{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F776fe92c-e7e4-42ab-97e9-3251cfac434a","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"Sherman\u2019s Lagoon and the Art of Cartooning with Jim Toomey","description":"Jim Toomey is a cartoonist, global ocean advocate, and the creator of Sherman\u2019s Lagoon, a daily comic strip syndicated to over 150 newspapers in 20 countries and six languages. Sherman\u2019s Lagoon tells the story and misadventures of the great white shark Sherman, his wife Megan, and their friends in the fictional Kapupu Lagoon. Jim completed his Bachelor\u2019s degree in Engineering at Duke University\u2019s Pratt School of Engineering and his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at Stanford University. He later received a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.Jim joins me today to share his journey from being a newspaper boy and engineer to a cartoonist and global ocean advocate. You\u2019ll get advice on creating an ensemble of characters and learn how different characters drive different kinds of stories. He describes the experiences that inspired Sherman\u2019s Lagoon. He also discusses the importance of properly defining and formulating a problem and shares his optimistic outlook for the world\u2019s oceans.\u201cLook at the ocean not as a dark, alien world underneath the waves that has nothing to do with us. Look at it\u2014that 70% of the planet\u2014just as lively and vibrant and important to us as the 30% we live on.\u201d - Jim ToomeyThis week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:* Jim Toomey\u2019s life growing up in Virginia* The birth of Sherman\u2019s Lagoon* Why Jim pursued a degree in engineering* The beginning of Jim\u2019s newspaper cartooning career* The beauty of going to college* Jim\u2019s career in the engineering industry and his transition to being a professional cartoonist* How Sherman\u2019s Lagoon made its way to Sweden and Norway* Why Jim went to Stanford for a Master\u2019s degree in Liberal Arts and what it was like* The creative process behind Sherman\u2019s Lagoon* Jim\u2019s thoughts on storytelling and character development* How the characters in Sherman\u2019s Lagoon reflect Jim and the people in his life* The different ways of being bad and the kind of work involved in producing a comic strip* The nature and scale of shark finning* Jim\u2019s collaboration with NOAA and getting the Shark Protection Act through congress* The biggest barriers to being a cartoonist* Jim\u2019s hopes for the future of the ocean and the environmentOur Favorite Quotes:* \u201cAs a cartoonist, I love drawing. But drawing itself isn\u2019t even half the game: as comic strips have become smaller, it has become more about storytelling and writing.\u201d - Jim Toomey* \u201cIn art, success is about gleaning from a field of complete failure; it\u2019s about experimentation, going down a blind alley, and making a lot of mistakes.\u201d - Jim ToomeyConnect with Jim Toomey:* Jim Toomey Website* Sherman\u2019s LagoonSpaceship Not RequiredI\u2019m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.I\u2019m an explorer, and that doesn\u2019t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.Visit my website at","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/1dfd0129-13dd-4580-97c9-75e77f559ffc/1472142-1680641322.jpg"}