SCOOBY-DOO Trading Cards Delayed Yet Again!

Well, this is disappointing news to report to Scooby fans! At 3pm EST, I got an email from Upper Deck's Talent Relations saying that the Scooby-Doo Trading Cards are delayed and they don't have a new release date yet. They will let us know (when they know) and that we were to let our followers know about it! 

The release date was originally back in March, then due to a lot of final approvals from WB coming in really late, it got moved to April 30 (today) and then I get the email that it's pushed back. I've seen new release dates online and a full card checklist but I'm not going to believe the release date listed until someone tells me that they are actually on sale in a actual store.

I updated my pic above with the actual box art packaging which was finally released.

 

COMING OUT ON MAY 13th! PRE-SALE ALERT: Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection 3 in 1 - Vol. 1

A GIANT-SIZED three-in-one volume that collects 76 stories from Phineas and Ferb: Classic Comics Collection, Volumes 1 through 3! It has 272 pages of P&F excitement and my work is in it! Just another great looking collection from Papercutz taking all three single volumes and putting them together in one!

Phineas Flynn and his stepbrother, Ferb Fletcher, make every day of their summer vacation an adventure. From ambitious new inventions to helping those in need, they always get into something fun. Meanwhile, across town, the wannabe-evil scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz continually attempts to take over the Tri-State Area with his various “inator” devices, and Perry the Platypus, the boys’ pet and a secret agent, consistently foils his plans on behalf of the O.W.C.A and his commanding officer, Major Monogram.

Pre-Order now! Available May 13, 2025!

Papercutz:
https://papercutz.com/product/phineas-and-ferb-classic-comics-collection-3-in-1-vol-1/ 

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Phineas-Ferb-Classic-Comics-Collection/dp/1545818428

Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phineas-and-ferb-classic-comics-collection-3-in-1-vol-1-scott-peterson/1146474474?ean=9781545818428

HAPPY EARTH DAY 2025 with a blast from the past!

In 2008, a comic review site said this cover I did was pretty highbrow for Scooby-Doo! I remember it well! Why? Because although it came out in April 2008, the final art was done in a rush over Christmas in 2007! It was a super quick art job all to get a preview image done for the Diamond Distribution catalog.

The theme was to celebrate Earth Day. I worked out four concepts as thumbnails but the last one I drew only used silhouettes of them on a cliff looking out into the sun. I thought it would be more "artsy"... not to mention easier to bang out quick! Everyone agreed and said to go for it.

The power of the Silhouette! I remember when this came out and I saw it on the new comic racks at Captain Blue Hen Comics and it stood out from all the other comics surrounding it! It was a true eye-catcher for sure! Still is!

Here’s a scan of the final cover, the final art I did without the logos and such, and a RARE alternate I did as an option that I never shared anywhere of just Scooby and Shaggy.

“Like, pretty highbrow indeed, Scoob!”

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter to all! This is a pen and ink drawing that was colored with pastels and some magic markers! Pastels do give it a softer, more lush look and feel which I really like.

My 2025 Upper Deck Fleer SCOOBY-DOO Sketchcards!

During the second week of November 2023, I got an email from Matt Dunford at Upper Deck inviting me to take part in producing original sketchcards for the new Fleer Scooby-Doo trading card set that Upper Deck was creating.

I would be creating original hand-drawn artwork for 15 sketchcards and two Artist Proof cards. I certainly knew what sketchcards were, but I requested some samples from Matt just to make sure we were on the same page. Matt was kind enough to send me some samples of some Marvel sketchcards that someone had done.

I don't know how many artists were invited to take part (I never asked for some reason), but I said yes thinking it would be fun. In the end, it was fun and I'm quite proud of the final work! You can click on the pics to see the bigger versions!

This blog post is about the art process of creating them.

Upper Deck emailed me the long contracts and I signed them and sent them back in December. The final details of the card set and the art guidelines were still being finalized and it wouldn't be till February when you could actually start drawing. No problem. The final deadline to have them all done was on May 11, 2024.

In early February 2024, I received my Upper Deck sketchcards in the mail! They were double-boxed and packed extremely well to protect them, and they came with a return shipping label. I put them aside and waited for the art guidelines to be released. At the end of the month, we were emailed the final specs for what you could and couldn't draw.

