Master Cartoonist Sridhar Shares His Expertise: Join His YouTube Classes!

Sridhar is a household name in the Telugu-speaking states and among the Telugu diaspora, renowned for his cartoons in the Eenadu Telugu daily newspaper, which he has been drawing for over 42 years. He has also written over 500 articles.

Sridhar's iconic cartoon series "Idi Sangati" is often regarded as the Telugu counterpart to R.K. Laxman's legendary "You Said It" in The Times of India, sharing a similar wit, satire, and enduring popularity.

He had a strong rapport with the publisher and media mogul Ramoji Rao, who made an exception for him regarding his retirement age and asked him to continue as long he liked.

Sridhar is a very private person. In a rare interview following his retirement, he revealed that he worked for the first 13 years of his career without taking a single holiday. He started working in Eenadu from 1981. 

Humble & soft-spoken yet strongly opinionated, Sridhar respectfully declined the Padma Shri award nomination from Chandrababu Naidu, opposing awards and titles for their temporary significance, comparing them to a marriage lunch.

Since his retirement, he has embraced the digital age and runs his own YouTube channel. Thanks to the internet and his generosity, we can now access his views and drawing classes through his channel in Telugu -


Topics covered in Class 1: 

  • Lines - Lots of figures can be drawn using the shape of the letters I and C
  • Objects 
  • Observation - Wrinkles, Colors, Shading, Human expressions, Gait

Art is not an innate talent; it requires consistent practice to master the craft.  

 

 Topics covered in Class 3: Observation, Objects, Practice

  Topics covered in Class 4: Outline  

 Topics covered in Class 5: Stick Figures, Motion, Imagination 

 

Interview with Sridhar (in Telugu) -

Excerpts:

Cartooning is...distorted art 

A good cartoonist is balanced mix of an:

  • Artist
  • Caricaturist
  • Editor
  • Humorist 

Artists never truly retire; their work continues until their final breath.

Society has become sensitive ("à°¸ుà°¨్à°¨ిà°¤ం" - sunnitam)

Society is the villain in the story "Devdas"

Our country is not fully democratic 

Self-doubt and anger are common emotions experienced by artists in response to their work.

Keeping the population poor & needy is Government policy. They make the needy accustomed to freebies

Fear of living is bigger than fear of death 

An artist is a global citizen (à°µిà°¶్వమానవుà°¡ు - Viswamanuvudu)

What makes a good political cartoon?

>> It should hit the target and convey an opinion 

What should an aspiring cartoonist work on?

  • Practice drawing everyday 
  • Read a lot
  • Thinking humorously
  • Study Literature
  • Comments

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