Exercise 1 Using markers or dip pens

I'm a  bit vague about the differences and definitions of Pop Art and Kitsch this article on Pop Art is helpful. I know I like Peter Blake's work and admire the variety of styles and techniques he uses (represented here) and I find Richard Hamilton's collages appealing plus he could draw (also here)
I don't get on so well with kitsch it either seems ugly and cheap or self consciously erotic.
Cartoon art is another thing, visually creative to explain complex situations and emotions in a simple image I think it is very underrated, I struggle to convey meaning so economically I've previously mentioned Jacky Fleming but also Ron Tiner author of Figure Drawing without a Model

So, some sketchbook ideas to decide what my still life subjects should be

 I started with toys but they seemed a bit dull though looking back the top right picture may have promise? As it was near Halloween I was seduced by the idea of a pumpkin, especially as there is such a nice marker pen drawing of a tomato in the example

 or, looking for something brightly coloured, plastic biscuit cutters. I started with a collection of veg

 Using Tombow brush pens, markers, semi dried out felt tips and dip pens. I've used the semi dried felt tips in the past then added water to soften them. I'm not sure if this is within the brief but that is what I did below

 not sure it added much in this case so I repeated the drawing on cardboard

 still a bit dull in my view and still life veg has been done so many times I thought the biscuit cutters might be a more interesting composition.

 If I try and arrange them they look stiff and posed, it works best just to drop them on a sheet of paper then turn it to get a good angle

the above picture was done on super cheap paper that looks like unused newspaper. I like the blue car but I got a bit lost with the red cutters because the marker was too bold

This was drawn in ink then I added the markers for a bolder colour. The grey background was a mistake it isn't part of the rest of the image

I changed tack and drew with marker pen then did the detail with ink and a dip pen. The ink splodges were added on purpose. I had to leave before this was finished and the setup got jogged while I was gone so I wasn't sure where the shadows fell. I think it needs shadow to ground it but when I tried to rearrange it the shadows looked wrong I tried to draw them just using the red, yellow and blue markers and they dominated the picture so I coloured the background black

should have just left it alone

With this attempt I did markers first again and suggested shadow as I went along which is what I should have done before. Then I added dip pen and ink. The markers are getting a bit dry, very annoying as the red one is brand new. In retrospect the gingerbread man should be more at an angle, I was getting more interested in techniques than layout at this point. My son pointed out that the layout  before last had the look of a crime scene so for my final attempt (I'm getting a bit obsessed here) I tried to set the cutters out with this in mind and put the gingerbread man back at an angle

After scanning I decided the reds needed strengthening

but I'm not sure that this isn't getting a bit overworked.
The subject matter encourages rather tight controlled drawing. I hadn't used a found surface because my envelopes were too small and the markers didn't show up well on a dark surface so to complete this project I thought I ought to have a go and used a page of newspaper

To cope with the fragility of the paper I had to use a much lighter touch which makes this drawing a lot looser and sketchy. The yellows were difficult partly due to the angle of the cutters but also because I couldn't overwork them. It's not a great composition but it was an interesting exercise.