Canadian artist Doug Sneyd was already an established textbook and magazine illustrator (and editorial cartoonist) when he took a business trip to Chicago to drum up business in 1963. He visited the Playboy offices where it was suggested that Sneyd produce one-off gag cartoons for them, rather than the editorial illustrations he was pitching for. Initially, the artist was reluctant, but when he discovered how much Playboy generously paid cartoonists he started a relationship that would span over 45 years.
As well as writing his own gags, Sneyd worked with a team of writers, including Rex May. “Some gags are best drawn by me… others are best drawn by Doug Sneyd or some other fine artist,” explained May in a 1995 Smithsonian interview. May gave the example of a woman turning down a marriage proposal, with a caption stating, “It would never work, Rodney. You’re a Benny Hill person and I’m a Monty Python person.” “If I (drew) that, it would be mildly amusing,” said May, “But Doug drew it elaborately, with a beautiful woman and a beautiful setting, and the absurdity worked so much better.”
Many of Sneyd’s roughs would be sent out to other cartoonists to fully render, influencing a whole generation around him. His cartoons had a strong, clear composition, lovingly rendered in layers of watercolor washes, and delicate transparencies to create depth and luminosity in the work.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Sneyd simultaneously had his own news cartoons—Doug Sneyd and Scoops—syndicated in North American newspapers for nearly 20 years.
Sneyd’s standing in the Canadian pantheon of illustrators is high, and he was a founding member of the Canadian Society of Book Illustrators, as well as belonging to the National Cartoonists’ Society and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. 24 of his full-page color Playboy cartoons are among an impressive collection of 229 of his works stored in the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa.
A preliminary sketch by Sneyd for an unused Playboy gag.
Sneyd’s cartoon roughs have a vibrancy that many cartoonists lack. “Hungry? I also cook in the kitchen.”
All of the gags on these pages were written by Sneyd’s main collaborator, Rex May, as indicated by the initials “RM.” The caption reads “Okay, but nothing kinky.”
“She’s right, Bernie - She IS a licensed freelance artist’s model.”
“Oh, I don’t wear a crown - I’m a porn king.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about that - I’m SURE you’ll respect me in the morning.” Sneyd gathered all his unpublished gag cartoon roughs into a single volume in 2007, called Unpublished.