Chris Madden Cartoons

A searchable archive for licensing

Dog and ball

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Dog and earth globe as ball  - illustration

An environmental illustration or cartoon showing a dog chasing a ball.

The ball is the earth as a globe.

The intension of the illustration is to draw a link between pet ownership and the environment. It was originally drawn for a booklet about how to look after your pet in an environmentally responsible way.
Drawn: July 2022
Cartoon reference number: a950

Marine waste cartoon

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Hermit crab with tin can as a shell - cartoon

A cartoon about marine pollution showing a hermit crab using an old tin can instead of a shell

The cartoon could be interpreted as showing wildlife desperately trying to adapt to a changed ecosystem.
A cartoon about waste recycling, household waste, wildlife in danger.

See an alternative version of this cartoon here.
Cartoon reference number: env094c

Art in the environment cartoon

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Modern art in nature cartoon

A modern art sculpture set in a natural setting.

The cartoon shows a modern art sculpture, similar to the work of Barbara Hepworth or Henry Moore, set in the environment. A bird is nesting in the hole in the sculpture.

The sculpture is titled Art in Nature.
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Cartoon drawn: 2019
Cartoon reference number: art021
This cartoon features in my book of cartoons about art.
See the book here.
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Save the dolphins cartoon

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dolphins aren't vegetarian cartoon

Cartoon showing a campaigner for protecting dolphins being disappointed to discover that dolphins aren’t vegetarian.

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A cartoon about the concept that some animal lovers prefer animals that are thought of as nice, cute, gentle etc (which interestingly extends to pet cats, which I frequently see tormenting and killing wildlife)..

The idea refers to some extent to the ‘natural fallacy’, which states that nature is inherently good.
Original version drawn: 1990
Cartoon reference number: a685

Anthropomorphism

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anthropomorphic animals cartoon

A joke about anthropomorphic animals

Anthropomorphism is defined as the giving of human characteristics to animals and other non-human entities.

The humour is in the fact that the rhino reading a book is an anthropomorphic animal, and is reading a book about anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the projection of human characteristics onto animals
Cartoon drawn: 2012
Cartoon reference number: a326b
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A butterfly with talons – illustration

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butterfly with talons - illustration

A butterfly with hawk talons

An illustration of a butterfly that has talons, turning it into a predator

A surreal digital image of a hybrid butterfly/hawk.
Some of the tension in the image comes from the fact that butterflies are perceived as being benign (which they are, being primarily nectar feeders), while birds of prey are perceived as being powerful and aggressive.
Ref a629

Professor Brian Cox cartoon – we are stardust

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professor brian cox cartoon we are stardust

Professor Brian Cox cartoon
We are made of stardust

A humorous comment about the fact that all of the elements apart from hydrogen and helium were created inside stars – so everything is made of stardust, including the less pleasant things

The joke here is that when the tv astronomer Professor Brian Cox says that everything is made of stardust he really lays it on thick in a way that many people, especially women, find very attractive. So here the woman is actually saying that she finds Brian Cox attractive, and it even affects her attitude to slugs

See my book on the nature of the universe
Cartoon drawn: 2011
Cartoon reference number: a586

Cartoon – creatures from earth that look like aliens

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earth creatures that look like aliens

From my selection of science fiction cartoons
Creatures from earth that look like aliens from another planet

A cartoon showing that life on earth is as weird as extraterrestrial life

This cartoon was drawn many years ago, but is relevant today due to the BBC series Alien Nation, about the bizarre and otherworldly appearance of insects. Fish look pretty weird too don’t you think?

Cartoon reference number: a560

Cartoon – homeopathy for animals

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homeopathy cartoon

Homeopathy cartoon.
Using homeopathy on animals.

The cartoon shows a giraffe being treated with a homeopathic medicine for a bad neck

A cartoon about alternative medicine.
Practitioners of homeopathy and believers in homeopathic remedies often cite the fact that homeopathy seems to work on animals as proof that it works, as animals can’t be influenced by the placebo effect. It’s my opinion that homeopathy seems to work on animals due to a statistical phenomenon known as ‘regression to the mean’, or in other words, they were quite ill and were probably about to get better anyway (or die).
Cartoon reference number: a546
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Lemmings cartoon – the possible consequence of following an authority figure

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lemmings cliff follow leader cartoon

Lemmings cartoon – the possible consequence of following an authority figure

A cartoon showing lemmings jumping off a cliff

One of the lemmings is warning against following a leader – “Never trust an authority figure – and definitely don’t follow one.”
This isn’t a cartoon warning about all authority figures, or all forms of following – after all, we need a bit of respect in our society. It’s a cartoon about blind allegiance and where it can take you, especially when the person who is being followed has his head turned by power
Cartoon reference number: a536
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Tufted duck illustration

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tufted duck illustration

Tufted duck illustration
Stylised illustration of a tufted duck

An ornithological illustration of a tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)

This design was inspired by the tufted ducks in my local pond in their breeding plumage – specifically the bright yellow eye against the black plumage of the head.
Cartoon reference number: a506

Animal trap and animal intelligence – cartoon

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Clever animal trap cartoon

A hunter trapping animals cartoon

Showing a hunter and a trap or snare set to capture a wild animal.

The trap which is baited with food, and a monkey is approaching it with a hook and line to get the food without setting off the trap.
However, the trap is a sham or decoy trap, and the monkey is trapped in another, real trap

A cartoon about hunting, hunters, trapping, trappers, animal intelligence, intelligent apes, snares, clever animals

Cartoon reference number: a470

Endangered species cartoon – the fur trade

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fur coat and fur trade cartoon

An environmental cartoon about the fur trade and fur coats

A cartoon of an affluent fashionable woman buying a fur coat. The shop sign above the coat reads “Rare furs”
The shop assistant is saying “And getting rarer by the day, madam!”

