I recently bumped in to a past colleague at a networking event. A talented illustrator who I used to work with at a marketing agency, and is now exploring new ground running cartooning workshops for old and young; with equally popular results. Recent events for school children as well as Mensa have gone down a storm, so here is a quick Q&A with Peter Bellingham, the man behind the pencil.When did you first start drawing?
Comics were my first inspiration. My parents bought me one every week, starting with Whizzer & Chips, then Look-In before I finally became hooked on the Marvel superhero comics. I'm pretty sure The Incredible Hulk was the first thing I ever drew.
When I was ten I drew a picture of my headmaster's favourite singer, Debbie Harry from Blondie; she was my favourite too. He stuck it on his office wall and it was then that I realised I might be quite good at this drawing lark.
When did your talent turn into a career?
When I started secondary school I would draw pictures of popstars for my friends to pin on their walls. At 50p a time, it was the first time I earnt any money from drawing and funded my addiction to Curly Wurlys.
After college, I began working as a designer at a large newspaper group in the North West. When the Editor in Chief said he'd sacked the cartoonist because he was too expensive, I volunteered to fill in and my cartooning alter-ego Scooter McKenzie was born. Ten years later and I was still doing it; I was obviously very cheap.
Why did you start the cartooning workshops?
I was at a craft fair, selling greetings cards. I would draw a cartoon on a card, put a sticker on it saying 'fresh today' and when it sold, I'd start another. Forgive the pun but it drew people to my stall, all of them wanting to chat or ask questions. One person asked if I could teach this skill to children and, not wanting to turn down any sort of work, I said I probably could. The next thing I knew, I had two workshops at Abingdon Museum as part of their Arts Festival. I've also talked to Abingdon Art Society and was the 'entertainment' for a large gathering of members of Mensa.
What's next?
More workshops and seminars. In the coming months I'm teaching people how to draw American cartoon characters at a 4th of July event, I'm demonstrating cartoon skills at the Fun in the Park event in Abingdon on September 13th and giving a workshop for Henley Rowing and River Museum's Family Day in October.
There may also be a book in the pipeline at some point in the future, sharing all my cartooning tips and secrets.
What type of projects do you work on for clients?
Illustration of all kinds, most of it for advertising or marketing use. I draw a lot of personalised company Christmas cards for businesses and I'm mostly hired by marketing or design companies to add illustrations to their printed material or web based projects. I've also just joined the largest cartoon distribution group on the internet and am excited at the prospect of supplying cartoons to publications all over the world.
When I was ten I drew a picture of my headmaster's favourite singer, Debbie Harry from Blondie; she was my favourite too. He stuck it on his office wall and it was then that I realised I might be quite good at this drawing lark.
When did your talent turn into a career?
When I started secondary school I would draw pictures of popstars for my friends to pin on their walls. At 50p a time, it was the first time I earnt any money from drawing and funded my addiction to Curly Wurlys.
After college, I began working as a designer at a large newspaper group in the North West. When the Editor in Chief said he'd sacked the cartoonist because he was too expensive, I volunteered to fill in and my cartooning alter-ego Scooter McKenzie was born. Ten years later and I was still doing it; I was obviously very cheap.
Why did you start the cartooning workshops?
I was at a craft fair, selling greetings cards. I would draw a cartoon on a card, put a sticker on it saying 'fresh today' and when it sold, I'd start another. Forgive the pun but it drew people to my stall, all of them wanting to chat or ask questions. One person asked if I could teach this skill to children and, not wanting to turn down any sort of work, I said I probably could. The next thing I knew, I had two workshops at Abingdon Museum as part of their Arts Festival. I've also talked to Abingdon Art Society and was the 'entertainment' for a large gathering of members of Mensa.
What's next?
More workshops and seminars. In the coming months I'm teaching people how to draw American cartoon characters at a 4th of July event, I'm demonstrating cartoon skills at the Fun in the Park event in Abingdon on September 13th and giving a workshop for Henley Rowing and River Museum's Family Day in October.
There may also be a book in the pipeline at some point in the future, sharing all my cartooning tips and secrets.
What type of projects do you work on for clients?
Illustration of all kinds, most of it for advertising or marketing use. I draw a lot of personalised company Christmas cards for businesses and I'm mostly hired by marketing or design companies to add illustrations to their printed material or web based projects. I've also just joined the largest cartoon distribution group on the internet and am excited at the prospect of supplying cartoons to publications all over the world.
How can we find out more?
You can visit the following websites:
For contact information and an extensive gallery:
http://www.peterbellinghamillustration.co.uk/
For more up to date news and images:
http://www.scootermckenzie.blogspot.com/
To buy merchandise:
http://www.aarght.com/art-gallery/peter-bellingham.aspx
or email me: peterbellingham@postmaster.co.uk
You can visit the following websites:
For contact information and an extensive gallery:
http://www.peterbellinghamillustration.co.uk/
For more up to date news and images:
http://www.scootermckenzie.blogspot.com/
To buy merchandise:
http://www.aarght.com/art-gallery/peter-bellingham.aspx
or email me: peterbellingham@postmaster.co.uk
Posts
