April 23, 2017

Paige Braddock is a cartoonist and also works for Snoopy as creative director. She makes the comic Jane’s World, the first gay-themed work to receive online distribution by a national media syndicate (US Daily).

She spoke at The Center for Cartoon Studies about how she got into cartooning. It is a truly amazing story. When she was a kid, one of her little comics was in one of the local newspapers. A well-known, local cartoonist—Dave Graue of the comic strip Alley Oop, got in touch and offered to help her learn how to make comics. They were friends for the rest of his life.

Paige must have the charisma of the cutest puppy because here is another amazing story: how she got her job at Snoopy. She was at a con on a discussion panel, raging about how there aren’t enough women in comics and how they are treated so poorly. Afterwards, Schulz himself walked up to her after the panel and asked if she was looking for a job. He then selected her to manage his studio because he wanted a cartoonist to run it after he was gone. He was specifically not looking for a business person.

For a long time, Paige didn’t discuss her work at Snoopy because she didn’t want it to reflect on her comics and vice versa. But over the last few years, she has become more comfortable with it. In part because she has become more confident in her own work.

She learned an important lesson, once, when working at Snoopy. Schulz famously had nibs he loved that no one makes anymore: Esterbrook’s Radio Pen 914. He gave her a box. She was traveling in Asia and drawing with the nib when it broke. And she realized it wasn’t practical to draw with irreplaceable nibs. She was in a fancy hotel, so the only pen she could get was a crazy handcrafted German pen that she still draws with today. Moral: It is worth it to just spend the monkey and buy a nice pen.

Everyone loves a good pen.

Drawing is encouraged during lectures at cool schools like CCS.

Hedj (′17) and Moss Bastielle (′17) enjoying Paige’s speech.

Small taste of Paige’s art.

Paige’s thumbnails at the opposite size (bodynails?).

Paige with her dino finger puppet friend.

Photos courtesy Abe Olson.