WEHT Dave Stevens?

WEHT: "Whatever Happened To Dave Stevens?.."

That's a title for a Discussion Thread, that I've seen on a number of different Internet messageboards, over the past couple of years.. Frustrated 'comic art' fans & enthusiasts, wondering aloud where Dave Stevens has been? And what has he been up to?!
In hindsight, it turns out.. Dave spent most of his time, simply attempting to restore & retain his health, as best he could..
I was aware that he'd not been feeling well, of late.. But was surprised to hear of his personal battle with Leukemia. Sadly, it was a war that he lost, sometime on Monday, March 10...

Like most other fans, I first got to know Stevens' artwork, in the early 1980's.. In the wake of the rousing success of his 'The Rocketeer' comic-books. Even now, I still marvel at the excellent draughtsmanship & lush, slicker-than-slick inking! Amongst many favorites, Dave quickly became "the favorite comic artist.."
In 1985, while attending a comic-shop signing.. I even convinced another favorite: Mike Kaluta.. to draw me a sketch of Dave's famous creation, for me.. A chore he relished, he told me. As it was his favorite current comic character, as well..
If you're like me.. Once you've familiarized yourself with Dave's art.. Then you can't begin to imagine a reason why anyone would draw things, in any other style.. The slickness of his linework, initially sucks you in. Yet it's always solidly-drawn.. And radiates a slightly cartoony vibe, as well.
That "animated" quality, found in the movement in the Posing & Staging, may be due to Dave's pre-comic career, as an Animation storyboard/layout person. He worked for a number of years at Hanna-Barbera, before launching 'The Rocketeer'..
I think this 'Catwoman' illo for DC's Who's Who series, was one of his very best:

In 1988, I wrote Dave Stevens a gushy Fan Letter.. Along with a few of my Art Samples, for him to look at.. To my surprise, Dave took the time to send me back a lovely handwritten letter.. Turns out, he was looking for "extra hands" to help him pencil the 3rd installment of 'The Rocketeer'.. And was wondering if I'd like to take a crack at a page?!
Well, you could've knocked me over with a feather, at that prospect!..
Unfortunately, (for a number of reasons) it never came to pass.. Dave may have gotten cold feet on handing this kind of opportunity to a relative novice?.. Eventually, he gave the work to 2 more experienced hands: Art Adams and Sandy Plunkett..

In 1999, I attended my 1st-ever San Diego Comic-Con. I travelled there, with my buddy: Tom Ranheim.. A Norwegian fellow, who still runs the 'The Authorized Dave Stevens Website'. We both made a quick beeline for Dave's table. And he was very generous with both of us, despite our completely nerded-out behaviour..
When we both attended Comic-Con again, in 2001.. Dave allowed us to visit his studio in L.A., afterwards.. A cherished memory, to be sure!! Here's a photo of 'Yours Truly', nervously cradling one of the many pieces of 'Original Art' that Dave had lying around his studio space. You can see that I'm leaning back a bit, so as not to dribble any of my drool, on the Bristol Boards! ha ha
During that period, Dave had been busy working on an ambitious Illustrated Novel, featuring his latest creation: "Mimi Rodin"; a female heroine, designed after the likeness of fitness model: Marla Duncan.. The page on top, shows 'Mimi' in profile.. Underneath that, you can barely make out a half-finished watercolor illo, featuring 'Mimi' in the underground Catacombs of turn-of-the-century France..
Dave also gave us a quick tour of the Art College he was attending.. I forget the name of it now, unfortunately.. But Dave was quite enthusiastic about the place. He was studying 'Oil Painting', there. And occasionally, he would e-mail me JPEGs of his efforts, to show his progress.. Most of them, featured straight-ahead Portraiture.. Like this example:

In 2003, I managed to self-publish my own sketchbook: "WANG-DANG-DOODLE!".. (the namesake of this Blog!) The format for which, was largely based on the kind of sketchbooks that Dave had been publishing/selling, during this same period..
Thru e-mail, I tentatively inquired if Dave would perhaps allow me to try selling my book, from his own Comic-Con booth?
Though I had the money to make the trip down to San Diego. I really didn't have enough extra $ for my own table.. Dave graciously allowed me to sit with him. And the experience of sharing time with him during the 2003 show, was another truly amazing experience!

