Playboy Cartoon: Preliminary Pencil Sequence - June 2003

caption: "But enough about me.  Let me tell you about the fishing in these parts." 

Doug's full-page color cartoon - rendered on Arches of France cold press art board using Dr. Ph. Martin's aniline dyes - was published on p. 85 in the June 2003 issue.

After Playboy notified Doug of an upcoming cartoon meeting to submit gag lines, he contacted his writers with requested topics and a due deadline.  (Some would sent him 5-10 gag lines; others wrote dozens.)  He'd read them over and select those that he thought would be visually interesting and entertaining.

It was then time to go to the drawing board and start with quick, loose sketches (generally in pencil on 8 1/2 x 11 copy paper) to block out the characters and set the scene.  When these were all finished, he'd go back, using a black Sharpie permanent marker, and add the caption, more details, his signature, generally in a lower corner, and the writer's initials under it.

(This identification was important:  since Playboy paid the gag writers directly, it allowed the magazine to match the initials with mailing addresses and issue the checks to the right people.)

Finally, Doug sent off the hand-drawn gag roughs to The Mansion for Hef's review and selection.

the approved - "OK color page H" in red pencil - loose-style gag rough (gag line written by Chris Kemp) for Doug's full-page color cartoon published in the June 2003 issue on p. 85.

After the meeting,  Playboy returned all of Doug's submitted gag rough originals; those that Hef approved for final art were used for reference and Doug started to work on preliminary development pencils.

first pencil prelim on heavy tracing vellum - image area:  8 x 10

later pencil rough with more details for the girls and fishing lodge as well as addition of Sneyd signature - image area:  8 x 9 3/4 on heavy tracing vellum

final pencil rough - notice changes, including placement of the Sneyd signature, omission of the moose head on the lodge, and girls' clothing/hat; image area:  7 1/4 x 9 on heavy tracing vellum

memo from the Cartoon Dept. at the Playboy office in Manhattan, which Playboy Enterprises later closed in 2009

To see available Playboy cartoon originals, preliminary pencil/color roughs and loose-style gag rough originals from Secret Sneyd:  The Unpublished Cartoons of Doug Sneyd, visit the Doug Sneyd Premium Gallery at:

www.comicartfans.com

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)