A few years ago (when Nickelodeon Magazine was still alive and well) my pal and editor Chris Duffy asked me to pitch him some comic strip ideas...
\ I didn't know where to start. Chihuahuas were kind of a big trend at the time, so I started thinking about how to draw Chihuahuas.
I went to the library with my post-it notes and started trying to figure out how to draw a cute little cartoon Chihuahua…
After looking through tons of pictures and doodling my sketch studies, I couldn’t help falling in love with the little critters. They’re so cute with those big round heads and bulbous eyeballs and those teeny little bodies.
Once I felt comfortable with the basic animal anatomy I started to cartoon it up a little bit…
…and then finally I came up with this little guy:
The marking on his forehead was scribbled quickly, and when I gave it another look, it looked like a chili pepper. Then the name popped into my head: “Chili Chihuahua!”
So this is the final result of those cartoon drawing explorations. I was really happy with it! And you know what? I tossed it all in a folder and haven’t done a darned thing with it since.
Oh, and lest I forget: Chili Chihuahua is TM and ©2011 by Sherm Cohen! ---After all, I might want to come back and revisit this little project someday :)
Bruno the Bear by Frank “Fritz” Frazetta from Happy Comics #32 July 1949
