VAMOOSE WITH THE VAQUITA!!!

Well, another month has come to pass here at the CRAZYVESRE.  But when one door closes another one opens up, and this door is a particularly fun one, for you see...  SUMMER IS HERE!!!  Okay, technically it's still a few weeks away, but come on now; we all know summer really starts the second Memorial Day weekend rolls up!  And the smell of BBQ is already permeating my neighborhood!  But enough about that.  So much cool stuff is on the way that one post isn't enough to contain it.  So let's get our swim trunks on and dive on in with this week's guest who is already jumping for the season!  Enjoy... 

Flipper?  Please!  This Vaquita is way cooler than some pampered porpoise!  Very similar to their dolphin cousins, these marvelous marine critters are critically endangered but hopefully on the road to recovery.  Thankfully, this cartoon vaquita is safe from the perils of our reality.  Another entry from Animal Alphabets, I had a lotta fun with this one.  Keeping the color scheme simple really helps things.  It's easy to get overwhelmed in the coloring process as so many of us want to do shades, highlights and gradients, which are great if you have the time and skill for it.  But, there is a lot to be said about simple flat coloring as well.

And that's a wrap on May 2026, but there's definitely no need to be sad folks!  Why is that?  Because next week, the annual CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN returns!  Hardly seems real that we're already gearing up for the biggest show of the year, but it is on the horizon as guest and show exclusives are already being announced as of this writing!  It'll be a long trip down memory lane well worth taking, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

DON'T CALL HIM A MANATEE!!!

Back again CRAZIES and still merrily on our way to nowhere!  Okay, that's not entirely true as we're actually here right now, looking at this!  But since I'm not one to open up vortexes that could ruin the space-time continuum, let's just swim ahead to the art, shall we?  Enjoy...

The gentle, rotund, noble dugong.  Similar to manatees, with their tails being more fin-shaped like that of a whale, these gentle giants merely plod along in marshes, feeding on water weeds and plants.  The original art for this Animal Alphabets entry looked much, much better when I first did it.  But sadly the scanner I used just had a lot of distortions on it, so I had to recolor it digitally.  It still looks okay, but really loses the depth that coloring with markers gave it.  Oh well.  Them's the brakes sometimes.

And so it is that another week has passed as we head towards the May finale.  But fear not, because I haven't forgotten to queue up some monkey business to send us into June happy, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WHY SO BLUE, WHALE?!?

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  This is DJ Cray-Z playing all your top cartoon hits at blog station CRZY FM!  Okay, enough with the silliness!  Y'all didn't come here to see me live out my fantasies.  Well, actually, you kinda did, but that's neither here nor there!  Y'all want art and I'm gonna deliver!  So let's skip getting our feet wet and dive right in to the new post!  Enjoy...

Blue whales.  THE largest creatures on earth.  Gentle giants who've been wrongly hunted for centuries, they've bounced back somewhat in recent decades.  Hopefully their numbers will continue to grow so future generations can marvel at them.  And at that size, there is a LOT to marvel at!  Another piece for Animal Alphabets, this one was a lot of fun to do.  Blue is one of my my favorite colors, so it was fun to play with the different shades.  And don't worry too much about the water's temperature.  Blue whale blubber is very insulating!

Another week down as our quest for CRAZY Critters continues!  Be sure to come back next week and see who's feathers we'll ruffle next!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later

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!

THE BIG, BILLOWING, BLOATED, BALLOONY BLOWFISH!!!

We are back!  It's the end of the month and I saved the biggest laughs for last!  I know y'all are feeling the buildup right now and the pressure's pretty strong, so I'll end the teasing and innuendos right now and give you all some relief!  And with that, enjoy...

Aw, the blowfish, or pufferfish to those that think they're cute.  Living balloons that are always there to cheer us up.  These breathing cartoon gags are the clowns of the oceans, though the real trick is on any predator that tries to eat one, because if their spines aren't a good enough deterrent, their highly toxic flesh definitely is!  Though fugu is a delicacy in many sushi restaurants, it takes a very skilled hand to prepare it.  I do loves me some sushi, especially a rainbow roll, but I don't want "Killed by a balloon" to be in my obituary someday, so I'll stick with the less harmful fish!  Pinch Punch Post put out this theme yet again, and I'll tell ya, there was some very well-rounded art on Twitter that day.  It wasn't a stretch to say we all expanded our horizons!

