Sketchbooks

Selections of early rough drafts, sketches, and doodles direct from Gary's sketchbooks


In an effort to get his creative juices flowing, Gary amassed an impressive collection of sketchbooks (a.k.a. his Dead Cow Scrolls) by playing with ideas or simply doodling away. Looking through them, you can't help but sense their personal, journal-like nature, their pages staggered with rough drawings, random thoughts, and things that may be best described as "other." Some of the sketches gave rise to great cartoons, some to great confusion. But they all telegraph the wonderful and weird mind that gave us The Far Side®.

Sketchbook 1 Sketchbook 1


Sketchbook 2 Sketchbook 2


Sketchbook 3 Sketchbook 3


Sketchbook 4 Sketchbook 4



About

A Letter From Gary Larson A Letter From Gary Larson

Hard to believe.

It’s been close to 25 years since I decided to retire my trusty Rapidograph X500, with added Comfort Grip, Turbo Flow, and Steadycow. (I especially loved that last...

Gary Larson: Once a Cartoonist, Forever a Wingless Insect Gary Larson: Once a Cartoonist, Forever a Wingless Insect

Gary Larson was born August 14, 1950, in Tacoma, Washington. Always drawn to nature, he and his older brother spent much of their youth exploring the woods and swamps of the...