The last e-mail I received from Dave, was dated from March 23, 2007.. Almost a year ago.
He asked me how things were going.. And I wrote him back, to keep him appraised re: how my Life was going.. I wrote him back a couple of times, after that. But didn't get a response to either message..
Not unusual for Dave.. But given the circumstances now, I wish that I'd tried a bit harder to get in contact with him..

Dave had told me then, that he'd been hard at work, putting the finishing touches on his upcoming bigass hardcover/coffee table 'Art Of Dave Stevens' book. It was to be published in 2007, thru Arnie Fenner; the genius behind the recent Frank Frazetta art volumes..
Dave e-mailed me the following JPEG, to show some of the recent coloring work he'd done..
It's excruciating to me now, to imagine that Dave will be gone forever.. And that we'll see no more "new" artwork, for our eyeballs to lavish over.. But I'm hopeful that the book he'd been so diligently working on, will still someday (somehow) see the Light Of Day?.. It'd truly be a shame, if it didn't..
Last I'd heard,-- the title had been changed to: 'Dave Stevens: A Creative Life'.. An appropriate title, for a guy that's done everything from 'The Rocketeer'.. to storyboarding Spielberg's 'RAIDERS Of The LOST ARK'.. to working with Michael Jackson on his 'THRILLER' video?!.. I can't imagine a more diverse Resumé, to be honest..
The book was set to be released at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con.. Let's keep our collective fingers crossed & hope that this happens.. I think it'd be a great legacy for him to leave behind, for all of us..

It was an honor to consider you a Friend.. Rest In Peace, Dave!!

Modern Masters 15: Mark Schultz

Hiya Folks!

Another LONG hiatus from the ole Bloggy-wog.. Apologies, once more.
If you've been following Suzanne's blog,-- then you have probably already surmised the reasons for not posting so much.. One big (tiring!) word: "Renovation".
I did manage to find some time to purchase this week's 'JUSTICE LEAGUE: The New Frontier' 2-disc DVD release.. Watched it, and enjoyed listening to Darwyn Cooke's commentary on how he felt the whole "adaptation" thing went over, too.. Suzanne suggested I should definitely "do a Blog post" on it.. But I'm really not sure what to say about it yet. So I thought I'd go in another direction..
Actually, a LOT of great books have been coming out, lately.. Including last week's beautiful 'Alex Raymond' hardcover.. But I wanted to highlight the most recent Volume (15) in TwoMorrow's MODERN MASTERS series of trade paperbacks, featuring: Mark Schultz. I'm not a huge fan of the way this series chooses to showcase artwork. But the interviews, are generally very well done. And this one, is no exception..
Back in early Nineties, I was out of the Animation business for a brief spell.. Having totally burnt-out on doing their Layout work.. I chose to go on a self-imposed hiatus from Nelvana, where I'd been working.
I can't remember what I was doing instead, now.. Probably a bit of comic-book retail work at either 'Dragon Lady' or 'The Beguiling'..
But when I heard thru the Grapevine that Mark Schultz' 'XENOZOIC TALES' comic-book had been optioned as an Action/Adventure cartoon thru Nelvana.. I got my Portfolio back together & made a trip down to the studio, to see if I could possibly get some work as a Designer on it..
Luckily, Ted Bastien thought I'd work out okay.. And for my first-ever "Design", Ted assigned me the (daunting!) task of drawing up an Establishing Shot, featuring the cartoon's Main Location: "The City In The Sea".. A kind of crumbling cityscape that'd been retro-fitted with hydraulic tubing/cables & stone bridges.. Slightly over-run with fast-growing vines/prehistoric plants.. And with Pterodactyls, nesting in the upper echelons, etc.
Not having ever "designed" anything for Animation before.. I simply followed the models/templates, already established in Schultz' comic-book.. There were literally TONs of Location Designs that needed to be completed. Here's another example, of a Reverse View:

It was a pleasant surprise to see that Mark Schultz was quite involved firsthand, with the cartoon's production.. He had partnered up with 'Galaxy Films', to ensure that as much of his comic-book's appeal, would translate into the cartoon episodes.. Understandably, he had final-say on all 'Character Design' details.. And would occasionally send along Notes, that he felt would be helpful or interesting to us..
Here's a series of Sketches he fax'd us, featuring a character named: "Lashard".. I think we'd originally Designed him with some kind of metal skull-plate, 'cuz he'd had some kind of horrible disfiguring accident? And Mark Schultz wanted something a little more natural & subtle-looking, that still retained his hawk-ish appearance..
Here's another unpublished Pic he faxed us, that doesn't appear in the MODERN MASTERS book.. I guess he imagined ALL Canucks were Hockey-obsessed? I'm a Baseball man, myself!
Schultz actually came thru the Design studio, about mid-production.. I can't recall the exact date. But I remember that he brought writer Marv Wolfman, with him. As Wolfman was responsible for some of the Episode scripts, I think..
The brief meeting we had with him, was pretty anti-climactic.. He was congenial & polite. But the Nelvana producers couldn't wisk him thru our workspace, quickly enough.. Heaven forbid, an Artist should take time to talk to other Artists?!!
They were probably fearful that we'd soon get around to complaining about Budgets & Schedules, like we always do?.. hah

