Bantha Tracks

 Posted by on July 27, 2018  Childhood art, Illustration  Tagged with: ,
Jul 272018
 

I recently found old faded samples of some of the first drawings I ever had “published”; some fan art submitted to BANTHA TRACKS, the 1970s/80s STAR WARS fan club newsletter.

Soon after my 13 year old mind was thoroughly blown by STAR WARS in 1977, I saw an ad in a magazine (probably a 1978 issue of STARLOG) soliciting members for the STAR WARS FANCLUB, and I eagerly sent in my application. A few weeks later, I received my first issues of the fanclub newsletter that kept mouth breathers around the planet updated on our movie obsession; the ongoing Star Wars saga. OH BOY! 

Over the next few years I sent several cartoons to the newsletter, which was a simple pamphlet folded from one broadsheet of paper, and my cartoons were even published, which was quite a thrill for a dorky 14-16 year old living in a small town on the far side of the world.

Recently finding a few faded issues of this old fanzine was a major nostalgia blast from a time when such fan newsletters and zines were how we sweaty fan nerds stayed in touch with each other, and got information on our various obsessions. A network since replaced by THE INTERNET.

Avalon sketches

 Posted by on May 27, 2018  Lefties, Location Sketching, Travel  Tagged with:
May 272018
 
Avalon sketches

Earlier this month, Julia and I spent a pleasant week on the island of Santa Catalina, where we both did a lot of sketching. I wasn’t able to finish all my sketches on site but finished a few at our hotel on the island (and the rest at home). I finally scanned them all: Though the weather was always sunny it [READ MORE…]

Sonoma sketches

 Posted by on April 29, 2018  Lefties, Location Sketching  Tagged with: ,
Apr 292018
 
Sonoma sketches

I just tidied up and scanned some sketches drawn a few months ago while staying in Sonoma. My Brother Jo and his wife Priscilla were visiting Northern California wine tasting with a group of their friends, and invited Julia and I to meet them on the Sonoma leg of their trip. Julia found us a posh AirbnB near Sonoma town [READ MORE…]

‘in darkest PERU..’

 Posted by on February 3, 2018  AutoBio, Photos, Travel  Tagged with: , , , ,
Feb 032018
 
'in darkest PERU..'

The joy of writing and receiving multipage handwritten letters is a lost pleasure. My letter output now is no better than the average 21st century yahoo, but I was a prodigious letter writer in the 1980s, while working in Asian animation studios to finance extensive travel. In the pre-internet & iPhone era, travel abroad might mean weeks with no real [READ MORE…]

Ornaments

 Posted by on January 10, 2018  Lefties, Location Sketching  Tagged with: , , , ,
Jan 102018
 
Ornaments

Here is a watercolour sketch of German Christmas ornaments seen at Julia’s parents house. Her parents live on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, where we spent Julia’s birthday on a rainy New Year’s Eve, just last week. Each time we’ve visited beautiful Bainbridge I’ve always wanted to sketch, but the weather is often too cold and/or rainy rainy to sit outside [READ MORE…]

KOed on Boxing Day

 Posted by on December 26, 2017  My stroke
Dec 262017
 
KOed on Boxing Day

The day after Christmas, Julia had planned to work at home but discovered she didn’t have the password to remotely access her company computer and left to work a full day down the peninsula. I planned to get coffee with my pal Tony, before assembling with Gale & Julia for dinner. After a lazy morning reading in bed I showered [READ MORE…]

Maverix Studios: 1995-2011

 Posted by on October 22, 2017  AutoBio, Comics, Conventions, Friends, Work  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Oct 222017
 
Maverix Studios: 1995-2011

Late 1996, I resigned from Colossal Pictures, the only full time staff position I’d ever had. By then I’d been working in animation for 15 years, but recent job disasters had soured me to the industry, and I was unsure what to do next. After traveling for a few months, I’d decided to focus on the enjoyable aspects of being a cartoonist [READ MORE…]

SPACE FLiK: The Corrector’s Cut

 Posted by on September 30, 2017  AutoBio, Childhood art, Drawings  Tagged with: , ,
Sep 302017
 
SPACE FLiK: The Corrector's Cut

Although I’ve worked in animation since 1982 and loved the medium my whole life, there was only one time that I made an animated project on my own (apart from flip-books). At the age of 15/16, my obsessions were WARNER Bros CARTOONS, STAR WARS and MAD Magazine, influences clearly seen in the crudely made parody finished over a year later. In 2014 [READ MORE…]

Robo-Brawl

 Posted by on August 29, 2017  Comics, Drawings, Projects  Tagged with:
Aug 292017
 
Robo-Brawl

One of the first colour images I ever drew of Rocket Rabbit was of being chased by a big blue robot, who came to be called THE BLUDGEONATOR. Although that image became the cover for my first ever Rocket Rabbit comic book, I never drew any continuity for this robotic showdown back then, but I’m roughing out the story of [READ MORE…]

Highland Scout

 Posted by on July 25, 2017  AutoBio, Family, Lefties, Travel  Tagged with: , , , , ,
Jul 252017
 
Highland Scout

“Sell ticker rain jurrs, wee chwonn?!” Said he. “Huh? Oi dahnd unnerstehnn wotcha saiyin!” Said I. It was my first day at primary school in Glasgow and a mutually unintelligible clash of regional English accents was under way; Glasgow Scots vs Rural Aussie. Like me, the other kid was a knock kneed 9 year old Celt, but wearing a belligerent expression [READ MORE…]

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