Throwback Thursday #8 – Eyes on the Back Mom’s Head

“Eyes on the Back Mom’s Head”, pencil, pen and color pencil, 1992

One of my earliest ideas for a single-panel gag cartoon. This drawing is from 1992 when I was 13 years old. The cactus drawing is just an unrelated doodle. I remember having some funny ideas around that age but as you can see, I needed more experience in humor. To simply illustrate an idiom literally isn’t really a very deep joke and is a good way to tell a joke that’s already been done a million times. You can see my love of comics (even particularly single-panel gags) developing though and if I remember correctly, this was around the time I discovered one of the all-time greats of the medium: Gary Larson with The Far Side.

 

Throwback Thursday #7 – The Joshua Anderson Pipe Dream System

“The Joshua Anderson Pipe Dream System”, pencil, 1991

This drawing comes from the archives of 1991.  As a 12 year old I was more and more influenced by the cartoons I watched with things like Rube Goldberg Machines (little lone the unassociated drawing of the Brave Little Toaster here). I was increasingly drawing things with much greater detail too and getting better at shading. I remember loving to draw things that didn’t exist and bring them to life on paper.

Throwback Thursday #6 – Husky on “Face Rock”,

Husky on “Face Rock”, pencil, 1990

 

When I was 11 (in 1990), the Siberian Husky was my favorite dog. I vaguely remember trying real hard to make this a really good drawing. It would have helped if I had used any kind of reference photo, but at this time in my life I never even thought about it. Drawings like this were always just out of my head. Looking back, I now know a lot of frustration with drawing was me trying to guess or remember how something looked rather than looking for some reference (Hey it was harder back in those days. You couldn’t just search the internet – you had to find your subject in a magazine or go check out a book at the library). I guess its not a bad drawing for just guessing. And don’t ask me what “Face Rock” is, I can’t remember what the inspiration for that was.

Throwback Thursday #5 – Roger Rabbit and Robo Pup

Roger Rabbit and Robo Pup, pencil, 1989

This drawing comes from 1989 when I was 10 years old. I was beginning to get a reputation among the kids at school as a “good drawer”. You can see too that my skills at copying other cartoons were coming along pretty good. Roger is just enough off-character to prove I wasn’t tracing. As a side note, for a kid who adored all things animated, Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a dream come true as it featured hundreds of my favorite ‘toons from both the WB universe and the Disney universe all in one film; add to that – cartoons interacting with live action people!

The robo-pup was something out of my own head (it is possible I got the idea from the robot dog “Blitz” from the animated COPS show).

 

 

Throwback Thursday #4 – Big Computer Office Motorhome

Big Computer Office Motorhome, pencil, 1988

 

In 1988 I was 9 years old. I drew countless “dream vehicles” that ranged from war machines to motorhomes and “computer vans”. To this day I can’t figure out what caused my brother and me to be mildly obsessed with offices and offices equipment. Personal computers were pretty new at the time and on the rise in popularity; I remember them seeming so cool and futuristic. I guess to have your office and computer all in a vehicle where you could take it anywhere seemed really cool. I wonder what my little 9 year old brain would have thought of smart phones….