Cartoon County - The Big Draw

The Big Draw 2004

Many thanks to all those who participated in Cartoon County's fourth Big Draw on October 16th. It was a brilliant day. The massive drawathon was held with the Brighton Illustrators' Group at Alfresco Restaurant beside Brighton's West Pier. More than a hundred people, children and adults, took part in the competition A Pier Disappears, and the place was buzzing with activity, inside and out, for all four hours of the show. A big thank you to all involved - not the least, the sun, which did what it was supposed to do; BBC TV, who turned up and filmed it for the regional news (broadcast the day after), and to our sponsors: L&S Printing who donated the print costs for the poster, Seawhite who donated sketchpads for all the entrants, and Alfresco, who once again donated the venue with great hospitality and generosity.

Cartoonist Ed Hillier

The Big Draw 2002


Cartoonists, artists, friends and family are invited to join in the regional Big Draw organised by the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday 11th October 2003. 11am until 3pm. For more details see http://www.thebigdraw.org.uk/

This was the fourth year of the nationwide Big Draw celebrations, with the simple aim of getting everyone drawing. In 2000 and 2001 Cartoon County brought together cartoonists from Sussex, the Comics Creators Guild and Brighton Illustrators Group to hold a big comics jam at Al Fresco, a seaside restaurant beside Brighton's West Pier. In 2002 the event was held at the University of Brighton Gallery.

Artists have included: Scilla Allen, Miki Breakwell, Des Buckley, Helen Cann, Paul Cemmick, Terry Christian, Strawberrie Donnelly, Diz Dymott, Glenn Fabry, Kim Glass, Bambos Georgiou, Alex Hallatt, Ed Hillyer, Chris John, Jan Kalinski, Darion Leigh, Steve Marchant, Helen Martin, Paul Martin, Jane Massey, John Maybury, Lorna Miller, Sue Oldfield, Kate Osborne, Geo Parkin, James Parsons, Tony Parsons, Peter Pavement, Chris Perry, Woodrow Phoenix, Fred Pipes, Peter Poole, Allan Robinson, Carol Seatory, Martin Shovell, Erica Smith, Mark Stafford, Chris Watson, Win Wiacek and Alan Wickham.

The Big Draw 2001


The 2001 celebration of all things comic and cartoon took place at Alfresco in Brighton on Saturday 20th October. The event was part of the nationwide Big Draw celebrations, with the simple aim of getting everyone drawing. The seaside restaurant – beside Brighton's West Pier - is a great venue. Thanks to the support of FoxKids, there was a plentiful supply of freebies to tempt the kids to use their pencils. BBC and Nickelodeon were also generous in supplying materials for prizes. Quentin Press gave fantastic help in sponsoring the printing of the posters and flyers, designed by Caspar Williams.

It was fantastic to get such support from cartoonists in the Cartoon County network, and from members of both the Comics Creators Guild and Brighton Illustrators Group. A big thank you to...

Scilla Allen, Miki Breakwell, Helen Cann, Paul Cemmick, Terry Christian, Strawberrie Donnelly, Diz Dymott, Glenn Fabry, Kim Glass, Bambos Georgiou, Alex Hallatt, Ed Hillyer, Jan Kalinski, Darion Leigh, Steve Marchant, Paul Martin, Jane Massey, John Maybury, Lorna Miller, Sue Oldfield, Kate Osborne, Geo Parkin, Tony Parsons, Peter Pavement, Chris Perry, Woodrow Phoenix, Fred Pipes, Peter Poole, Allan Robinson, Martin Shovell, Erica Smith, Mark Stafford, Chris Watson, Win Wiacek and Alan Wickham. Plus others who popped in and others whose names have been left out of here by mistake!

Plus Sue Gollifer from the University of Brighton for gamely trying to display the Seeing Drawing DVD in somewhat un-ideal circumstances.

Plus volunteers Chloe and Joss Grassie, Nathan Cowdry and Carrie Dashwood and all those who helped to publicise the event.

The Big Draw 2000


Over 30 cartoonists encouraged visitors of all ages to take part in a one-day comics and cartoons jam as part of The Big Draw, a nationwide celebration of drawing. Cartoon County at Alfresco was held on 21st October 2000 at a popular seafront restaurant beside Brighton's West Pier.

Cartoon County created a family event with an informal and relaxed atmosphere, helped by the café staff and a plentiful supply of comics, stickers, balloons and other freebies contributed by publishers. Steve Marchant, comics workshop supremo, kept the kids busy all day, while adults tested their drawing skills at the “I can't draw therapy centre”, and all enjoyed the spectacle of seeing the pros at work, from local caricaturist Alan Wickham to national political cartoonist Steve Bell and up-and-coming Fantagraphics star Lorna Miller.