The Highly 'Tooned' World of Paul M. Ellender

The Characters

A Cast of Thousands

Well Quite a few anyway!

Every Great Production requires a Cast and Crew to make it work. Rallyist Cartoons are no exception...

Learn more

Character Inspiration

The creation of engaging characters has been crucial to the evolution of Rallyist cartoons. These characters' personalities need to be as robust as the cars, which are also animated with a unique drawing style and a deep understanding of engineering. The challenge is to design characters that not only fulfill their roles in the story but also capture the distinctive essence of Rallyist-Art, conforming to its artistic standards. Given the vast array of cartoon characters already in existence, it's vital that Rallyist Art Characters distinguish themselves while remaining in sync with the vehicles, the plot, and the setting. Indeed, it has been a significant journey to this point.

PME

Learn more

Capturing the Character

Key to getting people to relate to my cartoons has rested on the development of good Characters, based in my case on characters I came in across in life. From my days as a Rally Marshal to racing FF1600's and Prod-Saloons, the many people I see and meet at events. My years in Engineering. Friends and family.

Essentially, I have likely encountered every character I have ever drawn. 'People watching'.

Visual Management

Having spent 15 years deeply engaged in Process Improvement within the Aerospace industry, focusing on Factory Design, Planning, and Root Cause Analysis, as well as Project Management, I frequently gave presentations and outlined instructions for new processes. Characters became an effective tool for me to demonstrate, explain, and convey ideas. Although I didn't have access to the artwork packages that I enjoyed while creating 'Rallyist', I did have Microsoft Shapes and a substantial amount of creativity, which were sufficient for my needs.

Visual Management

Certainly, when the Artwork Packages are available, my characters can take on a significant role in Visual Management projects. For instance, creating posters for the 2014 WRC Wales Rally GB or the recent safety posters for the Yorkshire Motor Club 2025 allows for broader creative horizons.

And if the story requires

Sometimes, a cartoon may need an additional element to make the story more engaging and enhance the narrative. This could be a dog accompanying a farmer or a goldfish with a surprised housewife. Such distinctive elements can often become the centerpiece of the cartoon, like a cow standing in the road.