And that's a wrap for the month of May.  As of this writing, things haven't been all that merry, but every day is a new day.  I hope in some small way, these art posts have offered some relief and that June will give us all some good news to look forward to.  Until next time CRAZIES, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later.

A KILLER TIME FOR OR SOME KILLER WHALES!!!

Welcome back my CRAZIES!!!  The times they are a changin'...  Seriously, we're only two weeks into August and I'm already elbow-deep in preparation for Fall activities.  It never hurts to get an early start folks and my Halloween builds do tend to take a minute or two to make!  Having said that, perhaps we should dive into this week's art, sound good?  Enjoy...

The Killer Whale, or Orca for those looking for a shortcut.  Granted, these large marine critters are in fact very efficient hunters, but it's not like they're out 24/7 targeting potential victims!  Much like the bumblebee and blue-footed booby, killer whales often suffer from a severe case of bad publicity.  They tried calling themselves "Chum Chewers," but were nearly laughed out of the ocean by the other sea life.  They then tried to change their names to "Sea Hornets" but were threatened with legal action by the United Wasp Foundation.  With no other alternatives, the Orcas kept their lethal nickname and went on to star in numerous shows and attractions throughout the globe!  This art was done for Pinch Punch Post in early 2016.  It was a fast but fun little piece to draw and had local connections as well as killer whales have strong ties to San Diego.  Even without Sea World, wild pods are spotted often off the coast!  I'm quite proud of the word play here.  "Mortally-Challenged Whales" got a lot of laughs from the Twitter crowd!

And that's all she wrote for this week!  We'll be back next time with a colorful look from the wonderful world of insects!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

THE OCTOGENARIAN OCTOPUS!!!

WOOOOOOOOO!!!  January's done y'all!  This month just rolled right along, didn't it?  Hopefully all is well and everyone's ready for February.  But since there's still one day left, may as well finish off January right.  Enjoy...

Stay off his lawn, er, sand!  He's got eight arms and ain't afraid to use them!  This mad mollusk is the result of a hilarious Daily Doodle theme of an "Elderly Octopus!  This is another one that I just kinda ran with and had a blast drawing.  Sea critters are always fun to work with.  Their shapes, colors and movements make them an artists' dream!  Octopi in particular are cartoon naturals, much like jellyfish!  Perhaps it's time I work one into Bubble Fox?

And that's all she wrote for January!  One month down, 11 more to go!  Be sure to come back next week for more CRAZY antics in a new CRAZY month!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

HARDBOILED HILARITY!!!

And we all float on...  Is it me or is January just a straight up drag?  Every other month is much more fun and festive.  At least we're almost through.  And hey!  Today's the 24th!  That means only 11 more months until Christmas Eve!  And before I catch any flack, let's be honest here.  How many of you were thinking that as well?  How many of you still have your lights up even?  Yeah, that's what I thought!  Anyway, y'all don't wanna hear me pine for the holidays.  Y'all wanna see some art (I hope), so let's get to it!  Enjoy...

I'm not gonna lie.  Lobster is so damn delicious!  But man do I hate the way they're cooked.  It just seems like such a harsh way to go.  Surely there's a more humane way to handle it.  If it's any consolation to the red crustaceans, at least they're really expensive!  I honestly can't remember whether this was for Sketch Dailies or the Daily Doodle, but I had a lot of fun drawing it.  At least the Lobster is content with his life and his fate!

And that's all for this week!  One more to go and we can call it for January, so be sure to come back next week and see how it all ends!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

JUGGLIN' JIGGLIN' JELLIES!!!

Here we go again!  Week 2 and counting!  Got some fun art to present today, so why not dive right in, keyword here being "Dive!"  Anyhoo, enjoy...

Jellyfish of Jugglefish?  You decide!  This is another one from the Daily Doodle, who's theme of "Juggling Jellyfish" I clearly remember this time!  I had a lot of fun working on this one.  Simple as it is, it's just a real delight.  Jellyfish are cartoon naturals, like living water balloons!  And I don't see the Boss Jellyfish doing his part!  What a slouch!

And that's all for today.  We'll be back next time with some Thunder from down Under!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!