Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Commissioned to draw a "going away" cartoon

Those of you who spend all your time trolling Craiglist will know I have an ad peddling my cartooning. For those of you who spend their time more productively, here's what it says:

Cartoon illustrations for cards/invites/books/articles and more! (Downtown Toronto)

Want to make a cute personalized card for a loved one? A neat invite for a party? A sign for your business? Need some illustrations for a book or brochure or presentation you've written? I'm a cartoonist whose work has appeared in The Ottawa Citizen, in newsletters for James Ready Beer, and in countless posters, brochures, T-shirts and daily planners. Check out my latest work at http://joshrachlis.blogspot.com/search/label/illustration and see a wider range of my illustration work at http://picasaweb.google.ca/josh.rachlis/Illustrations#. Contact me today and let's make your project cartoon-iriffic! :)

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Nice Craiglist ad, Josh. But you're a Copywriter like on the show Mad Men, so I'd expect your ad to be brilliant. What I want to know is, does the whole cartooning process actually work?" Well, my skeptical, Don Draper-watching friend,  here's an example: This past Friday,  a gentleman responded to my ad with this email: "I'm looking to do a quick last minute cartoon/illustration gift for some friends that are moving to Vancouver. It's a completely last minute idea on my part and would like to present it for dinner tomorrow (Saturday) night at dinner. Is it possible you could turn something around that fast?" Little did he know, he was dealing with Josh Rachlis. Early Saturday afternoon, he emailed me photos of the people to put in the cartoon, a description of what everyone should be doing and a list of little inside jokes (such as a 3-jeweled ring, a multi-olived martini and a couple of timid black cats). I drew a pencil sketch, emailed it to him for his approval, then finished it in ink, and he picked it up mid-afternoon. I followed up with him and he emailed back that it was "a big hit." When's the last time a generic drugstore greeting card was a big hit? Just sayin'. See the cartoon by clicking here or check it out above.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

My short film 3 Dates premieres in Hollywood!


I wrote a short film based on my dating (mis)adventures and Cannes Lion-winning Commercial Director Philip Kates shot it. There's been work on developing it into a TV show. In the meantime, I thought it should be shared with the world to warn the public of the dangers of meeting girls on the Internet, specifically on JDate.com. Fortunately, the HollyShorts festival in Hollywood agreed. One of the top 25 film festivals in the world, this year's HollyShorts featured films with/by David Arquette, Mena Suvari, Will Ferrell, Don Cheadle, Kate Bosworth, Zachary Quinto and other people far too talented and successful to be in same festival as me. After the screening, many filmmakers in the audience came up to me quoting their favourite lines from the movie and saying it reminded them of their own dating experiences. Which is really quite sad. Those of you who weren't heartbroken filmmakers in the audience can view it at http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/01125225d1/3-dates (where you could register and rate it "Funny" - just sayin') or watch below:

3 Dates - watch more funny videos
SPECIAL BONUS - To hear about the inspiration for the film, plus unshot scenes that took place between the dates, in this filmmakers talk with the audience, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cB5hWmXL-I or watch below:

Friday, August 13, 2010

Acting in short film as evil boss

My friend Damien Dornford was directing a short film he wrote, as part of a filmmaking class. He asked me to play the evil boss. Since in real life I'll never get to be anyone's boss, I accepted. The film was featured on Rogers Community Cable as part of his class, and also at the Autumn Harvest Film Festival. A festival which Damien started. Gotta love this guy's ambition! Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E313mw3ElU or watch below.

Acting in radio commercial for donut chain

Here's me acting in a radio commercial for a donut chain's delicious new product. In the spot, I'm outwitted by a girl. Funny how life imitates art. Hear it here: http://www.voices.com/demo_detail/60684