MILLIE IS A GAS!!! AND SO IS TIM BUDGEN!!!

Welcome to April CRAZIES!!!  In better times, I would've been reviewing WonderCon 2021 for you all today, but... Less said the better I suppose.  There is some hope though.  I recently got my first dose of the vaccine and will be getting the second dose towards the end of the month.  California's numbers have dropped considerably in recent weeks and things are slowly opening up.  It's cautious optimism at best, but hopefully things will continue to improve here and elsewhere.  Only time will tell.

This month will be a special month as I celebrate some fellow cartoonists and illustrators that I'm quite fond of!  Last year, in an effort to keep spirits high, I took to drawing fan art for my pals and inspirations in the cartooning world.  It was a campaign I called Spread Some Laughs.  Kept it going for about six months before the daily drawing challenges started up in the fall.  This week's entry was part of a different collective, but still falls within the range of fan art, so I've included it today anyway because I wanted this month start with a bang!  Enjoy...

Mermaids primarily eat seafood, so they are likely to be VERY gassy.  Today's art was part of the popular Twitter trend of #DrawThisInYourStyle, where an artist will post something they've done and ask others to draw it in their own distinct styles.  My good pal Tim Budgen, an amazing illustrator from jolly old England, posted some art from his book, Starwhal, for us to draw.  It's the tale of a little mermaid named Millie and her magical pet narwhal who is actually a sparkly-powered Starwhal!  Tim's original image was of the two of them swimming together, which I technically did replicate, but I had to pump a little bit of CRAZY into the piece too, hence the flatulent nature!  Luckily, Tim loved it and everybody thought it was a fun piece!  Hopefully Tim STILL likes it and hasn't forgotten that he STILL has a #DTIYS featuring Mike & Mindy to draw!  Possibly even two if he chooses to do the next challenge!

So ends Week 1 of April 2021!  It's my birth month and spring is in full swing, so be sure to come back next week and be blown away by some fun fan art!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!  Oh, and Happy Easter!

MERMAID GENTICS... THEY AIN'T PRETTY!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Hopefully y'all are staying safe and strong as we continue to recover.  Time marches on here as it does elsewhere.  If you happen to be in need of a laugh or two, just scroll down the page a bit and take a peek!  Hopefully the laughs will expand more than the subject's posterior did!  Enjoy...

Watch out Dad!  She's gonna blow!  More!  If you're gonna be half human, half fish, then you're bound to have some variety at some point!  I mean, look at how mermaids are typically portrayed:  Human top with a generic fish tail.  Surely they are more complex than that?  Well, today's art shows that yes they are!  'Course, now I'm curious as to what the rest of her family tree might look like!  This was another Animal Alphabets theme and boy was this one fun to do.  This could stand alone as a single panel comic strip in a newspaper.  When I started out, I was scared to do single-panel gags because I didn't think I could nail a story in such a short frame.  I'm not on Gary Larson's level, but I think I've gotten pretty good with the single-panel medium.  The reaction this one got was very satisfying.  Everybody got a kick out of this spoiled, swollen mermaid!

Well, that's all for now.  We'll be back next week with some colorful new art that you may find a little hot around the collar.  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!