Creature Feature

Why do I have so many creatures? Simple. They come to me! I don't know why.

Why do I get these vivid otherworldly images of creatures? Maybe they’re collages of things I’ve seen — bits and pieces from movies, anime, games — all stitched together into something new. I am willing to bet on that explanation! Whatever the case may be the moment I get an image in my head I need to get it down on paper.

The Minds Eye for example is one I know for sure came from the Yu-Gi-Oh! monster Illusionist Faceless Mage. Now, you might be thinking how? The Mage has no face, while the Mind’s Eye is covered in mouths and eyes. I think it is more about the hands. I loved Yu-Gi-Oh! especially as a kid. It was one of the first anime I watched growing up! When it came on the TV it was one of those shows I always stopped what I was doing to watch the opening. There’s this one scene where the Illusionist reaches out toward me in this eerie, hypnotic way. It always felt like I was being pulled straight into the Shadow Realm. That mysterious Imagery stuck with me because Just as the Illusionist Faceless Mage stretches his hand out towards the viewer, The Minds Eye reached out to me to create it. In the end it was less about the visual that sparked the inspiration and more about the feeling it evoked.

The Minds Eye was brought to immortality via markers on sketchpad in 2019.

The Chopper is technically the very first creature of them all. Like the others, it started as a random sketch I just needed to get out of my head. After I finished the drawing, someone told me it reminded them of Barry the Chopper from Fullmetal Alchemist — and instantly, I saw it! That show is one of my all-time favorite anime, so the connection made total sense. Even though the drawing was technically finished I was never fully satisfied with it as I thought some of the proportions were off. So I revisited it years later with fresh eyes and redrew it. Now, I think it captures more detail and personality than ever before — a proper rebirth for my very first creature.

The Chopper we reborn via markers and sketchpad in 2025.

Goop on the other hand I literally don't know. He's a mystery. An Enigma. I speculated he is the culmination of the Pokémon Muk and Slimer from Ghostbusters. Though funny thing is, I have never seen Ghostbusters before creating this painting. So I really haven't cared or thought twice about him! So in the end I am not sure what inspired him. Maybe it is a coincidence — or maybe he oozed out from some forgotten corner of my imagination, so he can be immortalized on a canvas!

Goop oozed to life via acrylic paint on canvas in 2020.

Purple and green were never my favorite color combinations, but it felt appropriate for this slimy creature.

Then There is Whoa. This one was random. One night I was up late watching this show on Netflix called Midnight Asia. My room was bathed in soft purple and blue light — the perfect vibe for sketching. Comfy in bed with my sketch book and markers and not knowing what to draw until, suddenly, it came to me. I grabbed my markers and started sketching furiously. Next thing I know it's 2 a.m. and I was done. I looked down and realized I had created this gangly, wide-eyed alien with a gaping mouth. I couldn’t think of a better name than Whoa.

So what actually inspired him? Honestly, I have no idea. The only thing that comes close is that weird fish at the bus station from the SpongeBob “Rock Bottom” episode. Mind you I hadn’t seen that cartoon in over a decade, but maybe that memory had just been waiting — dormant — for the right moment to resurface. I do not pretend to understand the complex workings of brains and memories. I guess the inspiration was always there, but it lied dormant until my mind was ready!

Whoa warped into this world via maker and sketchpad in 2022.

Inspiration for these creatures hits me out of nowhere — sometimes in dreams, sometimes when I’m half-asleep and lost in thought. When it happens, I have to move fast. If I catch it in time, the creature is born, just as it appeared in my mind. That’s how The Mind’s Eye, Goop, The Chopper, and Whoa came to life.

If I miss that window, the image fades. Still, I like to think those ideas aren’t gone forever — just resting somewhere deep in my subconscious, waiting for the right moment to return.