I'm glad I waited to get the finalized list as some of the initial guidelines had changed. Originally, the list of what you could draw went up to 1998 or so. You were now ONLY allowed to draw any Scooby-Doo characters that appeared from the 1969-1982 animated television series that were on the list.

You would ONLY be paid for the sketchcards that got approved. If you screwed up, or tried to sneak something in you weren't supposed to, you wouldn't get paid for those cards. They had a short list of stuff you definitely could NOT do: sex, drugs, no famous guest stars, no modern or live-action characters, etc., etc. All of the cards had to be PG-rated. All this is a no-brainer as you'd be losing money on any rejected cards if you were trying to be a wiseguy.

The main issue for me was not screwing up when you were creating them. You had to think and plan out everything before you committed to doing it. I must admit I was highly anxious in doing them as you get used to the mighty "undo" button. Working digitally, you can do several versions of a final piece with different overlays and color changes. With a single, blank trading card sitting in front of you, the pressure was truly on. Also, being an artist, you wanted to show up everyone else who got invited to create them! I wanted mine to "pop" and stand out from anyone else, so I took it all seriously.

First and foremost on my mind was what a Scooby-Doo fan would want to see on a sketchcard. You only had so much room to draw so my short list of must-haves were:

• Every card MUST have Scooby-Doo! I didn't think anyone would want a card without him on it. He is the star of the show! 

• I think a true Scooby fan wants a scene or scenario that they will recall from Scooby history. While I might exaggerate or play with some designs, they will be representative of a given episode, which leads to... 

• ALL of my cards would be focused on classic episodes from the 1969-1970 seasons as they are the most iconic. 

• I'm going to focus on the three most popular main characters: Scooby, Shaggy, and Daphne. Sorry to Fred and Velma fans, but Daphne is the MOST requested character I get asked to sketch at a comic convention! I'll leave it to you to figure out why...

Out of the 17 cards I had to draw, there is one featuring a generic haunted house. It's just a general trope of the Scooby Universe, and I simply wanted to draw a haunted house. What can I tell you...I like haunted houses and they're fun to draw! I had a vision of it in my head and the original vision had the whole gang in front of it. I printed out a trading card border on copy paper and tried it, but it simply didn't work trying to cram all five members of Mystery Inc. on it, so I focused on just Shaggy and Scooby.

The following weeks I worked out ideas and concepts on paper to see if they would work on a trading card. Then I had to go check the status of my color markers.

GETTING MY OLD MARKERS SORTED

First, I'd like to note that when I was cleaning my studio in the middle of 2023, I was considering throwing out my magic markers! No kidding! I wasn't using them and they were just taking up space. For some reason, I decided to keep them all. One of life's moments that could have turned out quite differently if I threw them out. I don't know where I would have been if I had to start from scratch as markers these days can cost a fortune! In total, I spent $75 on fresh new markers to do these cards.

 

Once I got ideas for what I was going to draw, I then pulled out all my markers and tested each and every one on paper to see if they still worked. I have a large amount of Prismacolor markers in my studio and they don't even make them anymore! Quite a few were dried out (or dead) and I threw them in the trash, but most were still good and worked great! What luck! Organizing and testing took some time to do. I started separating colors for characters and any colors that I thought would be suited for coloring monsters or doing backgrounds. 

Once I separated the markers I had, I made notes on which colors would needed. I would use just three tones for coloring:

• Rim Light
• Base Coat
• Shading
  

PENCILING & INKING THE CARDS

Once I had my ideas worked out, I drew all the cards with a Koh-I-Nor lead holder with refillable pencil lead that I kept super sharp for those tiny details. I used an HB lead at first but then switched to a lighter lead to make it easier to erase later on.

There's one with Scooby and a ghost I should mention. I didn't want to "ink" the ghost as I wanted it to be done with color to make him look more "ghostly," so left I him in blue pencil as a guide to go by. 

Overall, I found that drawing on trading cards demanded a higher level of focus. I had done sketchcards at comic conventions before but those were tossed off quick as a looser sketch as a thank you.

