September 25, 2004

This is my drawing table, just a quick chair-roll away from the computer station. Down in the bottom corner of the bookshelf is The Complete Far Side, which was a going-away present from the GroupWise Engineering Team at Novell. Atop the bookshelf is a toy koala my Dad brought back from Australia in the 1950's, which I used as a model for Petey. Also atop the shelf is my oh-so-shiny 2002 Employee of the Year award from Novell.

Below the drawing table you can just make out my colored pencils, which I experiment with from time to time. On the TV-table is a bucket full of Prismacolor markers. They're nice, but I'm replacing them with 144 Copic Markers, which I'll use for coloring commission pieces.

Out the window you can see deck-rail and real sunshine. The sill is at ground level, because the office is in a half-basement (as opposed to my LAST home office, which was in a full basement with no window at all).

All told, it's a wonderful little work space. It's not quite as decorated as my Novell office was, but it's in my house, and it's got room in one corner (not pictured) for my kids to sit and draw along with Daddy.

This full-time cartoonist gig really needs to work out, because it feels like paradise. It's a great place to live -- it would be a shame to only visit.

Next Letter: How you can Help Howard Succeed as a Full-Time Cartoonist!