Don’t Chase Shiny Objects

“Ooh…ooh!…..I’ve got to check that out!….It would be great to try that!”

Chasing shiny objects is all well and good for magpies - it’s what they do after all…and everyone has got to have something to do.

However, we’re not magpies, and it’s so easy to have our attention caught and distracted by some new, shiny thing or idea, instead of sticking to what we have to do.

This week I’ve been riffing off the phrase “Don’t chase shiny objects.”

This is the first one that I came up with. After posting it on a forum, I was challenged to try something less obvious or a bit odd…such as a table lamp….

I received some more suggestions such as pulling a piano….or chasing a light house…

For the two above suggestions I recycled a couple of previous cartoons. This one originally featured a piano playing the playing…as they do… I gave the penguin a break from pianistic duties and gave the maypie a chance to test it’s strength instead.

The lighthouse originally appeared in a cartoon featuring a very rare dog breed - The Red Spotted Dalmatian. You may not have heard of that partular dog breed before….

What’s Next?

I drew some of the above cartoons during Cartoon Hour.

What’s Cartoon Hour?

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.

It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.

If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

Young Frankenstein Cartoons

For this article I thought I’d venture into the cartoon cellar and revisit some drawings from the past.

A few years ago I did the 'Da VInci' cartooning course.

For one of the weeks, we were given license to draw anything we wanted, and seeing as I had recently watched 'Young Frankenstein' to celebrate Gene Wilder's life, I thought that I'd draw the characters from the film. Each day of the week I drew a different character with the intention of putting them together in one scene at the end of the week.

Sedagive?

For those of you familiar with the movie, this is based on the 'Sedagive scene'.

I selected one drawing from the various verions of each character I had drawn throughout the week, and then cut and pasted them together. I filled in the body details and then added a bit more cross-hatching. I liked the effect of a wash effect on top of the hatching and felt that it matched the feel of the film.

I tidied up the picture a little bit, but left a lot of the underlying sketch lines. I kept the background very simple to give an impression of the castle, and kept it faint so as not to distract from the characters.

I had a lot of fun doing this, and I have to admit it was some of the most intense drawing I had done for quite some time.

Inside the castle kitchen

This pic came about when the idea popped into my head 'What would a mad scientist's kitchen look like?'. So seeing as both Inga and Igor were assisting Dr. Frankenstein, I thought it only fitting they should appear in it.

Puttin’ On The Ritz!

To end this article on a high point, it’s only appropriate that I feature one of the most enduring scenes of the movie where Dr. Frankenstein and the Monster perform ‘Puttin’ On The Ritz.’ They are joined on stage in this cartoon by none other than the Pink Panther.

What’s Next?

Recently I’ve started doing Cartoon Hour.

What’s Cartoon Hour?

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below. 

Drawing ‘Retrieving The Cricket Ball’

“Stop that fish!” Came the cries from the group of cricketers running along the riverbank. At first Betty Pilchard was thrown for a loop, until you spotted an unusual looking fish swimming in her direction. She quickly grabbed her landing net and manage to scoop up the fish just as it came up to her. The only thing more surprising than the odd looking fish was the fact that it had a red cricket ball in its mouth.

The cricket ball didn’t stay there for very long, as the fish promptly spat it out, knocking Betty’s hat off for six. The fish then proceeded to leap out of the net, seize the now floating hat, and then swim off rapidly downstream. And that was the last that Betty Pilchard saw of her hat and the ultra-rare Three-Finned Spotted Horace. On the plus side, she had managed to retrieve the ball, and so the cricket match could resume.

What I’m going to cover

In this article I’m going to go through the steps involved in creating the above cartoon. First though I’ll give you a bit of background about the story that the cartoon helped to illustrate.

…but first a little more story…

The Three-Finned Spotted Horace is a really rare fish, that briefly came to national interest in the 1930s due to its intervention in a cricket match. Here’s an extract from the story:

Higglebottom hit a magnificent cover drive and the ball ran along the ground and into the river. Two of the fielders set off to retrieve it, but reached the bank in time to spot a Horace seizing the ball in its mouth and then setting off down stream.