Ted Bastien knew that I was a big fan of Mark's work. And he used to tease me incessantly about how "my Hero was coming!".. Oh, brother! After he finally showed up,-- I found this devastating cartoon hanging over my Drawing Table:
Ted was good about trying to feature all of the members of our Design crew, into some of the episodes themselves.. I think Ted drew himself, as a Truck Driver. I remember that Kurt Lehner was a kid hanging off the back of an old Fire Engine. And for whatever reason,-- Ted thought that I'd make a perfect generic "MoleMan".. Featured in an episode where a Mining crew had to excavate below the foundation of "The City In The Sea"..

As you can see,-- Ted's got me in what he called my Rich Dannys "uniform".. Baseball turf shoes & my traditional "soup hat" with the letter 'R' on it! haha The other big bruiser almost looks like it was supposed to be fellow Designer: Leif Norheim.. But I don't think so.

The "Cadillacs & Dinosaurs" cartoon, was a memorable Job for me.. A fun project. And essentially, Nelvana's first real attempt at a genuine Action/Adventure cartoon. I think it worked out well, for a variety of reasons.. Not the least of which, was working with a realistic Budget & Schedule..
A year later, most of us began working on Nelvana's "Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S." series.. Cranking out an equal number of episodes. But, on half of the same production schedule. I think it fared badly, as a result.. Oh, well.

That's all for now.. See ya!

Sorceror Supreme!

'By the Hoary Hosts Of Hoggoth',-- it's been a LONG time between Blog Postings hasn't it?! Yipes!
Well, as it turns out.. My Freelance work for the '2 Presidents' animation studio has now ended.. So I've found some time to clean up my workspace floor.. Trying to decide what project I should start on, first?..
I sorted thru a number of half-finished pieces of artwork. And stuff, that I'd intended to revisit & spruce up.. Hoping to (maybe) make them into something workable, re: a future Sketchbook, or whatever.

I decided that this 'DOCTOR STRANGE' commission from 2004 would be a safe bet..

This was a slightly-rushed Job, that I did for an "Alex T" from Thornhill, Ontario..
And I never really liked how I'd handled either the Face or Legs. So I cleaned up some of the Linework, and made the necessary adjustments.. Then, zapped the whole dingus with an appropriate color scheme!
I've always liked this Marvel character. Beginning with the most-excellent original stories done by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko. And later, thru the Paul Smith's knockout run on the book.. This one here though, was probably MORE inspired by the beautiful Kevin Nowlan covers, of the recent past..

Anyways,-- with work done now.. I'm hoping to be more of a "regular" Blogger, for the foreseeable future. So don't be a Stranger & drop by, for more soon!
See ya..

Of Christmases Past..

Has it really been more than a month between Blog posts?! For SHAME!!!

Sorry, Folks.. but as mentioned in the prior posts, I've been insanely busy with freelance work lately. And on top of that, me & Suzanne have been bogged down with the details of purchasing our very own home.. So there's been literally waves of bureaucratic/legal paperwork for me (us) to wade thru.. Posing another significant distraction, from regular bloggin'-time!

Normally at this time of year (like most everyone else?),.. I'm caught up in the hectic buzz of the 'Holiday Season' hullaballoo.. Shopping for small gifts, finding a nice Christmas Tree, etc.. But also working hard on finishing the artwork for yet-another Dannys family Christmas Card.. An annual tradition, that I began back in 1989..
They've proven to be very popular with friends & family, over the years.. But I've been forced to concede that I simply won't have the time, to complete one this year.. Of course I'm bummed about it, as it'll be the first time I've missed a year.
With luck, I'll find a way to squeeze in work on another new Card, before the 2008 deadline looms up & bites me on the bum.. But in the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of my "older" examples..
Some of the talented artists in my "Friends" links will recognize these. But hopefully, will appear "new" to the rest of you..

