The traditional cartoon in the digital sphere also has to contend with the assumption digital producers will opt for flashy memes/gifs over static images to keep the page "alive".

In many cases, producers have pilfered the meme/gif from someone's Facebook post, or it was sent to the paper by a reader almost certainly at no cost. Photo: Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott was a 'cartoonist's treasure'. (Rocco Fazzari)

In 2011, during what Golden Goose Sale I believed was the height of digital disruption at The Sydney Morning Herald, I took on the well-worn approach of, "if you cant beat them, join them".

My ploy was to merge the two worlds together, thus maintaining the gravitas of the traditional cartoon while employing the techniques of the leery gif or meme.

What had once been just pen and ink on a page became a quest to absorb new software in the search for the perfect image. The two became interwoven: technology and art.

It meant learning digital skills like Photoshop was imperative if we were to meet the increasingly tight deadlines which had become the norm as digital became king.