Sheppard spent 2 years studying Fine Arts at Paddington Art School under tuition by Stephen Wesley Gorton in 1993, then Classical Advanced Animation studies at Enmore Design Centre in 1995, and later on Screenwriting for Children's Animated Television Series at the Australian Film Television Radio School (AFTRS) in 2007.
[1] Sheppard's early career began while drawing political comics for Fairfax community newspapers in his late teens.
In 1994 he was nominated as a member[4] by Jim Russell (The Potts) to join the Australian Cartoonists' Association (ACA).
And in 1998 he was again nominated by Jim Russell to the ranks of the National Cartoonists Society Archived 25 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine in the United States.
In 2003, Sheppard won the Stanley Award's Best Cartoon on the Night[permanent dead link],[6] in Ettalong.