About Chad
In childhood, Chad would often incorporate himself into his drawings – an astronaut, a castaway or a (12 year old) Ferrari driving, special agent. Fast forward decades later, when he created a comic strip, he was again the central character.
“A very long time ago, freelancing and working fulltime, I figured a good way to get more exposure was to submit a comic strip to U of C’s newspaper. The Gauntlet, which had a comics section at the time, was distributed practically everywhere.”
The Thinking Man’s Idiocies would become a regular installment in the University of Calgary’s, The Gauntlet for 5 years.
“I wasn’t a student, but I was on campus every week. The staff during that time was really great and even let me help out from time to time. Eventually I was asked to do drawings for the Frosh Week supplement lead to a Frosh Week t-shirt as well.”
Previously, there had only been two other Thinking Man’s Idiocies t-shirt designs.
Chad’s Universe
Shortly after that time at the U of C, artwork traded for a domain name and website hosting, led to the creation of chadsuniverse.com.
“I did artwork for a print shop and was paid in business cards, with ‘Chad’s Universe’ on them, so I applied the name to the website. I actually didn’t even have a computer of my own at the time. Also the internet was still relatively new and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a potential global audience.”
2 years later and a computer of his own, chadsuniverse.com was up and running. The website became the permanent home for The Thinking Man’s Idiocies comic strip …and various samples of art projects, illustrations and even The Red Binder Collection.
Red Binder Collection
“In 1988 I purchased a regular, red, soft binder to draw and journal in.”
Many pages have circulated through that red binder. Everything from silly doodles to finished illustrations. All of which began to accumulate into an immense collection of work.
“I’ve managed to keep drawings from since I was a toddler. But with The Red Binder Collection, it’s a great example in progression of a skill. Or maybe it’s ridiculous keeping every page with every little doodle, rough sketch and drawing. Without meaning to, it’s become a thing, a huge thing …a body of work.
Drawing Table
The drawing table that appears in The Thinking Man’s Idiocies is the same in real life, that Chad still uses today.
“I’ve had that table for so long! It was gifted to me by an art mentor when I was in my early teens. It’s still in good shape and I’ve managed to keep it with me move after move, after move.”
Over decades, many companions have used the drawing table to ‘supervise’ Chad, while he worked on various illustrations and projects.
