Teamwork Cartoons: A Resource Guide

. . .without spending days searching the internet.

It provides handy links (jump to sources of great teamwork cartoons) and also provides information about pricing, copyright, etc.

The page is long. But if you're looking for some teamwork humour, reading it could save you hours.

Get that scrolling finger ready!

Why use cartoons and teamwork humour?

Cartoons are a great way to bring more attention to your message.

Funny office and teamwork cartoons stand out and can liven up team building newsletters and presentations. They keep your audience entertained and interested.

Communicating with images and humour often works when other techniques fail.

Workplace cartoons that are relevant to your team building objectives don't just bring a few chuckles. Our mind and bodies make a connection between the message and the good feeling – laughter and smiles - that follow.

And that helps team members remember what is said.

The friendly appealing nature of cartoons can also reduce resistance from jaded team members. Laughter quickens our heart rate, and makes our brains more active. Humour puts us in a better state of mind, making us more receptive.

Teamwork cartoon images can give people a fresh way of looking at important issues, and may encourage team members to engage in conversations about the team and its dynamics.

So to make your next presentation or teambuilding activity more effective and memorable, why not try adding a bit of teamwork humour with a cartoon?

Free Cartoons?

If you were hoping you could get teamwork cartoons for free, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news… nope, no free cartoons.

Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I haven't found any free teamwork cartoons on the internet yet.

It's all to do with a pesky little thing called copyright! The creators of cartoons are the rightful owners of their artwork … and cartoons can only be used with permission and for a fee.

Cartoon artists have to make a living … so I'd encourage you not to begrudge paying for the teamwork or workplace cartoons you want to use.

Of course, some options are cheaper than others and I've provided some indicative prices below.

Actually, there is a way to get free cartoons….if you don't want to choose a specific cartoon, many cartoonists offer a free daily cartoon service. I've included one site that does this in the list below (jump to cartoon links).

What Happens If I just Copy Cartoons from a Website?

Removing cartoons from a website without permission is illegal.

If you do it, maybe nothing will happen. Or maybe you'll find yourself aggressively pursued by a legal firm for breach of copyright and be subject to a hefty fine.

You'll also find that most cartoonists are getting smarter with digital technology protection techniques. Some websites deliberately have lower quality thumbnail images to discourage piracy. Others have copyright watermarks through the cartoon image. You get the high quality, no watermark image after you’ve paid.

Just in case you were wondering, I’ve obtained permissions to use all the teamwork cartoons on this page, even those with watermarks (:

So How Much Do Teamwork Cartoons Cost?

There's never a simple answer to this type of question.

Typically, cartoon artists charge different rates depending on how the cartoon is intended to be used. You will pay for a licence to use the cartoon (you never get to own the rights to the image). The licence may be for a one-off single use, for multiple uses or it can be possible to get a licence to use a cartoon for a certain time period.

Here's some different types of uses and indicative prices*:

• One-off use of one cartoon in a presentation US$30-40
• Use of one cartoon in presentations for one year US$75-95
• Use of a cartoon in an in-house (non public) newsletter US$75-125
• Use in a customer newsletter ...Less than 25,000 copies US$100; 25,000-100,000 copies US $200-300

*Prices on this page are valid as at October 2010

For other uses (eg – high circulation magazines, websites, intranets, manuals, T-shirts), most sites require you to contact them for a quote.

However, I did find a couple of sites that quoted prices for one year web and intranet rights of about US$100/cartoon which might give you an indication.

Of course, rates can vary widely between individual cartoonists and you may be able to negotiate special rates if you want more than one cartoon, or have some other special requirement.

Please note that the information below is accurate (to the best of my ability) as at October 2010

The Cheapest, Most Flexible, Option for Teamwork Cartoons

In all my research, the cheapest source of funny office cartoons I've found is at www.toonclipart.com. That’s perhaps because they are more like clipart than cartoons …just images, no funny captions.

There's only three cartoons specifically about teamwork (one of them is the bicycle image at the top of this page). However, they have lots of business related cartoon images.

Toon Clip Art offers great value with single cartoon images around US $8-12, or access to their entire database for monthly ($49.95) or yearly ($249.95) subscription.