Once I had my cards all drawn, I then inked them with Micron Pens which have black archival ink. I used these sizes: 005, 01, 03, and 08. This took time as you couldn't make mistakes and use Pro White to fix something. You got one shot to do it right! I inked about 3-4 cards each day. Here are my final inks of my cards!

When my cards had fully dried, I erased the pencil lines underneath. Then I scanned all the inked cards at 600dpi into my computer (so I had them). I created a new file at letterhead-size and ran three rows of five cards on it. Then I printed out a few copies to work out my lighting. I took a blue colored pencil and worked out where I thought the light source would be and where the shading would go. I used a red colored pencil to place any rim lighting. I took time on this to work it all out beforehand.

GETTING NEW MARKERS!

It was another rude awakening going into an "art" store (those that are still around) and looking for new magic markers. It's a Copic world for sure... and they're expensive! I settled for a brand I found at Michaels Arts & Crafts Store called Artist's Loft, which suited my work fine! I spent quite some time at two Michaels locations trying them out and seeing how they worked on paper scraps. In the end, they're a quality marker and are $3 cheaper! They also mix well with Copic markers as I do have some Copics here.

Trying to find a proper Scooby-Doo "brown" has haunted me for decades! It's hard to match and then you have to see how it saturates into the paper you are using. I couldn't risk testing the colors on any trading cards as they only give you the ones allotted to you.

In my photo, you can see an index card for Scooby and I have RIM, BASE, and SHADE written on it. Once I picked my three colors of brown that worked together I wrote them down on the index card so I'd remember what I used. This process of working out colors, mixing and matching, etc., etc., went right up to the time of doing the final art.

COLORING THE SKETCHCARDS!

This took a lot of time and thought. The first card took me an hour to color. It was the one with the old gypsy woman. My kitchen table was a messy battle zone and the natural light that poured in helped working on such a small medium! Trading cards are rough on the eyes! I colored 3-4 cards a day as I didn't want to rush it. You also had to be careful that the markers didn't bleed through the cards too much! I used a white colored pencil for highlights. When each card was finished, I turned it over and signed it on the back with a black Sharpie! Here are my final cards!

SNOWSTORM ANXIETY!

I saved the two cards with the Snow Ghost for last! I had to create the snowstorm effect. I went back to the art store and got a white paint brush pen to add snowflakes, but I first had to create the "storm," which I used a damp sponge dipped in some diluted Pro White paint.

I took black construction paper and tested the sponges to make sure this was even going to work. I wanted it to look like there was wind blowing the snow. I had the sketchcards sitting off to the side. I had to be ready to go when I was ready. Talk about pressure! I had one shot at this!

I placed one sketchcard on a fresh piece of black construction paper and then tested the sponges again it after dabbing them with fresh paint.

Breathe in... Exhale... Breathe in... Exhale.

Ready... set........ Go!

Yes, all this drama actually happened.

I then took the white paint brush pen and added some snowflakes. When both cards were dry, I flipped them over and signed them. They look amazing and I'm really pleased with them!

SCANNING AND MAILING THEM OUT!

Once the cards were done, I looked them over to see if I wanted to make any final tweaks. Then I scanned them at 600dpi into my computer so I had them for my archives. I laid them out with the episode titles (photo below) and sent the off to Matt at Upper Deck. He loved them and flattered me with high praise! I needed it. He told me to mail the physical cards out and email a set to production to so they can send to Warner Bros for approval.

I packed them back into the box they sent me and ran it to the FedEx (Kinko's) office store to get them out! This was two days before the deadline of May 11, 2024! I had them done and on time!

THEN, THE WAITING BEGAN...

It was from May 11, 2024 to February 24, 2025... That’s exactly 9 months and 2 weeks that they sat in limbo at Warner Bros. No word, no nothing, and no pay until approvals.

This is no blame cast on Upper Deck, but this is just the concerning state of things in general with IP license holders. Upper Deck said they were a new vendor with Warner Bros and it takes a bit longer to get in the system, but seriously what the hell? Upper Deck is a not an unknown entity or some new company that's fresh on the scene.

Warner Bros, Disney, etc. are all in the same boat right now. I hesitate in calling the boat the Titanic. It now takes months for approvals when they used to take two weeks. This is a concern for all freelancers and it's happening far too often these days. I talked about this in my interview with ScoobySnax (Go read my previous post!). It was never like this before and these long, extended wait times are not helping freelancers or the companies that buy IP licenses.