The cricketers followed the fish along the bank and it looked as though the ball would be lost, until they encountered Angler Betty Pilchard was able to temporarily scoop up the fish in her landing net. The Horace spat the ball out, unfortunately knocking her hat off, which was the grabbed by the fish never to be see again. Pilchard returned to the river many times in an attempt to catch the fish, but the Horace remained elusive, as it does generally until this day.

So now let’s have a look at the process of creating the cartoon

Initial outline

I sketched out the characters using a 6B pencil in ProCreate.

Adding the background

I wanted to keep the background relatively simple, so I added enough detail to give the impression of the riverbank and accompanying countryside.

Adding washes to the character

As the story was set in the 1930s and I wanted a retro feel to it, I thought I’d stick to monochrome for the cartoon.

Adding washes to the background

All of the washes I added using the watercolour brush in Procreate. I selected black and then started at 20% opacity, gradually building up the tones.

Adding the riverbed

Again I wanted to stick to a minimum of detail to convey the riverbed.

Adding more detail

I added a little more detail to the background and also a few ripples to show the water.

The finished cartoon

To make the cartoon bolder, I duplicated all the layers, two or three times before I got the intensity I was looking for. Finally, I resized it slightly, and then added the caption.

What’s Next?

I drew some of the above cartoon during Cartoon Hour.

What’s Cartoon Hour?

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

Cartoon Hour #1

What to draw along with some fellow doodlers?

Here is the schedule for the week August 3rd - 9th

Check out this week’s times below:

Friday: 8:30pm GMT/WEST, 12:30 PDT, 15:30 NY, 5:30am Saturday ACST

What is Cartoon Hour?

You might have been wondering that the title ‘Cartoon Hour’ is about that appeared on the two above cartoons.

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.

It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.

If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

Lesser-Known Fish Species - The Three-Finned Spotted Horace

The Three-Finned Spotted Horace is just about the fastest and hungriest fish in the river.

It has a voracious appetite and is always on the look-out for its next meal or even a meal between meals.

It’s sleek form and unique three fins make it one of the most easily recognisable of fish, although it’s extreme rarity means that you are unlikely to ever encounter one while fishing or out walking along the riverbank.

Beware of the Horace!

Other fish steer well clear when the Horace is about, and not only fish, but other creatures that use the water are equally wary of this most predatory of fish.

The Horace is particularly fond of dining another rare species, the Purple-Finned Gerald-Gerble. It turns out that the Gerble-Gerble shows quite a degree of intelligence in its efforts to avoid its rival.  It has been observed and speculated that the Gerble-Gerble deliberately swims close to anglers in the hope that the angler will then focus on the Horace instead, which is a much greater prize catch.

The Naming of the Horace

The fish was discovered and named by the keen angler and noted poet, Horace Smashingly. Upon first sighting the fish, Smashingly named the fish after himself and then set about writing an epic 10,000 line poem about the fish.

The poem remains unpublished to this day, although it was later turned into a film by the experimental Danish filmmaker Stryangee Thring. The film, A Fish Called Horace, received its debut at the Cannes film festival in 1983. The film showing was finally abandoned after the last member of the audience walked out after the nineteenth hour. Thring later planned a directors cut, but his wife threatened to divorce him, so he shelved the project.

The Cricket Ball Incident

The Horace remained a very obscure fish until an incident during a cricket match in 1932 brought it no the attention of the newspapers.

Legendary England cricketer “Hairy” Harry Higglebottom was taking part in a charity cricket match at the village of Little Plumming. The cricket ground is one of the most picturesque in the country, with one of the sides running along the bank of the river Piddle.

Higglebottom hit a magnificent cover drive and the ball ran along the ground and into the river. Two of the fielders set off to retrieve it, but reached the bank in time to spot a Horace seizing the ball in its mouth and then setting off down stream.

The cricketers followed the fish along the bank and it looked as though the ball would be lost, until they encountered Angler Betty Pilchard was able to temporarily scoop up the fish in her landing net. The Horace spat the ball out, unfortunately knocking her hat off, which was the grabbed by the fish never to be see again. Pilchard returned to the river many times in an attempt to catch the fish, but the Horace remained elusive, as it does generally until this day.

What’s Next?

I drew some of the above cartoons during Cartoon Hour.

What’s Cartoon Hour?

