I did this drawing while teaching at the University of the Arts’ Saturday Arts Lab last week. I teach cartooning and comics creation to 7th and 8th graders. The class is always awesome. Any kid that is signing up for a 6th day of school is generally well-behaved and hungry to learn. These kids work really hard, and I am often amazed by the amount of talent and growth I see each semester. Plus I have two really great assistant teachers this go-round. I always get good ones. These courses always remind me why I love to teach art. I wish I had time to invest in more programs like this.
This particular drawing is my rendering of a “Crocaroo”. He’s part Crocodile, part kangaroo if you haven’t figured that out. If this animal existed in the real world, humanity would be in trouble. The title of the project is called “The Zoo of Your Imagination”. I swiped it from the book, “Drawing: For the Artistically Undiscovered” by John Cassidy and Quentin Blake. The book is an amazing activity book that really encourages artists of all ages to exercise their imagination, which is the one muscle you really need to be a good cartoonist. I have a bunch of wildlife kingdom photo cards from my childhood. So if a student is having trouble creating a brand new animal, they can take pieces of all different animals and combine them. One of my students this week said he had this project in a different class, but another teacher called it “Composite Animals”.
Speaking of that Blake book, my friend and Meathaus brother Chris McD has recently released an activity book that is also an amazing catalyst for the imagination. It’s “Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book”. It’s quirky and fun and amazing. McD is an awesome cartoonist with clients under his belt like Adult Swim, Yo Gabba Gabba, Ralph Bakshi, and Spumco (Ren & Stimpy) just to name a few. If you’d like to learn more about his book, CLICK HERE.
