Welcome back, GUT friends. So happy you’re here.
The drawings that came from last week’s lesson — Draw the Tough Stuff — were beautiful and profound. My hat is off to all of you GUT members who bravely shared your work in the GUT Group Chat. And, as they say, comedy = tragedy + time. So it only makes sense that this week we make a hard pivot towards some hilarity. That’s life: up and down and up again. First, though…
The 30 Days of Drawing is coming soon!!
QUICK UPDATE: The 30 DAYS OF DRAWING begins January 1. We will share more details soon, but I wanted to give you the heads up so you can start planning. Soon we will share some LIVE ZOOM dates (!) to put on your calendar, and introduce a few changes we’re excited about that will make this year even more fun and accessible to all, including gifts and accountability groups. Start thinking about who you want to start off your 2026 with… We’ll share more details next Sunday and in the weeks to come. Feel free to start asking questions in the comments. Art Auntie Kathleen and I will answer!
Alright, as we kick off the last month of 2025, let’s take some time to reflect on this year — the ups and downs, the silly and the bittersweet. This week we have a great conversation and assignment for you: a visit with a dream guest artist, New Yorker cartoonist Asher Perlman. I can’t think of a better way to practice keeping a positive, light-hearted perspective on times like these than thinking like a NYer cartoonist. So it’s an honor to introduce you to one of the funniest writers/drawers working today — and get his tips on cartooning. So without further ado, here’s….
Guest Cartoonist Asher Perlman
Asher Perlman has two absolute dream jobs: Emmy-nominated staff writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (!!) AND cartoonist for the New Yorker. There’s no denying he is a funny, funny man (who is also a performing comedian!), but he is clearly also a hard-working and persistent person. It takes a lot more than filling out an application to get those two jobs.
Asher’s cartoons capture what I love most about comics: they pack in the most story into the barest amount of information. And as you get to know him and his work, his cartoons are so definitely his voice and his style.
As he started drawing more and more, he basically got the same advice that Josef Albers gave to our beloved Ruth Asawa about drawing flowers — but about cartoons. Asher says that a friend told him, “It looks like you’re trying to make a New Yorker cartoon, and they already have those. Make an ‘Asher cartoon’ that could be in The New Yorker.”
In addition to his cartoons for the New Yorker, he has two books out, Well, This is Me and his latest hilarious collection, Hi, It’s Me Again. (Highly recommend!)
We are so glad he has joined us for a Q&A! Please welcome Asher!
Q&A with Asher Perlman
Wendy: Congrats on the new book — can you tell us a little about it? What is your favorite cartoon in the book?
Asher: Thank you! It’s a pretty straightforward collection of my cartoons. Most of the toons in the book are brand new and can’t be found anywhere else, and the rest are plucked from The New Yorker and my Instagram. It also has a narrative through line, which is something I did for my first book, too, where I give a peek into my creative process.
As far as a favorite goes, I really couldn’t say. I love all of my children equally.
Wendy: Could you tell us more about how you started drawing cartoons?
Asher: It was a pandemic hobby that I somehow turned into a career. I drew a lot as a kid and I always wanted to try my hand at cartooning, but it was one of those passions that I kept moving to the back burner as I prioritized other things, like writing and acting. Then, in 2020, when we went into lockdown, all the comedy theaters I was performing at closed down and my job at The Late Show went remote, so I suddenly had all this free time and had to fill it somehow. Enter: cartooning. I started drawing every day and submitting 5-10 cartoons to The New Yorker every week. I haven’t missed a week since.
Wendy: I read that you draw every day. What do you get out of it, and how has that changed you?
Asher: I do! Right after I wake up, I always sit at my desk and complete three pages of free writing. Then I move into drawing. I’m not totally sure how it’s changed me, but I find the whole routine quite calming, and I love being creative first thing in the morning rather than having it loom over me all day.
Wendy: I heard your dad is an artist. What does he think of cartoons?? (I ask because I went to art school and there was such a stupid snobby bias against comics at the time. I think that’s died off, thankfully, but still, I wonder if your dad’s artwork had any influence on you.)
Asher: Actually, my dad loves cartoons. When I was growing up, he exposed me to a wide range of comics, from Mad Magazine to R. Crumb. So, luckily, no snobbery in the Perlman household.
Wendy: Do you have any tips for people who want to get better at drawing cartoons?
Asher: My main tip is to do it every day. Admittedly, that’s my tip for all creative pursuits, but I really do think that it’s key. If you do something every day, even if you don’t feel like it, you inevitably get better. When I was younger, I used to wait for inspiration to strike before I’d get started on something. I feel like that’s the worst strategy because it takes the process completely out of your control.
Thanks so much, Asher! Be sure to pick up a copy of Asher’s hilarious new book Hi, It’s Me Again. Seriously. The tin man?? COME ON. LOLOLOLOLOL.
Alright, for GUT members we have tips on making a great cartoon from Asher, plus our week’s assignment. Sharpen your pencils….
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to DrawTogether with WendyMac to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.