Self Caricature #1

We're doing an exercise in my college's new Animation club involving drawing 5 caricatures of ourselves in 5 different, recognizable styles. So, here's my ugly mug imitating the style of primo artist Gary Baseman, who you might recognize as the mastermind behind the Cranium games and the series Teacher's Pet on the Disney channel.

I actually forget what an influence Teacher's Pet was on my tiny brain; I think I was one of about a dozen avid watchers when I was a kid. I think I came for Nathan Lane (I could listen to the man read a phonebook and be enthralled) and stayed for the fun, weird art style.

Though, upon further investigation, the rest of Baseman's art leans towards the, uh... well, let's just say childhood ruining.

A World that Swings

I was checking out some ancient drawings that I'd done on a website that shall not be named because you all probably know it, and stumbled across this beauty, done back in 2010 when I was first feeling out Photoshop, and decided that it needed a redraw because it was, you know, dreadful. So, enjoy my tiny 3 year leap of progress, for what it's worth

-The Classy Moth

I Married Young... it's All a Blur...

The Kids in the Hall often drew their humor from very dark places in their lives. Between sexuality-based harassment, body issues and rough childhoods, some skits felt less geared to make you laugh and more of an opportunity to expel some demons.

I would think that Myra, Bruce McCulloch’s obliviously giddy housewife character, probably has roots in the Kids’ mothers in the same way that the recurring gruff, alcoholic husband archetype is a clear compound of their fathers. The basis of the first skit Myra appears in is, simply, that she makes potato salad for the viewer and hilarity ensues. The skit isn’t gag-heavy, though– far from it, in fact. The skit is made purely by the fact that Bruce has nailed this person’s characteristics and plays it as straightforwardly and genuinely as possible, exploiting the character’s quiet desperation in a way that is equal parts funny and disturbing.

So, consider this my tribute to the Kids’ admirable devotion to their work, no matter how surreal and subversive it sometimes got.

Also, Myra looks a lot like an old friend of mine. Like, a lot lot. Like, a creepy amount. But that's neither here nor there.

-The Classy Moth