Be that as it may, on February 24, 2025, I got an email that ALL my cards were approved!

There will be 15 one-of-a-kind sketchcards out there in the wild. They were randomly placed in packs of the Scooby-Doo cards that some lucky person will get. I was excited!

I have two Artist Proof cards here in my studio and I'll be selling them on eBay! I have a Snow Ghost one and I have a cute one of Scooby and Daphne together. That one will sell for sure! I told you Daphne was popular. You were paying attention, weren't you?

Fleer SCOOBY-DOO! Trading Cards coming soon... at some point!

The original release date was March 19th, but now I see that the date has changed. I've inquired but no one knows anything at Upper Deck. Some sites say March 26th and others say May 30th. Just an update for my followers!

 

Have a Smurfy Day Today!

 

2025 Fleer SCOOBY-DOO Trading Card Box Art

I didn't do anything for the box art itself, but just posting it as a teaser! 

They will be released on MARCH 19th!

It's not so much the art as the stories that are behind them...

My audition piece for Strawberry Shortcake back in 2004 when they rebooted her with a new look. All done in Adobe Illustrator. My first real work in that software, and it was a bear.

I did this piece TWICE. One night, when I was adding the final touches to it... my computer died. I was horror struck and wasn't able to scrape the hard drive hoping it was still there. I took the drive to a couple local places but to no avail. I had to get a new computer system all set up and then I had to go back and redo the whole thing all over again from scratch!

Soon after — as we didn't have USB flash drives yet — I would buy spindles of CDs and EVERY night I would burn a new CD with that day's work on it. By the end of the month, I had a stack of CD's sitting by the computer. Once you have a horror story of losing data, you then do all you can to not have it happen again! I've been abiding to the "back up rule of three" since that time!

In hindsight, it was probably better that it happened when it did as it increased my skills and speed in Illustrator, and it was much easier doing it the second time. I'm still happy with it.

You may look at it and think it's a nice piece of art. I look at it and just think back to that dark, brooding night as I was laying in bed and looking up at the ceiling wondering what I was going to do...

It's not so much the art as the stories that are behind them...

 

COMING SOON!

 

I did an artist Interview with SCOOBYSNAX!

I recently did an artist interview with ScoobySnax!

ScoobySnax is a cool, fun fansite that covers all things in the world of Scooby! It was just posted this week, so check it out! It's a LONG interview, so grab some Scooby snacks and settle in! This is the first artist interview I've done in a long time and I think it turned out great! I cover a lot of ground as I've worked on a lot of stuff beyond my Scooby work. This may appeal to young artists or those interested in how the sausage is made! Click the link and be magically transported!

ScoobySnax Interview With Scott Neely

PHINEAS & FERB Comics are BACK IN PRINT!

In 2024, a year of major re-releases of my work it seems, Papercutz has released the Phineas and Ferb: Classic Comics Collection which collecting the comics that were produced for Phineas & Ferb’s Magazine! I did a lot of work on P&F as you know and these new editions look fantastic and are at a great price! Available as trade paperbacks, but I love that they made hardcover versions as well! My work is first seen starting in Volume 2, but I'm in Volumes 3, 4, and 5 as well! 

Volume 3 was released on February 18, 2025!

Phineas and Ferb: Classic Comics Collection, Volume 2 and Volume 3 collects more of their comic adventures in their original release order--many never collected in a trade paperback before!

School is out for summer, and stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb have decided to make each day an adventure! Their inventions end up causing trouble for their sister, Candace, who can never get their mother to see the evidence of their creations. Meanwhile, the family's pet platypus leads a double life as secret Agent P and faces off with the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who is trying to take over the Tri-State Area.

AMAZON 

Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection Vol. 2:
https://www.amazon.com/Phineas-Ferb-Classic-Comics-Collection/dp/1545812527
 

Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection Vol. 3:
https://www.amazon.com/Phineas-Ferb-Classic-Comics-Collection/dp/1545815968
 

BARNES & NOBLE  

Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection Vol. 2:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phineas-and-ferb-classic-comics-collection-vol-2-scott-peterson/1145984242?ean=9781545812525
 

Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection Vol. 3:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phineas-and-ferb-classic-comics-collection-vol-3-the-disney-comics-group/1146297949?ean=9781545816899

SCOOBY-DOO "You Choose" Capstone Book Box Sets Available!

