ThunderCats Concept Original Art

USA, C. 1985

pencil on tracing paper

14½ h × 11 w × 1 d in (37 × 28 × 3 cm)

14 h × 11 w × 9 d in (36 × 28 × 23 cm)

Two sketchbooks featuring original concept art and character studies by Leonard Starr, renowned comic artist and head writer of the 1980s animated series Thundercats.
The first, a Canson Tracing Pad, includes six detailed illustrations and character explorations in graphite on tracing paper—ranging from warriors in ornate armor (some bearing dragon motifs) to a wooden puppet-like figure and various doodles with handwritten notes. Includes 41 additional unused pages.


The second, a Morilla #20S Clipper Sketch Book, offers a dynamic range of figure studies and imaginative characters rendered on paper, including warrior and alien hybrids, toddler figures in tribal attire, and lizard- and raccoon-like beings evocative of Thundercats’ visual language. Notably, several designs reference known characters such as Slythe and Monkian, alongside 10 pages of accompanying text and worldbuilding notes. 77 unused pages remain.

provenance: Estate of Leonard Starr | Private Collection