Doug Visits Keele, England To Trace Sneyd Ancestry

In the early 1990's Doug's oldest daughter and her husband lived in Wokingham, a market town and civil parish in Berkshire in South East England (about 33 miles west of central London). During a visit there in 1991, Doug and his late wife Shirley decided to spend a few days "searching one's roots" - as the family are direct descendants of the Sneyds of Keele, a village and civil parish in northern Staffordshire, England.  

Besides touring Keele Hall, a mansion built in the 1850's by Ralph Sneyd and now the heart of Keele University, it was interesting to explore hotels and pubs bearing the name Sneyd.

The Sneyd coat of arms, consisting of a sickle and a fleur de lis, was displayed in a number of buildings in Keele.

This plaque with the Sneyd crest - a memento of his visit to Keele, England - hangs over the fireplace in Doug's living room.

FYI:  Doug wrote about his ancestry in Chapter 9 (p. 170), "Some Other Time, Some Other Place" - The Art of Doug Sneyd, published by Dark Horse Books in 2011.

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

Politics/Politicians: Single-Panel News Cartoons

Many politicians - whether currently serving in office or seeking election Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - will be marching in parades this weekend as cities, large and small, celebrate Memorial Day.

I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of Doug's single-panel news cartoons (1972-1974) focusing on politics and politicians.

For nearly 20 years, starting in the mid-1960s, Doug's news cartoons, distributed by the Toronto Star Syndicate, appeared in newspapers across North America.

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

Framed Playboy Gag Rough Reject

Since Doug's first cartoon was published in Playboy (September 1964), he's submitted thousands of cartoon gag roughs.  Of course, not all can be selected for final art and ultimate publication in the magazine.

Here's one of his unpublished favorites, which he had framed; it hangs in his foyer gallery of original art.

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

Playboy Gag Rough Rejects

In the years since Doug's first full-page color cartoon was published in Playboy - September 1964, he's submitted thousands of cartoon gag roughs.  Of course, not all can be selected for final art and ultimate publication in the magazine.

Enjoy these unpublished favorites!

To see more Playboy gag rough rejects, visit the Doug Sneyd Premium Gallery at:

www.comicartfans.com

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

10 x 14 Watercolor Original

Doug's loose-style 10 x 14 original is rendered on Arches of France cold press 140 lb watercolor paper using aniline dyes.

To see more of his watercolor originals, visit the Doug Sneyd Premium Gallery at:

www.comicartfans.com

Please note: This is a photo of the watercolor original.

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

May 1967 Playboy Cover

NASCAR is one of the most viewed professional sports in the U.S. - football, of course, is first, but Formula One racing also has a strong following in the U.S. so I thought it was interesting to see it featured on the cover of the May 1967 issue as The Ultimate Sport.

(The 2015 Grand Prix season started March 15 in Melbourne; upcoming dates are Sunday, May 24 in Monte Carlo and Sunday, June 7 in Montreal.)

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

July 1989, p. 129 Playboy Cartoon Preliminary Pencil and Color Roughs

We thought you might be interested to see Doug's preliminary pencils, done on heavy tracing vellum, and the color rough for the July 1989 Playboy cartoon, published on p. 129.  All of Doug's work is done by hand.

Caption:  "I don't think of it as raising hemlines - I think of it as raising consciousnesses."

Artwork size for this pencil rough is 6 3/4 x 8 3/4.

Artwork size for the final pencil rough is 6 3/8 x 8 3/8.

Doug typically xeroxes the final pencil rough and then applies aniline dyes for the color rough.  Overlays are also typical in Doug's preliminary development work.

You may find it interesting to look for changes between the pencil roughs, color rough and the published cartoon - for example, the man seated on the right, the waiter and the brunette's belt.

To see more of Doug's Playboy cartoons and preliminary pencil and color roughs, visit the Doug Sneyd Premium Gallery at:

www.comicartfans.com

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)