WHAT'S THAT?!? IT'S TERRIBLE!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Well, it's almost time!  I know I'm getting excited!  Got my yard display up, got my candy ready and have already performed all ritualistic spirit dances to ward off the evil spirits while welcoming the good ones.  Yes sir, I am ready for Halloween!  Just gotta remember to leave an offering to the Gregarious Gourd so that he will leave me treats instead of tricks!  But enough about that.  It's art time!  And we got a monster today that will leave you with twice the scares for the price of one!  It's all free anyway though, so scroll down and take a gander why don't ya?  Enjoy...

What's that?  It's a What's It.  A Terrible Whatzit to be precise!  Another entry from Animal Alphabets, the Terrible Whatzit is the imagined villain from the classic children's picture book Harry and the Terrible Whatzit.  Oddly enough, this one wasn't part of my bookshelf as a kid.  I remembered the monster, as he was always on the wall of Barnes & Noble along with other picture book icons like Clifford and the Cat in the Hat, but I never read the book.  It was a fun draw though, as monsters usually are.  And I can't complain about a palette that uses so few colors!

Well, only one week left to go, but don't worry!  I promise we got a BIG finish for HALLOWEEN!!!  So be sure to come back and help us close out October right!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

THE MEAN STREAK OF STRIPE!!!

We are back CRAZIES!!!  Man, time's flying by, ain't it?  As I'm typing this, in addition to working on new comics and art for Bubble Fox and this blog, I've also been building a mask for my nephew for his halloween costume!  It's his first college party, so I obviously don't wanna let him down, but it is a challenge.  I'm not really a 3D artist per se.  I still can't believe I pulled off his sister's watermelon armor at SDCC eight years ago.  Still, it is amazing what you can accomplish with a little bit of patience, a lot of craft foam and about 72 hours worth of YouTube tutorials!  But enough about that!  Y'all want art!  At least I hope you do?  If so, scroll down and see what monster has sprung up this week!  Enjoy...

 

Uh oh...  Looks like someone fed a Mogwai after midnight!  Yup, the original Halloween/Christmas mashup movie, Gremlins was one of those weird 80's movies in that everybody knew, it even had a sequel, and yet was totally forgotten about by the time it hit its ten year anniversary.  Then us 80's kids all turned 20, discovered DVD's and were like "Oh yeah! Gremlins scared the &%#@ out of me as a kid!  Let's show it to OUR kids!" and thus a new cult classic was born!  Another Animal Alphabets entry, Stripe was the lead Gremlin who led an army of mutated Magwai in terrorizing a town one VERY dark Christmas.  Seriously, Kate (Phoebe Cates character) hates Christmas because her dad died while getting lodged in a chimney trying to play Santa Claus.  How friggin' terrible is that for a kids movie?!?  Anyway, this was a fun piece to draw, but holy crap was it a nightmare to correct in PS Elements!  Took me well over two hours to separate all the colors!  I know it's the dark side beckoning, but maybe it's time to time to go all digital?

Another week down as October rolls on, but fear not!  We got another monster coming as our Monster Fest continues here at the CRAZYVERSE!!!  So be sure to come back and see DOUBLE the trouble!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

EGADS!!! IT'S THE ROBOT... MONSTER?!?

Welcome to October CRAZIES!!!  I know, it's already a week in, but that's how the calendar fell this year!  The Spooky Season is upon us and I gotta tell ya, this Fall is already off to one of the busiest starts I've ever had at work!  I haven't even had any time for cider yet!  But there will be plenty of time for seasonal snacks and festivities as the creeps and terrors start to dip in. Coincidentally, this month is all about things that go bump in the night as we celebrate Halloween over the next four weeks with spooky art that will have you howling with terror, maybe even laughter.  Or it could be gas.  LOTTA bratwurst being consumed right now after all!  Either way, let's dive right in with our first entry, shall we?  Enjoy...

