MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

This is a cropped close up of a digital illustration I painstakingly did for Delaware County Magazine, which I was Editor-in-Chief and designer for. Unfortunately, the publisher had to shut the business down in fall of 2024 as printer fees, paper costs, ink, distribution fees, etc, etc, etc all played their part. We kept it running as long as we could, and it was sustainable if it wasn't for the constant price increases our printer kept making us pay (I'm looking at you, Gannett). It was a great job and I had fun as I got to do a lot of different and creative work with minimal oversight!

I drew the initial design on paper based on the cover specs we used. Then scanned it in and painted over it in Photoshop, using my tight pencil sketch as a guide. I used the computer mouse to paint with and a set of brushes I had created at the time. Probably could have been much easier if I used a drawing tablet with pen sensitivity (didn't have one at the time) but it came out pretty great in the end! I did a lot more to the illustration than I needed to and used a lot of layers to keep it easy to change (or swap out) some aspect of it. I have 2/3rds of Santa's body done but only used the top half. In the end, I used it twice on two covers we published. First time was in 2019, and then tweaked it to look different in 2023.

This was all done in a pre-AI world. I still have the pencil drawing and still use my Photoshop brushes I created on various work like Scooby and the like.

This particular size and crop was for a holiday card version I created for the magazine to send out to our advertisers. I also created a computer wallpaper and email "thank you" pics.

Hope you like! 

 

Happy 100th Birthday, Winnie The Pooh!

On this Christmas Eve, exactly 100 years ago, Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name (he was originally called Edward Bear) in a children's story by A. A. Milne that was commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve! The story was later included in the first Winnie-the-Pooh book that was published in 1926! 

While my art I'm posting is of the Disney version (which most people generally think of), I'm happy to have worked professionally on such an iconic character who is celebrating a 100th Birthday all next year! 

Long live Winnie and his friends who inhabit the Hundred Acre Wood! 

PHINEAS & FERB Classic Comics Collection Vol. 5 Out Today!

As this is the day of release for Volume 5, I thought I'd post this as the Papercutz site uses my story art in the preview!

Posted above is the original sketch of a panel and below is the final, revised, original rough art of the full page. You can see the final color version on the Papercutz site! The panel above shows Doof holding up a Perry the Playtpus mock-up which he called a "practipus." It's a log of wood (painted to look like Perry) with a fedora hat, a paper birthday party hat as a beak, tennis balls for eyes, tree twigs for arms, rubber gloves for feet, and a tennis racket (his tail) which is tied to the log. He uses it to taunt and train the Goozim to attack Agent P.

As you can also see at the top, the original title for the story was "Invitation Monster" which got turned into the more exciting "Night of the Goozim!" Things would get changed over the time you did them and you would see the final titles on the work contracts as the job numbers and titles had to match up.

No AI. It was all drawn by hand on paper with care. I feel stupid having to type that, but this is where we are sadly. The original art for this was sold. Another reason to draw on paper!

As with most Disney work, you would get the script and draw it, then submit it, then get any notes or changes to do. If you were lucky, most notes were about fixing small things like noses or hands. You submitted the revised page back to Disney for a final check. Once it was approved you moved onto the next step, which in this case, was the inking stage. Yes, I know my art looks inked. It was, but it was a rough ink job to lock in every aspect as this was Disney. I worked tight when I worked on licensed stuff. If I inked my own work I would normally tweak some minor things as I inked. Not always, but you could catch something that the powers-that-be might have missed. The approval times were quick then (which made it fun) and a fast turnaround to get paid (even better)! Not so much in today's world.

 

Ending the year with TWO new PHINEAS & FERB releases!

As 2025 comes to a close, I have not one but TWO Phineas & Ferb releases I'm part of coming out on Dec 23 and Dec 30! Wow!

DECEMBER 23, 2025

Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection Vol. 5 is out today!

Published by Papercutz 
Distributed by Simon & Shuster

Phineas and Ferb: Classic Comics Collection, Volume 5 collects more of their comic adventures in their original release order — many never collected in a trade paperback before! I did a lot of P&F work and I’m listed as an artist inside, but I can’t tell you what I did inside specifically till I see one. The preview on the Papercutz website has some pages of my art!

Description
School is out for summer, and stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb are determined to make each day an exciting adventure through their outlandish inventions. Their elaborate projects frequently cause trouble for their older sister, Candace, who is constantly trying to catch them in the act and show their mother the evidence of their antics. Despite her efforts, the boys always manage to evade getting caught. Meanwhile, the family’s pet platypus, Perry, leads a secret double life as Agent P, a skilled operative who regularly battles the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is intent on taking over the Tri-State Area, but Perry’s quick thinking and bravery consistently thwart his plans.

Papercutz: 

https://papercutz.com/product/phineas-and-ferb-classic-comics-collection-vol-5

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Phineas-Ferb-Classic-Comics-Collection/dp/1545820872

Barnes & Noble: 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phineas-and-ferb-classic-comics-collection-vol-5-scott-peterson/1146993046?ean=9781545820872

DECEMBER 30, 2025  

Phineas and Ferb's A-MAZE-ing Creature Double Feature is (finally!) out today!

Published by Papercutz 
Distributed by Simon & Shuster

I did the cover art for this long-awaited release!

Description 
In this outrageous and original double-feature graphic novel, Phineas and Ferb face an oversized maze full of oversized insects and oversized challenges, forcing them to invent their way home! The second story features an alternate reality adventure with Dr Doofenshmirtz as a horror movie TV host teaming up with Phineas and the gang to face real monsters, including a giant feral Perry!
    In the first half of this outrageous and original double feature, Phineas and the gang invent a maze to get lost in, but Doofenshmirtz’s ELONG-inator makes it so big that it absorbs all of Danville; and now everyone ELSE is lost too! Our heroes must invent their way out while Agent P stops Doof from exploiting the maze to take over the entire Tri-State area!
    The second story features an alternate reality take on our fan-favorite characters, with Dr. Doofenshmirtz as a cheesy, late night TV horror movie host. When Phineas and Ferb discover actual monsters in Danville, they seek out Doof’s help, even as Candace, a staunch non-believer, vows to reveal them as frauds. With the help of Doof and his horror movie knowledge, the kids build wild inventions to confront the creepy creatures, before facing their largest monster yet: a gigantic, feral Perry the Platypus! 

Papercutz:

https://papercutz.com/product/phineas-and-ferbs-a-maze-ing-creature-double-feature/

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Phineas-MAZE-ing-Creature-Double-Feature/dp/154581322

Barnes & Noble: 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phineas-and-ferbs-a-maze-ing-creature-double-feature-the-disney-comics-group/1147396649?ean=9781545813225

PAPERCUTZ is having a BIG SALE this weekend! My PHINEAS & FERB work is 50% OFF!

Papercutz is having a BIG SALE from 12/5 to 12/7! Big discounts on my Phineas & Ferb work (50% OFF!), whether you want Digital, Hardcovers or Paperbacks! I think they have better prices than Amazon right now! 

Link here is to my creator profile page! Looks great! They're missing the Classic Comics Collection Vol 3 and the Classic Comics Collection 3-in-1 books on my profile page, but they're on the site and part of the sitewide sale!

https://papercutz.com/creators/scott-neely/

#papercutz #madcavestudios