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

A Tale Of Two Meditation Retreats

The first mediation retreat I did was at a place called Suan Mokh in the south of Thailand. Suan Mokh is a forest wat and in the centre you are really part of nature. On the first day the abbot told us all that we would be sharing the forest for the next ten days with all the other creatures that lived there, including various poisonous snakes, scorpions, and spiders. He mentioned to be mindful and tread carefully and everything would be fine.

As it was a silent retreat, and we were also doing walking as well as sitting mediation, we weren’t making much noise, and thus got a lot closer to creatures that we normally would as we weren’t scaring them off by clattering about.

One day I was practising walking meditation along a forest path. I was pacing very, very slowly, inching my way along. Suddenly about ten feet ahead of me on the path, a snake slithered into view and stopped. I wasn’t sure what the snake was, whether it was poisonous or harmless. You only see the hoods on cobras when they are alarmed, so this could have been a cobra or a non-venomous rat snake. However, it didn’t really matter what the type of snake was, as I was no danger to it - and so it was no danger to me. I stood there waiting. I don’t know how longer I waited there for, until eventually the snake slithered off and I resumed my walking meditation.

Two years later in Japan

A couple of years later I found myself doing a different meditation retreat, outside of Kyoto in Japan. The meditation was inside, however, there was a garden in which we could occasionally stretch our legs. At the beginning of the retreat, one of the organisers explained to us that every morning he would go out into the garden and remove any snakes that were there. I felt that he was moving one of the best possible teachers of Mindfulness. I have learnt in Thailand that you can share an area with dangerous creatures, and that they are only rarely dangerous if you don’t pay attention. You could learn more about mindfulness from a single venomous snake than from hours spent on the meditation cushion.

Lesser-Known Fish Species - The Purple-Finned Gerble-Gerble

We usually don’t think of fish making sounds, and and if we do it might be only because someone has added a cheesy roar to a shark in some dodgy B-movie. However, there are a number of fish that make a variety of oops, clicks, whistles, purrs (catfish?), barks (dogfish?) etc. As with other creatures these sounds serve to warn others of danger, to deter predators and competitors, to attract mates, and to communicate with a group.

One notable, and very noisy, sound-producing fish is the Purple-Finned Gerble-Gerble.

Named as a result of its striking purple fins and tail, and the distinctive constant sound that it produces. Little has been known of the Gerble-Gerble due to its rarity. Indeed until recently it was regarded as a bit of an old fisherman’s tale and not to be taken seriously. However, thanks to the pioneering work of fish researcher Enid Pilchard more details of this most fascinating of fish have come to the surface.

Pilchard would have managed to delve even deeper into the mysteries of this fish if it wasn’t for the problem of her pet Pelican Percy occasionally eating her subject matter.

Close cousins

The Purple-Finned Gerble-Gerble is not to be confused with the Pink-Finned Gibble-Gibble. At first it was thought that the Gibble-Gibble was a subspecies of Gerble-Gerble, but turned out to be a similar looking but entirely different species altogether.

Changing waters

One of the most amazing traits of the Gerble-Gerble is its ability to navigate between rivers and lakes using other sources of water, whether waterlogged fields or puddles. It can can even occasionally be caught attempted to catch a lift in a water-logged fishing boot.

School or Shoal?

The correct collective noun for a group of Gerble-Gerbles, whether schooling or shoaling is in fact a gubble.

Avoiding lunch

The main predator of the Gerble-Gerble is the striking three-finned Spotted Horace, named by noted angler and poet Horace Smashingly, who upon first sighting the fish immediately dropped everything and wrote an epic 10,000 line ode to the fish. It remains unpublished to this day.

The Horace is as rare as the Gerble-Gerble. It can be found lurking in wait under overhanging trees and other shady places. Just about the fastest mover in the river, the Horace seems to be permanently hungry, and permanently annoyed.

It turns out that the Gerble-Gerble shows quite a degree of intelligence in its efforts to avoid its rival.  It has been observed and speculated that the Gerble-Gerble deliberately swims close to anglers in the hope that the angler will then focus on the Horace instead, which is a much greater prize catch.

What’s Next?

I drew some of the above cartoons during Cartoon Hour.

What’s Cartoon Hour?

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.

It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.

If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

Drawing A Fish Cartoon

It was the longest rainy season anyone could remember, even longer that’s the one in which the village pond turned into the village lake. Suki had to run some errands and brave the elements. Pulling on her trusty trench coat and Hunter boots, Suki set off down the road, although stream would have been a better description of it at that point.