In August of 2024, Capstone released a second 4-book box set for the “You Choose” Scooby books I illustrated. I don’t think they were out of print but these are now presented in nice box sets. I did a lot of Scooby for Capstone! The first box set came out in January 2022.

You can get them at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and I posted the links below!

You Choose: Scooby-Doo! 4-Book Boxed Set 1

Get ready to read four interactive Scooby-Doo mysteries in one box set!

In each exciting story, Scooby-Doo and his friends of the Mystery Inc. gang set out to solve a spooky mystery. By choosing their path, you'll help Scooby and his friends crack the creepy cases in a truly dynamic reading experience.

Books Include: 

• The House on Spooky Street
• The Mystery of the Mayhem Mansion
• The Case of the Fright Flight
• The Case of the Clown Carnival

You Choose: Scooby-Doo! 4-Book Boxed Set 2

Follow along with Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang in this boxed set of four interactive chapter books!

In each exciting story, YOU CHOOSE how Mystery Inc. sets out to solve a spooky mystery. Will Bigfoot ruin the gang's camping trip? Is Velma's uncle lost in the Bermuda Triangle? Will a UFO crash Mystery Inc.'s road trip? Is there a sea monster on the loose at the gang's favorite beach? Follow the directions on each page and find out how your decisions change your fate. When YOU CHOOSE what to do next, the choices you make could mean the difference between success and failure. With dozens of choices and endings, each book in this YOU CHOOSE set is sure to keep Scooby-Doo fans captive for hours.

Books in This Set:

• The Terror of the Bigfoot Beast
• The Ghost of the Bermuda Triangle
• The Secret of the Flying Saucer
• The Secret of the Secret of the Sea Creature

Boxed Set 1 (Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/You-Choose-Stories-Scooby-Doo-Boxed/dp/1666348740

Boxed Set 2 (Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/You-Choose-Scooby-Doo-Boxed-Stories/dp/1669080056

Boxed Set 1 (B&N):
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-choose-stories-laurie-s-sutton/1139963489?ean=9781666348743

Boxed Set 2 (B&N):
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-choose-laurie-s-sutton/1144825971?ean=9781669080053

A piece of my art to be on the TV spinoff show... SUITS LA!

In November 2024, I was approached by the acquisitions department for the NBC Universal TV Division. They wanted to use a piece of my artwork for the new upcoming spin-off TV show called Suits LA.

The piece of art they had attached surprised me as it was something that has been sitting on my art blog for 14 years! I had to go back and read my original post to remind myself about the circumstances of its creation. I posted it back on September 9, 2010 and it was titled "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" - Maltese Falcon Sketch. I wrote the following:

As I was waiting for an approval on some sketches today, I did a still life drawing of the Maltese Falcon. I have a replica prop of it that I bought back in the mid 90's and it's a great conversation piece in my studio. Always been a fan of the movie as well so I thought why not sketch it. It's always better to do a still life of something you like as opposed to organizing a bunch of fruit on a table. It was penciled on cheap 11 x 17 copy paper and then lightboxed and inked onto good 11 x 17 art paper with a Pitt Brush Marker. After I scanned the artwork I then used a Photoshop brush to create a light gray background behind it to give it some push. Possibly I'll color it later on but it looks kinda cool in black and white. 

In 2025, it still looks cool to me! It still jumps off the page. The show deals with criminal law in the entertainment industry, so I can see why it might have appealed to one of the creatives on the show as even the small Google search pic that leads to my blog really pops!

I signed the release for them to use it (I retain all the rights to it) and then inquired about what episode it might be in so I could watch to see it on TV. I received a reply back that my art was to be part of the permanent set decoration for Samantha's office (Ted Black's ex-girlfriend / rival lawyer played by Rachelle Goulding) on the show and that I might be seeing it often!

I have no idea how the art will be used. I've seen the first two and not seen it yet. We did see part of her office in Episode 2, but the tight camera angles didn't show much. Keep an eye out if you watch the show!

To be updated!