This "Sinterklaas" one, is from 2003.. I was going for a kind of Ferdinand Horvath treatment, I think? The white steed looks a bit bland.. But I was quite happy with the way that 'Sinterklaas' and 'Zwarte Piet' turned out! I'm 1st-gen Canadian, myself. But I come from a double-Dutch genetic background.. Both of my parents emigrating to Canada from Holland, in the early 1950's.. So, I think they got a kick out of this one. Even though Dutch folks really celebrate their Christmas on December 5th, rather than the 25th..

'Sinterklaas' ended up looking a little bit shady & unorthodox, which is what I wanted.. A man that enjoys a good cigar, and possibly the occasional alcholic beverage, as well? heh His costume details worked out, too.. A mix, from a number of referenced examples..
'Black Peter' should probably look a bit more serious, too. I think he was supposed to cart away naughty children in bags, in the original Dutch legend.. But he looked so hysterical in those ballooned Spanish pants I gave him.. That I couldn't resist making him much more cherubic & ebullient! haha He seems so elated, to help out ole St. Nick!
The Jolly Elf at the pipe organ here, is my Card from 2004.. And, another favorite of mine! I guess because I used a very traditional 'Santa Claus' design.. the drawing came together very quickly & easily.. I was lucky enough to get some nice animated movement within the main Pose.. I wanted him to look like he could teeter over completely, at any given moment?.. Having half his Right Ass Cheek hangin' off the edge of that tiny wheeled stool, certainly helped in that regard! hehe

The musical Elves in the background, were a last-minute addition, to help balance-out the composition, a bit better.. Their contrasting poses seemed a good fit, with each other. It's a shame that the L'il Reindeer's silhouette gets a bit buried in the color scheme I used for the pipe organ, though.. When it came time to design the organ pedals, I went for a gas/brake scheme.. hah!
Was I subconsciously going for a 'Rankin-Bass' or 'PuppetToons' vibe, with this one? Not sure, myself..

Okay, this 'Three Minstrels' example, was from 2005.. And is very obviously the result of poring over far too many of the 40's-era Frazetta "Funny Animal"comic-books I've been consistently purchasing on eBay!
My versions tend to look a little less spontaneous than Frank's.. But I hope they haven't come off as completely stiff or dull, either? I was pretty happy with the poses & composition, actually. And I'm fine with the cottage and BG details, too.. But for whatever reason, I had a helluva time pushing the Printer to recreate the colors found in my original Digital File.. An ongoing frustration that I've had with all of the Cards I've done over the years.. But particularly so, with this one!

Anyways, that's all for now, Folks.. I'll be trying my darndest to not let another complete month roll by, before I get another "new" Post, up again.. 'Til then, keep yer fingers crossed & say a l'il prayer for me! 'Til then, see yuz..

Trips To The Fairground!

I recently finished a few more BG Layouts for the "Will & Dewitt" cartoon series, that I'm currently working on.. An episode that featured Will's Family attending their local Fair.. So, I needed to draw stuff like: Rides, Games, and Food Vendors, etc.. It seems every series I've ever worked on, has had at least ONE episode staged at a Fairground. And it got me to thinking about my own experiences at those magical places..

I dug thru the Lower Strata of my artwork archives, and uncovered a few examples of some previous "Fairground" stuff I'd drawn.. These BG Layouts/Location Designs, were completed whilst working over at George Elliott's previous studio: 'PICTOR'.. In 1997, we were contracted to do a lot of freelance Design work on MGM Animation's "All Dogs Go To Heaven" series..
This (above) is an Establishing Shot (Scene 1), from an episode in the 2nd Season.. I managed to work into my design, a tall sightseeing tower.. Which I loosely based on the old 'Bulova Clock Tower' that once existed on Toronto's old 'Canadian National Exhibition' grounds.. Or, more often referred to, as simply: "The CNE" or "The EX".

My girlfriend Suzanne, suggested that adding the "K-97" logo to it.. was a clever wink at the fact that the show was all about Dogs? I had to admit that I'm not smart enough to have made that, such a conscious creative choice! heh
Call it a happy accident, I suppose..
This Layout (above), is from the next shot (Scene 2)..
I think there was a Juggler or Street Performer doing something in the Left Foreground.. so it had to be relatively clear of obstructions.. Crowds needed to wander thru, etc. And yes, "Pasta Lou" was (in fact) spinning his pizza dough, somewhere in the Far Right..
I based the Roller Coaster (somewhat) on memories of the old, wooden "The Flyer" coaster; which also once resided at the CNE, before it (too) was dismantled & sold off somewhere.. I can still remember the familiar clack-clack-clack of the chain catching the coaster cars on each upturn pull..

