Notes | Brutkey

Rat race. Cartoon I made for Dutch newspaper Trouw a while back, published today in Belgian newspaper De Morgen: https://www.demorgen.be/puzzels-cartoons/tjeerd-royaards~b6a46595/

#RatRace #therapy #efficiency

A cartoon depicting a running race. A sign along the track reads "Rat Race" in large letters. Other signs along the track read "Be more PRODUCTIVE!" and "Go FASTER!" Sweaty people run past a man who has fallen. Orange cones and a warning sign reading "burnout" are placed around him. At a pit stop along the track, a row of sofas is set up where people can see a psychologist. A sign at the beginning of the pit stop reads "Therapy & Coaching: Optimize Yourself!". A sign at the end of the pit stop lane reads "And GO!"

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

The robot apocalypse hasn't happened yet, but still I can't escape the feeling that something has gone horribly wrong... Cartoon for Dutch newspaper Trouw.

More of my work for Trouw: https://www.trouw.nl/cartoons/tjeerd-royaards~bcb45712/

#ArtificialIntelligence #creativity #work #GenerativeAI

Cartoon showing a street in the rain. A man on a bike is delivering food, while another courier is delivering packages from Amazon. Two other workers are collecting garbage. Inside one of the houses on the street, we see robots labeled 'AI' sitting dry and warm, engaged in making a paining, playing the violin and writing.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Welcome to the VladXiDonocracy. Cartoon for Dutch newspaper Trouw.

#Trump #Putin #XiJinping #HumanRights #democracy

Cartoon showing a monument with golden statues of Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping, each holding up 1/3 of the world. The pedestal of the monument reads:'World Order. Est. MMXXVI'. Riot police stand around, looking menacing, while people fearfully walk around the monument. On the side of the pedestal graffiti reads 'Democracy + human rights'. A woman is running away, having dropped a can of spray paint on the ground; she is being chased by two riot police men waving batons. In the background, a man is pushing a garbage container with the UN logos and the EU flag in it.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

I’ll give this a repost. Cartoon from last month.

#Trump #Maduro #Venezuela

Cartoon showing Donald Trump lying on his belly reacting into the vending slot of a soda machine, trying to get one out without paying. The soda machine is labeled 'Venezuela' and the soda cans in the machine are actually oil barrels, with 'Oil' writing on them in the Coca-Cola font.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Getting into the Christmas spirit. Cartoon for Dutch newspaper Trouw: https://www.trouw.nl/cartoons/tjeerd-royaards~bcb45712/

#Christmas #Xmas #Ukraine #Sudan #PeaceOnEarth

Cartoon showing a living room where Santa is decorating a Christmas tree. A box next to him is filled with Christmas ornaments and is labeled ‘Christmas spirit CRISIS TEAM’. Behind him elves are shoving skulls and bombs labeled ‘Gaza’, ‘Ukraine’ and ’Sudan’ into a closet and trying to close the closet door so they do not spill out again. Outside we see a war going on in the distance, with buildings on fire and bombs being dropped while nearby an elf is operating a snow cannon to make the garden white.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Black Friday. Cartoon for Trouw.

#BlackFriday #consumerism #exploitation #sweatshops

Cartoon showing a restaurant with eager, expectant customers. Instead of dishes, waiters are carrying cardboard boxes labeled with Amazon, Temu, Alibaba and Shein logos. The waiters are coming out of a door labeled 'sweatshop'; through the open door, we see workers slaving away behind sowing machines. Through the restaurant window, we see a desolate landscape with factories. A menu on the wall reads: 'Black Friday menu: media deal, super discount, ultra-low prices'.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Distracted. Cartoon for Trouw.

#COP30 #climatecrisis #future #humanity

Cartoon showing people on a bus sitting with headphones on and all looking at their phones. The phone displays show ‘AI cat videos’, ‘Stupid sh#t’ and ‘Brainrot’ with like buttons underneath. A display with the bus route shows the stops: COP30, COP31, COP32, COP33, Climate hell. Outside the landscape is rushing by, changing from green to brown with skulls and an animal skeleton. A weathered sign reads ‘CLIMATE HELL 34’.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Losing streak.

#Earth #Putin #Trump #Netanyahu #war #climate

Cartoon showing the earth as a gambling addict sitting at a slot machine. The slot machine has the word ‘Losing streak’ in elegant letters at the top, and the reels display portraits of Trump, Netanyahu and Putin, a smoking factory, a dead tree, a missile, a pile of skulls in a puddle of blood and a burning thermometer. There are only losing combinations.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Vlad's Peace Deal Meal. Cartoon for Trouw. More of my cartoons for Trouw: https://www.trouw.nl/cartoons/tjeerd-royaards~bcb45712/

#Putin #Trump #Zelensky #Ukraine

Cartoon showing the inside of a fast food restaurant. Putin is standing behind the counter, while Trump is ordering, pointing up to the 'Vlad's Peace Deal Meal' advertised on the menu above the counter. The menu shows a burger and fries, and also a free gift that looks like the Nobel Peace Prize (with small letters underneath that read 'not actual Nobel Peace Prize'). Trump is holding up a credit card with the Ukrainian flag on it to a payment terminal offered by Putin. We see an anguished Zelensky standing outside looking in, with his hands on the glass.

Tjeerd Royaards
@royaards@newsie.social

Summer in Amsterdam. Cartoon from last year (for Dutch newspaper Trouw), but guess what, it’s still relevant. If anything, I drew too few tourists in the cartoon…

#masstourism #overtourism

Cartoon showing a massive travel trolley rolling down an Amsterdam street, being pushed by a massive horde of tourists. On the side of the tourists, the street is full of hotels, souvenir shops and burger restaurants. On the other side, local shops are going out of business (to be taken over by new burger restaurants) and people are moving out.