Lubbock Cartoonist Reveals How To Draw Raider Red In 10 Seconds

Grab a pen and paper and learn how to draw Raider Red in just 10 seconds! This cool video is courtesy of Jay Leeson, a local cartoonist that developed his flair for cartooning as a child. He grew up purchasing the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal at Allsup’s in Abernathy every weekend so that he would be able to copy the newest Dirk West cartoon.

If you aren't familiar with Dirk West, he was an editorial cartoonist and journalist, as well as the former mayor of Lubbock, Texas. West is responsible for the creation of the character “Raider Red”, the Texas Tech mascot we all know and love.

Leeson says that he would draw Dirk West cartoons over and over again until he got really good at it. When he started school at Texas Tech in 1999, he continued cartooning and even won several awards for his sports cartoons from Columbia University Golden Circles in NYC. He owes his love for cartooning to Dirk West and the years he spent recreating his cartoons, which eventually led to the development of his own style.

Leeson currently draws two new cartoons each week, one for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, and one for USA Today, which are focused on sports and politics. He said he has come to learn that cartoons are a great way to get your point across in 15 seconds or less, without forcing someone to read through an entire article.  

This 10-second video, recently shared by Leeson on Facebook, shows you how to draw Raider Red, and he makes it look so easy! I thought you might get a kick out of learning, or at least enjoy watching the process. Check it out below:

If you enjoyed this video as much as I did, you might like to check out more work by Jay Leeson. Click here to find his website. I'd also love to see some of your Raider Red drawings! Feel free to leave them in a comment below this article on our Facebook page.