What the?!?  Grab the kids Miriam!  Head for the hills!  We're under attack!  It's a creature!  It's robot!  It's a monster!  It's a Robot Monster! Wait a tic... THAT is a Robot Monster?!?  Believe it or not folks, in the 1950's, this passed as high level science fiction.  Well, not really, but the film genre itself, not to mention the concept of special effects in general, were still pretty new, so a guy in a gorilla suit with a fishbowl on his head and set of TV antennae sticking out was about as good as it got at that point.  The real kicker though, if you got up close to the fishbowl, you could see a HUMAN SKULL!!!  In the words of the late great Count Floyd: "WOOOO!!! VASN'T DAT SHOCKINK KEEDS?!?"  Today's art is an oldie but goodie from Animal Alphabelts from 2018 where we depicted classic (And not so classic) monsters of horror, SciFi and fiction.  This creature was from the notorious 1950's schlock-fest Robot Monster.  I'd describe the plot, but I enjoy having brain cells left.  Should you ever feel the urge to watch it, the good fellas at Mister Science Theater 3000 already took all the guess work out and did it for you, so go watch their take on it instead as it's readily available on multiple platforms and far more entertaining!

Well, that's it for this week, but we'll be back with more Halloween fun next time with a monster who's better known for causing trouble at more jollier time of year if you catch my drift!  And no, it ain't who you think it is!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WAVIN' BY TO SEPTEMBER WITH WENDY!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Well, we have come to it at last.  The very end.  The grand finale.  But if we are gonna end things, we are gonna do it right.  And I can't think of a better way to say goodbye than with the first character I ever came up!  So let's put an end to things here once and for all as we cross the T's and dot the I's one last time for the month of September 2026 and prepare to move forward into October!  What?  Did you think I meant something else?  Y'all are stuck with me 'til I croak!  Anyhoo, onto the art!  Enjoy...

Hey hey!  It's little Wendy Oriole!  The very first character I ever created, Wendy has drifted in and out of stories over the years, debuting initially in the ill-fated One-Shot Express to even popping up Mushrooms and random CRAZYVERSE toons over the years.  Her intention though has always been Peppertown, the tale of a lonely slacker named Joe Oriole who sees his life changed drastically when an odd little alien girl named Wendy is suddenly thrust into his care!  I've started and restarted this story on several occasions and even did a solo offshoot Christmas picture book called Wendy's Christmas Chaos a few years back that proved to be somewhat popular, but not much else has come from it since largely due to lack of time.  Prior to Covid, I had quite a bit free time on my hands.  I'll never truly understand why previous regimes at my work seemed so determined to hold me back, especially since I've always just kept quite did as told.  Post Covid, my schedule's never been busier.  Financially it's been a blessing.  Tough from a creative standpoint, but bills must come first.  Just wish I could've been working like this before I got all old and broken!  Regardless, I came to the conclusion that as a webcomic, Peppertown just doesn't work.  It's longform and as such should really be a book.  I will eventually get around to doing it.  I too have many ideas and love the characters too much not to try and get something done with them.  However, it'll likely mean a reduction in Bubble Fox comics during the times the books are being worked on.  It's a small sacrifice to make, but these are the kinds of things creators gotta do.  As for the piece itself, it actually came out really good, only a few spots that didn't smooth out all the way.

And now that the Spooking Season is upon us, don't forget to leave your offerings to the Gregarious Gourd this Halloween, otherwise he will leave you TRICKS instead of TREATS!!!

And that's a wrap on September 2026!  I hope y'all enjoyed these colored pencil portraits of CRAZY Characters!  Be sure to come back next week as we kickoff October with some spooky art!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

A COLORFUL POST FOR A REGULAR JOE!!!

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back...  We are almost done with September CRAZIES, but there's no reason feel sad about it.  That means we're that much closer to Halloween!  And cooler weather!  Depending on where you live, you might even have a sweater on already!  Here in Reverse Narnia, aka San Diego, it's pretty much always hot.  Think I might retire to Canada someday.  The heat just gets to me!  But enough about that, it's art time!  Dug up a really old pal for today's post so scroll down and get reacquainted!  Enjoy...