For this price, they allow much more flexible use than many other cartoon sources. Be sure to read their licence agreement, but my understanding is that you can use the images on a non-exclusive non-transferable basis in presentations, newsletters, advertising materials and as part of digital media such as websites and intranets without time limits. Of course, there are some limits and uses which aren’t allowed for this price (such as using in web templates or on goods you are selling, mass distribution etc).

ToonClipart also allows instant online payment and download, so you can have your cartoon images without delay.

The Biggest Range of Teamwork & Funny Workplace Cartoons

The web's largest cartoon library can be found at www.cartoonstock.com. This site has a searchable database of more than 200,000 cartoons, with the work of hundreds of cartoon artists represented. This includes over 150 cartoons specifically about teamwork.

CartoonStock is based in the UK, so prices are in British pounds. Price varies depending on use and in some cases, whether a US, non-US or worldwide licence is required.

Prices are at the lower end of the market range, perhaps due to sales volume.

Unlimited use in presentations by an individual or for small circulation internal newsletters is only 12 pounds (~US$19). Another option offered with published pricing is the allowed usage of cartoons on websites, intranets and blogs for 1-3 years for a single fee. This fee ranges from 7 pounds (about US$11) for use for one year on a non-commercial blog to 50 pounds (about US$80) for commercial websites for three years. Pretty good value by comparison to one-off uses on some other sites.

All cartoons are able to be selected and paid for online, with immediate download. Nearly all CartoonStock cartoons are also available on gift items – including framed and unframed prints, T-shirts, umbrellas, chopping boards, mugs, mouse mats, fridge magnets etc. A daily or weekly cartoon feed to your website can be set up by topic of interest.

Best Custom Teamwork Cartoons

Most cartoonists offer custom cartoons designed just for you. However, the one I'd recommend for custom teamwork cartoons is www.grantland.net. Why Grantland? Because they specialize in business cartoons (over 3000 funny business and workplace cartoons on their website).

And because they offer free dialogue changes to their cartoon strips to allow you to customize to your team.

Prices range from US $40/cartoon for a one-time single presentation to US$155/cartoon for a customer newsletter. Files are available for immediate download.

Some other good sources of teamwork cartoons

If the three sites above don't have what you need, you may find it worth looking at these sites:

www.glasbergen.com I think this site is a very good source for teamwork cartoons – and lots of other cartoon topics too (> 2500 cartoons sorted by topic). As an indication of their range, they have about 80 cartoons on teamwork and co-workers, 100 cartoons on leadership/management, and 80 cartoons on motivation and achievement.

The cartoons are of high quality, and they'll provide the images in a variety of formats (jpeg, tiff, gif). The main disadvantage of this site is that it provides no pricing details. A user has to send an email describing how they plan to use the cartoon and obtain an individual price quote. Overall though … a good range of good, relevant cartoons.

www.newslettercartoons.com This cartoonist has about 25-30 teamwork cartoons that I liked, and which are available for immediate download. Prices are provided on the site for presentation and newsletter uses, but you need to contact Ted Goff (the cartoonist) for a quote on all other uses of cartoons (such as digital media, posters, ads, etc).

Custom cartoon drawing is offered, as well as a daily cartoon feature for websites and intranets. All the cartoons on this site are business focused.

www.bradveley.com This cartoonist offered only 13 teamwork cartoons when I looked at this site. However, there were also cartoons in related categories such as conflict, communication, corporate culture, leadership, problem solving etc. The cartoons are both creative and fun.

This cartoonist will also make changes to his standard cartoons if you want to customize them for your team, and says he personally handles every order. Although instant download is not available, the site indicates a 24 hour turnaround is often possible, and the images can be delivered in a variety of formats (jpeg is typical but can do other formats).

www.andertoons.com A search of this site turned up no results for teamwork, but there are lots of good business and corporate cartoons. You may find what you want, but it will probably take a while searching through their images. The main reason I mention is them is because they offer a free daily cartoon service.

There are many other sites that show up on an internet search for teamwork cartoons.

However, most actually have no cartoons relevant to teamwork or a very limited range.

So for the best use of your valuable time, I suggest you check out the sites above.

Please note: The information above is accurate to the best of my ability at the time of research (October 2010). Please check the company websites for the latest information.

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