Ivan Brunetti

Design

Ivan Brunetti, whose cartoons often grace the cover of The New Yorker, teaches how illustration can tap into the real.

Cartoonist, author, memoirist, and Associate Professor Ivan Brunetti proves that drawing is a balance of art and play. “If one can accept that a character has a head three times larger than its body, then allowing a little playfulness with time and space is not much of a stretch,” says Brunetti. His sparse, minimalist style has been featured in the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly and on frequent The New Yorker covers. His Eisner Award-winning book Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice should be required reading for most graphic storytellers.

As busy as he is, some of his most important work happens in the classroom: “This is something I want my students to understand: If you can tap into something deep, honest, personal, and risk letting your guard down … you might tap into something real and universal—and hopefully, lasting. That’s all any of us can hope for.”