A comic inspired by a friend of mine, Corey Grunewald, who said “The chair just wouldn’t stop!” 

Just got an old roll of film developed from last year. One of my favorite things to do! 

I posted this on my other blog at 2 a.m. last night so I thought why not share it with my art blog?

I had thought about this previously while on a walk a few months ago, why Winnie The Pooh was so successful in the 1920’s. Perhaps it was because it massaged the imagination; these animals were alive and well because of the mind of Christopher Robin, a lonely young boy  who had no one to play with except for his stuffed animals. A rather saddening plot but a beautiful tale that obtained character conflicts, resolutions, and a dynamic that one may ask, can a young boy even think of all of this? The greatest part was, no one really thought about it while reading and focused mostly on Pooh and his friends with the occasional appearance of Christopher Robin. A very unique tale of it’s time. 

Later in the 80’s, we have Calvin and Hobbes, a more aggressive and witty style due to Calvin’s juvenile and philosophical expressions. His imagination was extended to his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who would turn back into his stuffed self whenever anyone else besides Calvin appeared. I remember as a kid being confused with this but later accepted that this point being introduced, Hobbes switching within a single strip, was literally illustrating Calvin’s mind. 

In the mid 90’s, Pokemon had trickled it’s way into the pockets of Americans. It was the first video-game influenced cartoon series that served as a huge marketing tool for merchandise, such as Pokemon cards, Pokedex, Game Boys, Hats, and so on. The extension of this imagination was brought into the real world where the concept was to “catch them all”. This made it very exciting for kids and for the wallet of the Pokemon headquarters. 
To relate to the on-going theme of kid versus imaginary friend, Pokemon introduced the customizable imaginary friend since you had an option of 150 friends. It almost seems more disconnected than Winnie the Pooh, where the viewer was submerged in Christopher Robbin’s world and Calvin and Hobbes which pointed out Calvin’s imagination. Pokemon is just as real as a card battle or long car ride with a game boy.  

This brings up the current day cartoons and the closest example I can think of is Adventure Time. Although it may not be as extended as Pokemon, the video game quality continues as Finn and Jake role play in a world with maybe thousands of different characters that don’t really play any specific roles other than to conflict Finn and Jake. The only heart-to-heart theme that reoccurs is the fact that Finn and Jake are “tight dudes” and need each other to complete their mission. 
This relates to the imaginary friend because now the main character lives in a whole new world that is completely ripped away from reality where the economics and conflicts are just as imaginary and nothing really makes any sense. The success of it? The concept of the story remains simple within itself, just like Tom and Jerry, where Jerry would spend every episode out-smarting Tom in a cat-mouse chase. 

This is just a gist of the thought and I probably need to do some more research on other examples of cartoons that have the same themes throughout time. It’s interesting though, since cartoons have reached social acceptance in the adult world (Adult Swim/ Cyanide and Happiness) and new styles and ways of writing have come up. Perhaps these thoughts can speculate the future of cartoon styles and if the imaginary friend aspect will still be around. 

Well, now that finals are over… I made this last week. Drawing helps a ton!

A thank-you card I made for my Uncle. I stayed at his house in Adams Morgan, DC for a weekend and took my boyfriend and I out to an awesome French Bistro. This is based off of his cat Jack who is the most spoiled host ever.

Hand-written cut out for a poster presentation in my English class. 

Downtown Richmond 

I had to upload this four times because I keep forgetting NO CMYK! This is a mock-up of an assignment to illustrate a book cover for a short story.

A sketch I made during a lecture today.

Did some sketching in downtown Richmond today around lunch. It’s gorgeous outside if you’re on the east!