(cache)RIP Jim Hardiman and...... -- Bunnyman's Journal -- Fur Affinity [dot] net

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RIP Jim Hardiman and......

By Bunnyman, 4 years ago

As most of you may know by now Jim Hardiman the artist best known for his Skunkworks girls passed away on August 29th.
Back when I was doing my zine Bunny Pages I used to correspond and talk on the phone to him quite a bit. I even appeared in one of his Skunkworks comics and have a handwritten letter from one of the Skunkworks girls in my collection.

Not sure how many folks knew of his other artistic identity.
He also did fantastic artwork under the name Desiree Lee.

I don't know how much of a secret it was, many people suspected it but he always denied it.
Just want him to get all the credit for ALL his incredible work.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8620282/

13 comments

User replies

#link Posted: 4 years ago

I had a feeling those two were the same.

Much like how I suspect Nimbl and Donotsue are the same person just because of how similar their styles are.

#link Posted: 4 years ago

Not sure about that one. I corresponded with Karri while he was over at animation school in Ireland and he would send stuff he'd done so I've seen his pencils. Nimbl stuff has always looked pretty different to me.

#link Posted: 4 years ago

I had confronted him about this and I think he said they went to school together or something like that.

#link Posted: 4 years ago

I also had a part in Des' backstory.
Supposedly she had attended school in the Boston area where I had run into her at a local comic show. I'd sort of pointed her to furry fandom before she moved closer to Jims area in Florida.

#link Posted: 4 years ago

I've been a loyal supporter for Skunkworks since 2003. That's 11 years down the drain. But I'm gonna try to keep the skunkettes' spirits up and try to draw Lori, Onyx and Natasha in cameos in my Minerva Mink fan art and stuff, but I'm going to need a lot of reference to draw them as good as Hardiman did. If anyone finds any reference, link me. I appreciate the help in advance.

#link Posted: 4 years ago

I knew Jim and "Des" were the same person. There are little nuances in someone's style that you can't really escape no matter how much you try to disguise it. I'm not exactly happy that he had a few people fooled that Des was another actual person, but I'm glad to see the art he put out. He did some adorable pieces for me as Des, and I have always loved them.

#link Posted: 4 years ago

Always was willing to believe that Jim and Des were different people - minimally dif personae he wanted to cultivate. I took him at his word, occasionally telling him to pass along a 'Hope you're doing well' message to Des.

...this one hurt. A lot.

#link Posted: 2 years ago

You may want to take a look at this

https://www.facebook.com/permalink......82226631967666

Apparently Hardiman's own mother confirmed that Des was a real person. *awkward silence*

#link Posted: 2 years ago

I will not argue the point out of respect.
I knew Jim before the internet talking on the phone(pre celphones even) and running into him at cons.
What I said was done after consulting with a few friends of his also from those days.

#link Posted: 2 years ago

Did he directly tell you "I draw as Des Lee" or was it something you heard third hand?
Because if someone had told me something like that I would want to hear it from the source.
The fact that his own mother denies Jim making Des up and says she was a real person
puts a huge hole in that theory, don't you think? And personally I think if you were truly
a friend of Jim's you would have kept something like that to yourself out of respect for the
mans privacy.

#link Posted: 2 years ago

Yes it was told to me by Jim.
He told it to me many years ago and I did not tell anyone about it and even helped out by saying i had met Desiree when she went to school in Boston.

As I mentioned in the note, I only revealed it now so that Jim would get credit for all the fantastic artwork he had done.

#link Posted: 2 years ago

Assuming that Jim did tell you that he was Des Lee, why do you think he would say such a thing?
Jim was a very smart person and he thought things out before saying them. This is why none of his haters could gain
an edge on him. He was always 10 steps ahead of them. So if h did say what you claim I believe it would have been
for a reason. I know that he was very private about his personal life so I find it hard to believe that he would just
blurt out something of this nature. Also how do you explain his moms claim that Des is real and that she draw her own art?
Surely his mom isn't lying.

#link Posted: 2 years ago

I'd never accuse his mother of lying, likely she is continuing to honor his secret. As i said, the only reason i had said it was so he would get credit for the art. A few people I'd talked to had thought they were the same person anyways.