I had fun adding the roof of a Haunted House into this shot (Scene 21).. The main purpose of which, was mainly to show hordes of people, clamouring down the Midway. I know that the Carousel was supposed to be animated. And possibly, even the Coaster. But for the most part, those poor Korean animators probably had their hands full, just trying to complete all those ferschliggener crowd scenes?! OUCH!!
For some reason, this shot reminds me more of the old 'Markham Fairgrounds', than the CNE.. It was another welcome Summertime diversion, each year! And I still have fond memories of riding their legendary "Zipper" ride; 'til I practically keeled over, from nausea..

This was Scene 64, which featured Itchy & Charlie (the dogs) walking forward (in perspective) at a Worm's Eye View camera angle. If you look hard, you still might see a faint Red Line, where I've indicated my Horizon Line; which is actually BELOW the surface of the cracked pavement? A visual cheat, that I commonly refer to as: "the rolling 'Beetlejuice' horizon".. 'Cuz they used to use that damn technique, ad nauseum!
The Board Panel, originally featured: "Rocketman", as the name of the roller coaster.. Being a big fan of artist: Dave Stevens.. I sneakily changed it to: "Rocketeer", based on his popular comic-book character. And even tried to incorporate some of his design details (helmet fin & eyes), into how the coaster cars might look?
I never saw the final episode on TV.. So, I can't say for sure that any of it slipped past MGM's Legal Department.. But I'd imagine it went thru, unscathed.

That's all for now.. TTY'all Later!

Mushroom Girl WIP

Yeah, I'm still here.. Though I'll forgive those of you, that figured I must've flown the Chicken Coop! WOW,-- I didn't really want to believe that my last Blog Post, was more than a month ago.. But I guess it's True?!
Truth is,-- I've been exceedingly busy with Work, lately.. And that's left me with virtually ZERO time, to update things on here.

I'm still freelancing for the "Two Presidents" animation studio. Working as a BG Layout/Location Design guy, for their "Will & Dewitt" children's cartoon series.. From what I'm told, the show has already aired here in Canada. And if it hasn't already,-- it'll be airing on the WB Network pretty (I'd imagine) soon, in the U.S.A.


So what to Post?
Well, I've got about a half-dozen Pics that're in various stages of completion.. The idea was, that as I got them finished, I'd post them up.. But I just haven't found time, to give them the attention they deserve.. So, I thought I'd just post one of the better ones, as another WIP..
That's fancy Artist Talk for "Work In Progress".. Which really means: "Please excuse this half-assed rough drawing that I didn't honestly have the time or inclination (or bravura) to complete.."

I've been calling this Pic: "Mushroom Girl".. I'm not a Fantasy Art nerd, per se. But I suppose she's a kind of Forest Nymph -type girl. Influenced (obviously) by the kind of work Frazetta does, from time-to-time. Maybe like his "Pillow Book" artwork, if you're familiar with that stuff? Hopefully, there's a bit of a Dave Stevens feel to it, too.. As that too, was my intent..

I tried to clean it up as best I could, using Photoshop.. But it still looks a little rough, in spots. There's a bit of inking done on it. But you can see where I've left myself some Revision notes, too. Overall though, I'm happy with the way it turned out..

Hope to have something more substantial posted again, soon.. Thanks, for all of your kind patronage & patience!

Nelvana monkeyshines..

My entry into the Animation business, began in '89.. I passed a test to become one of the Layout Artists on Nelvana's popular 'BEETLEJUICE' cartoon series. I continued doing Layout on crap like 'BABAR', etc. But Layout, is incredibly intensive work.. And I sooned burned-out on it.

In 1993, I heard that Nelvana might be adapting Mark Schultz' 'XENOZOIC TALES' comic-book into an animated series, entitled: "Cadillacs & Dinosaurs".. And as I'd heard that Design was a much lighter workload than Layout,-- I thought I'd apply for any positions that might still be available..
Long-story-short, I got the job.. And began working with a very small (but very talented) group of artists: Ted Bastien, Leif Norheim, Mike McKay, Kurt Lehner, Koko Maung, and Franc (Francisco) Reyes, among others..
Design, was (is) very different than Layout.. There was a lot more day-to-day kibbitzing & kvetching, than I was used to.. People had the time to throw Gag Drawings around, back-and-forth. And even though I stank at drawing them, myself.. I got quite a few, tossed in my direction. And thankfully, had the foresight to save most of them..