Well bless my soul!  It's Joe Oriole!  Who?  You know?  Joe Oriole?  From Peppertown?  The series I started and swore I haven't forgotten about I've just been too busy to really continue with?  Look, cartooning is a fun hobby and all, but the keyword here is hobby.  I'm not paid to do it.  I got a job, I got a house, I got pets, I got responsibilities.  It's all I can do to keep up with this Blog and Bubble Fox sometimes.  Peppertown will have its time and place eventually, but more on that next week.  This was a piece that I was relatively happy with.  The background came out really cool but accidentally ruined Joe in the foreground with all the dust from the black and dark blue colored pencils spreading!  Just goes to show you that sometimes, it really doesn't matter how careful you are with these things.

Well, one more post to go, but I promise you we'll be ending September on a colorful note before heading into the dark corners of October, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

DANCIN' IN THE MOONLIGHT!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  More than halfway through September already, can y'all believe it?  I don't know why it is that time feels like it speeds up the older you get, but man I wouldn't mind things slowing down a little bit at least.  Especially when it comes to things that I enjoy, like colored pencil art.  Speaking of which, I have more to show off this week if you'd be willing to scroll down and take a look?  Enjoy...

Simon Asparago: The Dancing Asparagus!  Born of the Former Buns & Wieners Art Collaboration on Twitter so many years ago, Simon came about from the first Comic Jam I took part in.  For those who don't know, a Comic Jam is when a comic is started and then passed on to another artist from panel to panel until it is finished.  Early on in the comic, one of the other artists had made mention of a giant, dancing asparagus.  I took it a step further and drew the asparagus and gave it a bowtie and personality.  He became the unofficial mascot of B&W until the club just kinda faded away for sone reason (To this day, there are at least two or three unfinished comics floating around in somebody's inbox waiting to be passed on).  From time to time, I still drew the asparagus, but had never given him a name, until recently.  When he reemerged in a Mike & Mindy anniversary comic, I finally gave him a first name, Simon, after my dear pal, Simon McLaren from England whom I'd met through the Comic Jams.  We bonded quickly over a mutual love of cartooning and absurdist humor and always kept in touch, even as the world rapidly changed around us.  Simon sadly passed away a few years ago.  His digital imprint is all I have left of my pal.  Though I never met him in person, I know he of all people would've appreciated the outrageousness of having an anthropomorphic dancing vegetable named after him.  After all, absurdist humor is how we became friends in the first place!  Sly, I really miss ya bud.  I wish we could've had a few more chats.  I hope you're in a Heaven where Bullet Paw and his pals play you their critter style of blues nonstop.

Another week down as we continue our trek through the falling leaves.  But, more art is coming, so do be sure to come back and see who our next CRAZY subject will be to get the colored pencil treatment!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

BAGPIPIN' FOR THE SEASON!!!

We are back!  Have I told y'all before just how much I love the Fall?  I don't know.  Maybe it's the food, maybe it's the weather, maybe it's because it's the prelude to the holidays, but there's just something about the Fall Season that's just so special to me.  There's nothing nicer than hot cider and a slice of spice cake on a cool Autumn's eve...  Getting a tear in my eye just typing that!  Anyhoo, I got some art!  It's rendered in colored pencils!  You should scroll down and check it out!  Enjoy...

Hello there! It's Gerty MacGrouse!  She's a little Scottie bird, a grouse to be precise, who plays the bagpipes and wears a kilt and a glengarry!  She initially came to the Crazy Forest to teach music, and was nearly driven crazy by her students, but all ended well when the critters showed Gerty how much of a difference she made in their lives and how much they wanted her to stay!  She still appears in Bubble Fox comics from time to time, as recently as this year even, being among the patients wedged into the Balloon Ward at Stokes General Hospital!  This piece came out considerably better than last week's art featuring Nega Bubble.  Again, the colors on Gerty herself blended very well (Smaller Area = Easier Blending).  The background actually looks pretty good all things considered.  Sharper lines can offer greater contrast, but the point of colored pencils is smooth transitions.  Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.

Another week down as we head to the halfway point of September!  But never fear, for we got some more colorful art dancing its way over, so be sure to come back and cheer it on!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!