Because of the sound of the driving rain, and her own splashing she didn’t hear the distinctive sound of the Gerble-Gerble fish until the school was upon her. They immediately overtook her, one even swimming between her feet and head upstream or rather uproad, bound for who knows where and continuing with their incessant gerbling.

A little background

Just like Suki, I’m currently experiencing the longest-running rainy season I can remember.

I drew this cartoon the other day, and upon completing it immediately starting thinking about migrating fish and how I could make another cartoon featuring them. In then also struck me that while I’ve created a variety of different animals, birds, and reptiles in the “Lesser-Known” series (basically where I create a new species) I had yet to come up with one featuring a fish. And thus the Purple-Finned Gerble-Gerald was hatched.

In this article I’m going to go through the steps of creating the cartoon at the top of the page.

Here’s what I’ve going to cover:

• Recycling elements from different cartoons

• Complementary colours

The background

I’ve already used this background for a couple of different cartoons and as I wanted one featuring a pavement, this fitted the bill.

As Suki is a semi-regular character, I’ve drawn her quite a few times. I decided to go for the pose featured in a recent cartoon featuring the Long-Legged Bulldog and then to modify it.

I coped the layers that featured Suki and then altered them to have her holding an umbrella. Rather than draw the umbrella from scratch, I copied one from the following cartoon:

This one I drew at the beginning of rainy season, which now seems a long time ago!

Outlining the Gerble-Gerble

I drew the bottom fish first and then copied and modified it to produce the upper two.

Colouring the Gerble-Gerbles

You can see the palette that I used to colour the fish. Purple and green are not actually complimentary colours but I think they work very well together, particularly also in combination with blue.

Positioning the characters

I’ve now put the characters into the position I want them be in for the completed cartoon. I’m going to alter Suki’s eyes later because at the moment it looks as though she’s looking past the fish.

Adding the water

I’ve started to add the water using a turpentine brush in ProCreate. There’s not real depth or colour to the water at the moment, so I’ll take care of that next.

Adding more colour to the water and the movement lines

The water looks a bit more dynamic now and I’ve also added movement lines to the fish. As well as that I added some rain.

The finished cartoon

Here’s the completed cartoon with the the sound effects and Suki’s eyes altered so that she’s now looking down at the fish.

What we covered:

• Recycling elements from different cartoons

• Complimentary colours (well, almost!)

What’s Next?

I drew this picture during ‘Cartoon Hour’.

What is Cartoon Hour?

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.

It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.

If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

Communication Cartoons

I thought I’d explore further the theme of communication, using the lens of animals to look at the subject.

Which mask to wear at this moment?

Sometimes its not a case of simply one or two, but a whole variety to choose from.

Trying a new language

Perhaps it’ll give you insights into your own language.

Talk Louder?

This one appeared yesterday with a couple of other ones. I thought I’d include it again today as it fitted the theme.

A Little Louder?

Being a teacher I reflect on communication quite a lot. I thought I might draw a few cartoons exploring some of my thoughts and observations.

Starting off is this set of three cartoons featuring the idea that all you have to do to make yourself better understood is to simply raise your voice a bit more…

Maybe it wasn’t loud enough…

What’s Next?

I put out a Cartoon Newsletter containing a whole host of characters as well as cartooning tips. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way.

Safety Last!

You’ve probably seen this image before, either in it’s original form above, or in one of the various movies that has referenced it over the years including Back To The Future.

It’s from the 1923 American silent romantic comedy film, ‘Safety Last’, starring Harold Lloyd who is seen dangling from the clock face.

Charlie Chaplin is the most well-known of all the silent movies stars, but back in the day Harold Lloyd was right up there with him, and in fact grossed more money with his films.

The character Harold is playing here was known as “Glasses’, and is almost as iconic as Chaplin’s Little Tramp character.

I thought it would be fun to copy this scene and then play around with some alternative characters appearing in it.

The scene minus Harold

I copied this more or less the same as the movie still, omitting some of the detail for simplicity’s sake.

Enter Gerald and the Leopard

I first thought of having Gerald in peril, but instead switched it to his nemesis, the leopard in a spot of bother instead.

