Hi Brendan,
Just wanted to let you know that Tom was absolutely delighted with the caricature. Thank you very much.
Terri”
So I hope that example shows what to expect with an order.
First draft is always just the faces, and we only continue if you are happy with those. Sometimes there needs to be 3 or 4 drafts to get it right. And also as you can see it's fine to make some modifications as we go along. Sometimes you might think of things to add or remove only after we've started. That's never a problem. Thanks for reading.
Brendan
Mostly wedding related orders this month, and a few birthday ones I thought turned out really well. Seemingly nobody in Ireland got engaged in November (According to my sample data).
“That's fantastic. How on earth do you do it!?” - Joanna
“It's perfect thanks a lot, I know they will love it!” - Liz
“Hi Brendan. Just to let you know they received the gift. They absolutely love it. Thanks again” - Marion
“Hi Brendan. Am pleased with final draft. Alan will enjoy the humour. Thanks again” - Patricia
“Thanks so much for all your hard work. You're very talented and I’ll definitely be recommending you for gift ideas” - Sinead
“This is perfect” - Melissa
“Received a few days ago and am very impressed with the finished product and the way it was packaged, so thank you” - Clodagh
“That is perfect ... she will love it! Thanks again, I'm delighted with it” - Eilis
Click on a cartoon to enlarge it.
“Pictures arrived yesterday. They look fantastic. Thanks again” - Rory
“Hi Brendan. The canvas arrived, it's amazing!!!! Thank you so much, he loved it” - Martina
“Just got a look at the canvas. It looks the business. Thanks for all your help” - Mark