The message of the cartoon is that some people are totally intellectually divorced or disconnected from the environmental and ecological impact of their actions, with economic and other factors such as social status taking precedence over environmental factors.
In this case the woman and the man are only interested in the status of the fur coat as a fashion item and as a status symbol – to the point that they are actually pleased that they are contributing to the endangered species status of the animal that provided the fur for the coat, as the rarer the animal the more valuable the coat becomes – an economic argument (of very dubious merit) rather than an ecological one

Cartoon reference number: a468
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Seal hunters cartoon

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seal hunters cartoon

Seal hunters cartoon
Fur trappers

A cartoon showing hunters making a hole in the sea ice in order to trap seals.
Meanwhile, a hole is being cut round the trappers.

A cartoon about the fur trade, trapping, seal hunting
An earlier version of this cartoon appeared in my book of environmental cartoons, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by Earthscan/WWF in 1991

Cartoon reference number: a459

Roadkill cartoon. Roadside wildlife guidebook cartoon.

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Roadside wildlife roadkill cartoon

Roadkill cartoon
Roadside wildlife identification guidebook cartoon.

A cartoon showing a nature guide book for identifying roadside wildlife, in which the images of the wildlife are all squashed by car tyres or are bird strikes

A cartoon about wildlife destruction on roads due to impacts with vehicles.
Animals and birds as victims of vehicle impact
Cartoon reference number: a455
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Big game hunters cartoon – hunting endangered species

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big game hunters hunting butterfly cartoon

Endangered species cartoon

Cartoon of big game hunters shooting a butterfly because other species of animal are going extinct due to human pressure and lack of conservation measures

A humorous illustration about endangered species, conservation, species extinction, extinct species
An previous version of this cartoon was published in my environmental cartoon book, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by WWF/Earthscan

Cartoon reference number: a451

Save the smallpox virus – cartoon

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Save the smallpox virus - cartoon

Save the smallpox virus – cartoon

A parody on “Save the Whale” T-shirts and other T-shirts with slogans or messages on them
It’s also a cartoon about our attitudes to different species of animal, and which ones we feel moved to want to save (usually cute, cuddly, furry ones).

It’s also about animal rights, and where they should stop.

First version drawn: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a446

Noah’s ark cartoon – why there are no unicorns

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Why there are no unicorns - Noah ark cartoon

Noah’s ark with unicorns cartoon

Why the unicorns didn’t get into Noah’s ark

A comic illustration showing animals going into Noah’s ark, with men dressing up as pantomime horses in order to be stowaways on the ark, after having tied up the unicorns
The image is about mythological creatures, species extinction, extinct animals, endangered species.
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: un444

Endangered species cartoon – mammoth extinction

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Why the mammoth died out cartoon

Extinction cartoon – the mammoth
Endangered species cartoon

An environmental cartoon about conservation and how animal species become extinct due to human exploitation and pressure

In the image a mammoth’s foot has been turned into a wastepaper bin in an office used by a caveman, in a similar way that elephant’s feet were turned into furniture before the implications of such practices were appreciated

Part of the joke here is the anachronism of having a prehistoric caveman sitting at an office desk.

Drawn: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a442

Badger badge art – badger illustration

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badger badge art by chris madden

An illustration of a badger, designed for badger badges

A badger drawing or painting, drawn specifically for badges about badgers.
This image was drawn due to the fact that at the moment there’s a debate in the UK about culling badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tb

This badger badge design is drawn/painted in a graphic style, as badgers lend themselves very well to a graphic art treatment, being so black and white as they are
Cartoon reference number: a413
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Badger design – another image from a series of badgers

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badger by chri madden

An illustration of a badger

A badger drawing or painting.
This image was drawn due to the fact that at the moment there’s a debate in the UK about culling badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tb

This badger is drawn/painted in a graphic style, as badgers lend themselves very well to a graphic art treatment, being so black and white as they are
Cartoon reference number: a412

Badger artwork

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badger-by-chris-madden

An illustration of a badger

A badger drawing or painting, drawn due to the fact that in the UK at the moment there’s a debate about whether it’s a good idea or not to cull badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tb

This badger is drawn/painted in a graphic style, as badgers are lend themselves to a graphic art treatment, being so black and white as they are
Cartoon reference number: a410

Badger illustration

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badger drawing by chris madden

An illustration of a badger

Badger drawing or painting

A deliberately distorted image of a badger. The graphic art approach to this image of a badger is because the shape and markings of badgers lend themselves to the graphic style. It would look good as a wood block print or similar craft image .
This drawing was created due to the current debate about culling badgers to try to stop bovine tb.
Cartoon reference number: a409

African elephant logo

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logo with African elephant - with map of Africa as ear

African elephant logo

A logo about African wildlife, featuring an African elephant with a map of Africa as its ear

This illustration may make a suitable logo for a wildlife organisation or environmental campaign group campaigning against the killing of elephants for the ivory trade.
A logo on the theme of “Save the African elephant”
Ref a638

halloween lanterns in garden to scare cats – cartoon

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halloween lanterns to scare cat cartoon

Autumn gardening cartoon – halloween cartoon

Cartoon showing a gardener painting halloween lantern faces onto his prize pumpkins.

He is painting the halloween faces onto the pumpkins in an attempt to scare cats away so that they don’t damage his garden (such as by using his freshly dug seed beds as a cat toilet).

Cartoon reference number: a272

See my book of gardening cartoons here.
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