Slow time for a sloth

Definitely not in any sort of bother whatsoever is the sloth….taking it easy as always…

What’s Cartoon Hour?

You might have been wondering that the title ‘Cartoon Hour’ is about that appeared on the two above cartoons.

Basically, it’s an hour where everyone meets on Zoom and draws at the same time (me too!). Folks can choose what they want to draw, and if they’re stuck for ideas, then I’m happy to help with some suggestions. 

At the end of the hour we show each other what we’ve drawn. I’ll be imparting a few cartooning tips as well.

It’s a good way to get some cartooning done and also to share with fellow doodlers.

If you’d like to receive more details on Cartoon Hour, simply add your name, best email address, and type “Yes!” In the message below.

The Orange-Snaffling Salamander

Making an appearance today from the archives is the Orange-Snaffling Salamander.

I drew this wee beastie about three years ago. I used the Sketches app, whereas now I nearly always use ProCreate.

I’ll let the cartoons do the talking for the rest of the article.

What’s Next?

I put out a Cartoon Newsletter which contains a while menagerie of critters, as well as cartooning tips.

Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way. I’ll also draw you a cartoon of your choice as a thanks for signing up!

The Shaggy Dog Meets The Snippet

Snip…snip…snip…

I’ve created lots of different characters, whether human, animal, or undisclosed critters, but I don’t think I’ve ever really dabbled with anthropomorphising inanimate objects before.

Recently I created some illustrated podnotes to go with a podcast.

After finishing the above image, the pair of scissors reminded me of a children’s craft book that I had way back when in elementary school. I can’t remember the name of either the book or the author, however, I recalled that one of the characters in it was a pair of scissors. That sparked the idea to produce a new character and to have some fun animating household objects.

Here is Snippet, as it is named at the moment. I welcome other suggestions for names.

After that I started to ponder about what Snippet could cut, and the idea of a shaggy dog in need of a trim popped into mind….an overly shaggy dog who really doesn’t want a trim….

As Snippet was relatively simple to create, I thought it would be more interesting to instead go through the steps of drawing the shaggy dog instead.

Outlining the dog

The dog is really resistant to the idea of having a haircut, so I wanted to capture an appropriate look on its face.

Colouring the dog

You can see the palette I used for the colouring. I did the colouring with a digital watercolour brush, starting out at 30% opacity and then building up the tones.

Adding a bolder outline

To make the dog stand out a little more, I added some bolder pen strokes around the outline using a bigger brush size.

The completed cartoon

I modified the original Snippet pose and added some shadow and hatching under the characters.

What’s next?

From Scissors to Shaggy Dogs…and Hounds to Hair Pieces…You name it - I can draw it for you!

I also put out a Cartoon Newsletter, which contains a whole host of characters and cartooning tips. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way. As a thanks for signing up, I’ll also draw you a free cartoon!

What Sally Sold Next

I recently drew a pic of Sally selling seashells om the seashore, and then another one of her moving on to sell squid as well.

It turns out that she’s quite the entrepreneur as she’s now moving on to sell something entirely different in this new cartoon. I wonder what she’ll sell next? And will it begin with ‘S’?

To create this cartoon, I thought I’d splice together the elements of two previous drawings.

Here’s Sally selling squid. I choose this version of her, rather than the following…

…as she’s wearing a brighter outfit which will make her stand out better against the background I had in mind.

I thought I’d reuse the background from this cartoon:

With this cartoon I was playing around with the idea of using an electric eel as a recharger…..

I copied the background and then flipped it.

I then gave her a sitting pose, altered the background, and added a liberal sprinkling of salamanders. Is that the official term for a group of salamanders, a ‘sprinkle’?

What’s Next?

I put out a Cartoon Newsletter containing a whole host of characters and cartooning tips. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below, and I’ll wing a copy tour way. I’ll also draw you a free cartoon as a thanks for signing up!

Further Rainy Day Tales

Rainy season still isn’t finished yet, which I don’t actually mind because as soon as it does the weather starts to get really hot.

Big Syd is out for a spin he doesn’t like to put the top down on his convertible as he likes everyone to know he’s coming. So to avoid getting wet in the rain, Syd has enlisted the help of Thin Lou to ride shotgun and hold the umbrella.

There’s always someone who’s better prepared for extreme weather conditions than the rest.

