Research and Development

A lot of people don't realize how much research goes into each and every Land of Le Beef cartoon that I create, so I thought I would share a little bit of 'behind the scenes'.

For example, this cartoon features a flamenco dancer and a flamingo. In planning for this one, I took flamenco dancing lessons for 3 months, learning the moves and the subtleties behind it. My instructor, Alejandro, was very instrumental in this part of the panel. As further research, I also went undercover and joined a large flamingo colony for a substantial period of time (see below).

image courtesy of Wikipedia

As you can imagine, it was a very unusual yet enriching period of my life. For hours at a time I would stand on one leg while pecking at the sweet sweet algae and aquatic plants beneath the water's surface with my giant beak. I even married a female member of the colony, and we had a few eggs together. It was a quiet, meditative life. Over time I thought that perhaps I would leave the human world for good and live out the rest of my days with my new bird family, until one fateful day when it was time to migrate. Slowly, one by one, they all started flying away. My flamingo wife, my flamingo kids, even my flamingo tax accountant; gone. Eventually I was left standing alone on one leg, watching my whole flamingo world disappear in a cloud a pink. I wept a single tear.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that a lot goes into these cartoons.

A Very Beefy Valentines Day

Love is a funny thing. One moment you might be standing there minding your own business, when all of a sudden you are viciously attacked by a warm and passionate feelings. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Anywho, I would like to dedicate this cartoon to my lovely wife.

Attack of the ninja hearts.

woodland murals

if you like beavers and giraffes, and happy smiley vegetables, then this blog post is going to make you happy...

the Land of Le Beef was recently commissioned by Woodland (Hong Kong's top preschool, with 10 great locations throughout the city) to create not one, but two murals at their Waterfall school in Pokfulam.

this of course was a big beefy project (these would be my largest illustrations to date*). i knew that the murals would not only need be super awesome and fun to look at, but also needed to be educational, and inspire the children to do great things with their lives.

i sat down at my desk, pencil in hand, and started drafting what would become the greatest thing since the Sistine Chapel. below are the results.

fruits and vegetables - rough sketch and coloured draft

hippo, mouse, giraffe, beaver - rough sketch and coloured draft

fruits and vegetables - in progress, and finished piece

hippo, mouse, giraffe, beaver - finished piece

*shortly after completing these murals, Woodland invited me back to create an even BIGGER mural at their newest, most awesome location on Caine Road. blog post to come soon...........