I’m honoured to have some artwork included in the 2026 SQUIGL calendar! But the artwork isn’t just mine – it’s a collab between me and a kid living in regional Queensland called Will Thomas.
I was given Will Thomas’ excellent whiteboard drawing of a toucan …
… which I worked up into a very scribbly rough …
… then a more detailed rough.
My next step was a colour test, which I liked …
… but once I had my final artwork together, I felt like mucking around with the colours.
I tried a purple background instead, which helped the toucan beaks to pop.
Finally I added a sunrise in the background and some shading, and voilá – the artwork was finished!
Big thanks to Will for the excellent initial drawing – I hope you like how it turned out!
More about the calendar
The 2026 SQUIGL Calendar is a fundraising initiative by Andy Geppert’s SQUIGL Club, an online drawing group for kids living in remote Queensland.
All calendar sales support sending these remote community kids to visit regional writers’ festivals run by Somerset Storyfest.
James Foley 