With puddles everywhere there’s plenty of opportunity to do a little exploring before it all dries up.

Rainy Day Tips For Bulldogs

Rainy day walkies can prove to be a challenge for Bulldogs and other short-legged breeds. While Labradors and Spaniels are natural water-loving dogs and thrive in wet conditions, Bulldogs simply don’t have the leg length to deal with deeper puddles.

Rainy Day Threads

Here Jemima’s owner has kitted her out with a rain outfit. Unfortunately, this still doesn’t get around the central issue of the short legs.

Roland and The Rain Orb

Roland here is using a specially designed dog rain-orb. Regardless of how heavy the downpour or deep the puddle, Roland is able to roll around and remain competely dry.

Pop?

Unfortunately for Roland, a close encounter with Percy put his dryness to an end.

The Stilted Bulldog?

Here’s one Bulldog with no such puddle problems. Bert here is a very rare little-known Long-Legged Bulldog. Long-Legged Bulldogs are able to ford quite deep water, however, they tend to be a bit top-heavy, so must be careful in strong winds so as not to be blown over.

What’s Next?

I put out a Cartoon Newsletter featuring a whole kennel of characters and cartooning tips. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way. I’ll also draw you a free cartoon if you sign up!

Animal Speedboaters

I drew a fox motoring along in a speedboat the other day, without imagining it would lead to a whole flotilla of animal racers.

On second thoughts, maybe it’s not so much of a surprise, considering that a couple of years ago I drew a set of animals at the wheels of various vintage racing cars. Not only that, but I was also a huge fan of Richard Scarry when younger, who often had his animal characters zipping a long in contraptions both regular and bizarre.

Here’s the fleet as it stands at the moment:

Three Cartoons Featuring The TVR Trident

I recently drew a picture of a 1967 TVR Trident sportscar. Having spend a bit of time drawing the car, I thought I’d explore a few different ideas having the car as center piece of a cartoon.

Don’t tangle with the triffid!

This is the first cartoon that featured the TVR. It originally appeared in an article on alternative car security (basically featuring different creatures…)

A car in need of de-goosing

The question is: how did the goose get in there in the first place?

The return of Big Syd

Big Syd hasn’t appeared for a while. When you’re Big Syd, you can drive whatever you please…

What’s Next?

From Geese to Gangsters…and Triffids to Tortoises…You name it - I can draw it for you!

I also put out a Cartoon Newsletter, featuring a whole host of characters and cartooning tips.

Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way. I’ll also draw you a cartoon of your choice.

Three Ideas For ‘The Liner’

I’ve always been fascinated by Ocean Liners, particularly the ones that used to do the North Atlantic route.

I recently drew the front of a liner as part of a background for a cartoon. I thought it was a very striking image so I thought I’d explore some further ideas to go with it.

Oswold The Octopus

I’ve just realised that I omitted ‘a’ from the above caption.

Who will win the prize?

This one originally started out as ‘The Red Cat’, but I thought red has a stronger association with foxes so I went for that one instead.

The Blue Riband used to be a prize awarded to the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. The last liner to hold the title was the USS United States, which crossed the Atlantic in 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes in 1952.

…and yet another race…

I definitely haven’t drawn enough dolphins, so time to start remedying that.

What’s Next?

I put out a Cartoon Newsletter featuring a whole host of characters and cartooning tips. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below - I’ll also draw you a free cartoon!

Ideas For The TVR Trident

I recently drew this picture of a 1967 TVR Trident sportscar. Only a handful of these were ever built and I think the convertible was a one-off. I thought it was a cool looking car, and also I enjoy drawing obscure vehicles that make people think “What’s that?”.

I ended up using it as part of The article ‘Alternative Car Security’, which featured some somewhat unsual methods of protecting your vehicles (basically having creatures guard the cars…).

Seeing as the car took some time to draw, I thought I’d explore some further possible ideas using the same car.

Mind-mapping the car

I started off by creating a mind map, adding some ideas to explore.

To be continued!

I’m going to riff off some of those ideas and come up with three possible cartoon situations.

What’s Next?

From Triffids to TVRS…and Ferraris to Fire Salamanders…You name it - I can draw it for you!

I also produce a Cartoon Newsletter. Add your name and best email address to the orange box below and I’ll wing a copy your way.