Terry has some thirty years’ experience as a cartoonist and caricaturist. Born in Paisley, he began his career producing illustrations for The Glasgow Herald while still a schoolboy. He was educated at The Joe Kubert School of Cartooning in New Jersey.
For the last several years Terry has held the Executive Director role at CARTOONISTS RIGHTS, the international NGO specifically for cartoonists whose human rights are under threat. In 2019 the organisation was made an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Fellow in recognition of their campaigning. In 2022 Terry received the Prix Gérard Vandenbroucke at the Salon International de la Caricature, du Dessin de Presse et d’Humour, Europe’s largest festival of editorial cartooning. The award is given to cartoonists that have made a significant contribution in defence of others and the spitit of internationalism; he was the first non-Francophone to receive it.
He was a founding member of the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio and went on to manage the collaborative efforts of their team when undertaking complex publishing projects and exhibitions such as The Auld Acquaintance – a collection of international cartoons on the 2014 independence referendum, and Fizzers® – a series of shows featuring their collection of celebrity caricatures.
Terry is a former president of the Scottish Artists Union, the trade union for all visual artists in Scotland and a member of the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation in the UK as well as France-Cartoons and Cartoon Movement. Frequently asked to speak publicly on the topic of cartooning he's also lectured and led workshops for children and adults at libraries, festivals, schools and colleges, and drawn live in various settings across Britain and in France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Vietnam, and the USA. His limited series of Drawn Out podcasts is available for those interested in hearing conversations with other cartoonists.
Past clients include: Anderson Anderson & Brown Consulting; The Big Partnership; Bright 3D; Caledonian University; Changeworks; Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development; Children & Young People’s Commissioner Scotland; Citizen’s Theatre; Diabetes Scotland; Clydesdale Bank; Dundee University Students Association; East Renfrewshire Council; Glasgow 2014 XXth Commonwealth Games; Good Shepherd Centre; Kru Talent; LGBT Scotland; New College Lanarkshire; Ofgem; PA Consulting; PEEK Project; Royal Bank of Scotland; the Scottish Parliament; Sky Arts & Story Vault TV; Stirlingshire Libraries; Tattiemoon; Teleperformance UK; Theatre Nemo; University of Glasgow; Who Cares? Scotland; William Hill
Two recent – and very different – educational resources feature Terry’s work; Trajectories - Aids Activism in Western Europe for the University of St. Andrews and Scots Wha Hae for Scots Hoose.