Ted Bastien, was our Design Supervisor.. A very talented artist, that basically showed me what Design was all about. I definitely learned a lot from him. And because our Final Artwork required very-finished linework.. I was also able to teach myself "inking", at the same time!
In hindsight, I suppose I was something of a whiner & complainer. I can get frustrated when a Production isn't running, the way I think it should. And Ted, (of course) picked up on this! Here's a couple of funny drawings that he did of me:

That's Ted, peeking around the corner.. And me, complaining about Ray (Jafelice) who was our Director on "Cads & Dinos".. I was an early fan of Dan Clowes' 'EIGHTBALL' comic-book, too. And I used to bring them into work..
Ted seemed quite taken with the David Greenberger 'Duplex Planet' 1-pagers, that appeared in that comic.. The writing of these strips, were based on the verbatim (and largely incoherent) ramblings of the Retirement Home citizenry; where Mr. Greenberger worked his Day Job.. Hence the obtuse "Run like a Goddamned Deer" comment.. heh

Another guy (who wasn't on our crew) that liked to poke fun at others, was: Dave Thomas.. Later, he turned out to be a quality Storyboard guy on shows like 'DOG CITY', etc. He always had a very dry wit & killer sense of comedic timing..
He seemed to like to draw me with a bullet Head & Body.. I guess the 1st one, was intended to be me as a "Simpsons" character? I dunno.. The color scheme makes me think so, though.

Mike McKay, was another dry wit.. Later, he would go on to be a much-in-demand Effects Designer. Which meant, a lot less Drawing for him to do. Mike is the guy that coined one of my studio nicknames: "Two Dawgs" Dannys.. All because I had the temerity to eat 2 whole hotdogs for Lunch, one afternoon?! Didn't seem like a very Big Deal, to me.. But I guess it was, to him! heh
He also also got a kick outta calling me "Dick", rather than "Rich".. Hence, the following caricature:
Ted Bastien musta liked the sound of that.. 'Cuz while we were working our way thru the "Cads & Dinos" Production schedule, he concurrently worked on his own pet project: a comic-strip, featuring different members of our studio crew.. I think that Mike McKay was a bit put-off to find out that his sole cameo in the strip, involved being portrayed as a derelict vagrant -type, that me & Ted (as the main Detective characters) ran over with our old-school Sedan? haha

The big hulking dude crashing thru the wall of Blayne's (Burnside) Variety store, is none other than Pat Rowsome.. He wasn't on our crew. And I didn't really know him, all that well. But Ted loved drawing him as a raving sociopath. And he was definitely the so-called "Villain", in his storyline..
I can recall watching a Super Bowl game at Pat's house once, with fellow friend: Rob Walton.. I dunno where Pat is, now.. I heard he got married to a girl named Sheryl.. And (I think?) may be now working in Ottawa..
Speaking of Rob Walton.. He did this killer Gag Drawing of Pat & myself, facing off against each other.. Rob liked to call it: "Clash Of The Titans", if memory serves? I found the joke a lot less funny, after Rob explained to me that I WASN'T necessarily being portrayed in Perspective, here!! heh
Even so, I think I could still give "The Pat", a run for his money..

"Clash Of The Titans" was (I believe?) inked by virtuoso artist: Goran Delic.. A Serb import to Toronto, that I didn't really get to work with fully, 'til we both began working in Design, on Jim Lee's 'WildC.A.T.S' cartoon series..
At that time (around '94, I think?), it wasn't uncommon to see me schlepping my way into work (up Atlantic Avenue), most mornings.. Wearing my usual "uniform", ably illustrated by the following Goran ink sketch:

I recall him saying: "Here you are, Reetch.. Now, you are truly a WILDcat!!" heh
Those that know me, realize that the outfit continues to be 'de rigeur'.. I still like my coffee, t-shirts, and jeans.. And though the Doctor's Bag isn't nearly as pristine as it once was.. It continues to carry all of my valued Field Guides, Layout Notes, and reams of Animation Paper.. Cintiq & Sketchbook Pro, be DAMNED!!

A little insight into some of my Nelvana Daze.. Hope you likey?
Talk to y'all laterz!