COVID-19 has changed the way many people work – from remote working at home, to being furloughed, or even laid off, the pandemic has impacted many people's jobs.

But for one profession, the coronavirus outbreak has offered inspiration and insight. Cartoonists around the world have been drawing caricatures on the topic for half-a-year now, and it's given them an abundance of material and ideas to draw from.

"There is something that is hard about my job, too: I always have to find an idea, always," Belgian caricaturist Pierre Kroll told CGTN Europe from his studio outside Brussels.

Kroll is one of these artists who brought the green, spiky coronavirus caricature to life six months ago, sketching it with piercing red eyes and a menacing smile for his daily cartoons in the Belgian newspaper Le Soir.

With plenty of inspiration from one event being experienced around the world, however, comes the added challenge of producing unique content.

"There are cartoonists like me who draw on this subject in Australia, Iceland, Russia, everywhere," Kroll said.

"I never considered that my job could be a competition for athletes, a kind of cartoon world championship. You have to be very responsive, very creative, more than ever," he explained.

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But that hasn't stopped Kroll who has risen to the challenge and drawn enough coronavirus cartoons to fill an entire book – which he called Alors, on en Parle?, meaning So, do we talk about it?

Published earlier this summer, it isn't Kroll's first book, but it's the first one with more than 200 drawings on the same subject, which Kroll calls the "funny period."

Flick through the pages of the book and Kroll's unique twist will be clear – he uses humor, often thought-provoking, to chronicle Belgium's coronavirus experience. And he isn't afraid to portray the negative, more serious aspects of the pandemic.

"For example, I have a drawing that shows someone standing on someone else's shoulders looking through a window and saying: 'How are things in nursing homes for the elderly?' because we don't talk about it too much," Kroll said.

"In fact, a lot of people died in care homes and it was not handled well at all. A simple drawing like that, it's not funny, but it uses humor. It says something serious: 'What's going on there in the old people's homes?'" he added.

Some of his other cartoons draw on the shared experiences, thoughts or fears of the public, to whom Kroll says his work belongs.

"I have no idea what will happen in 50 years. I create a debate, a conversation. Everyone is going to think about it in all kinds of ways: 'It is horrible' or 'it will disappear.' I leave the debate to the people. The drawing, once it's done, it's no longer mine," Kroll explained.

Kroll's work has already generated these conversations in a local bookshop, the Cook and Book shop, where his COVID-19 collection is prominently displayed.

"Frankly, I think it's good because a lot of people have been terrified and making them laugh a bit can only be positive," said one of the visitors.

"It allows us to release the pressure. It is a time when you have to be careful about everything, be serious, stay safe. But sometimes it's good to laugh," added another of the bookshop's customers.

So, as the old adage goes, humor may be the best medicine after all.