2103.17 THREE YEARS AS A TOON

It's been three years since I first did my TBG toon in the format it's in now. So what was my journey to this moment?

I've been drawing comic strips for as long as I remember. I started by copying my favourite characters, starting out with Popeye then moving on to characters from the Beano and Dandy. I then created characters of my own. Sadly none of the old stuff survives except for a letter I had published in the Dandy back in 1981, something I've shared before on social media.

Many ask why I never persued a career in art. Well it all started at school. I'll never forgive my art teacher, she was obsessed with a Spanish exchange pupil who was if I'm honest was brilliant. She never tried to encourage me or anyone else in the class, it was always about him. That was the point I turned my back on art and apart from the odd doodle I stayed away for many years. I started again when I breifly worked in advertising in my 20s. I first started drawing myself for this blog back in October 2007.

The first ever drawing of me as a cartoon

Ten years later I published my first strip on this blog. It was rubbish but I had to start somewhere.

I think I started to find my feet and my style when I started publishing my semi-autobiographical strip to Instagram. I also publish to Tapas and Webtoon along with the usual socials.

And the rest as they say, is history...