Inspiration comes in many forms. For cartoonist John Martz, it grew out of the Sunday funnies. Although he studied graphic design in school, Martz was “raised on comic strips and Saturday morning cartoons,” he says. “I had always wanted to be a cartoonist.”

So, after working six years as a designer in television, Martz left the business to become a freelance illustrator. Whenever he found himself in a creative lull, he would turn to the Internet, searching for new styles, new artists, new influences. Inspired by group blogs like Boing Boing, Martz began working on a personal website. “I wanted to create something that showcased the kinds of art and illustration like I was a fan of, from the generation of artists like myself who have been heavily influenced by cartoons and comic books,” he says.

The result is Drawn!, a leading art and illustration blog for cartoonists. Martz sees the site as a shot of daily inspiration for illustrators like himself who are constantly looking to refine their craft.

“The purpose of Drawn! is to serve up a batch of links each day that will inspire and light a creative fire underneath our readership,” he says. “I can only really say how it has helped me, in that I find myself inspired every single day to try harder and be more creative. And I think I’m safe in saying that I’m not the only one who feels this way about the site. Increased creativity is nothing but a great thing for illustrators.”

Drawn! is a textbook example of the classic blog format; basically a large scroll with new items on top. However, rather than featuring up-to-the-minute illustration news stories, a typical Drawn! post contains information and commentary on a particular artist or project. By showcasing examples of artists’ works and links to websites, Drawn! acts as a sort of on-going encyclopedia of illustrators on the Net. And, by featuring a variety of illustrators, artists, cartoonists, and animators, the site becomes a useful tool for anyone who likes to draw.

“I certainly think some bloggers qualify as journalists, but if we’re being honest, all Drawn! really is a bunch of links to cool stuff,” Martz admits. “I find stuff on the web, and accept user submissions, and act as an editor and aggregator, and while we occasionally offer up news, opinion, and interviews, I don’t really see Drawn! as a source of journalism. It’s a blog, fair and square, and I don’t feel there’s any stigma to the term, nor do I strive to make the site anything other than what it is.”

Even though Martz writes many of the posts, eight fellow illustrators and cartoonists, located across Canada and the United States, help maintain the site. Their contributions add a wealth of illustration experience and diversity in artistic style. “Since we’re not focused on news, per se, and more on random creative inspiration, the things we post about are subjective to our own personal tastes,” Martz says. “Because the majority of us are cartoonists and animators, there is a certain ‘cartoony’ aesthetic to the items we post that other illustration blogs may not focus on in the same way.”

This past month was Drawn!’s two-year anniversary; the first post was published on March 4, 2005. Though the site has seen little change since then, Martz says that its popularity has increased slowly and steadily since day one. Recently, it won the Best Canadian Blog award at this year’s Bloggies — a sort of international Oscars for blogs.

The key to successful blogging? “It’s simple,” says Martz. “Find something unique to write about, something that people are going to find interesting, and then write about it — a lot. Post frequently, post consistently, post quality items, and your audience will find you.”