HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

Octoberfair has returned to Clarksburg! Based on the German festival of a similar name, adults are invited to partake in food and beer sampling while the kids run around and play. Since this is an Americanized version of the event, naturally the events lean heavily on Halloween theming more than fall itself. Hence carnival attractions like The Haunted House, Down the Zombie, a FEARis Wheel, and of course the Creepy Corn Maze! It’s here we find Bumper and Xena, the two out to have fun as Crocie feeds on pumpkin-spiced funnel cake in the main tent. Bumper would’ve stayed with his fat friend for it not for Xena presenting her pal with a wager. Should he escape the corn maze before her, without the aid of any of his phantom powers, he may pick their Halloween costumes for this year. Having the perfect costumes in mind, Bumper accepted his alien friend’s terms, thinking this would be a piece of pumpkin pie. About a minute in was enough to prove the little ghoul wrong. He was constantly set upon by scare actors whenever he wasn’t lost in the paths of corn. Just as the floating marshmallow was about to throw in the towel, a rustling noise made its way through the stalks. His fear was immediately replaced by interest when the source of the noise turned out to be a black cat named Kiki. Like always, it didn’t take long for Bumper to befriend the feline, who led Bumper out of the maze. Xena followed close behind, congratulating her best buddy on a job well done. When asked how he did it, the ghost revealed he had some help. Yet when he turned to introduce Xena to Kiki, the cat was gone. What happened to her?

Who knows, cuz she’s not gonna be a recurring character. Sorry folks, the Samp Gang doesn’t need a pet. Their quota of mostly silent, largely adorable companions has already been met by the giggling lil’ ghouly himself. Adding a cat to the mix would just complicate things and draw attention away from our main four heroes. If I’m feeling nice I’ll have Kiki pop up in future Halloween pictures, but for now I just wanted to draw Bumper being friendly to a black cat. Personally I’ve always thought it was weird how they were associated with bad luck when they’re such adorable fuzzballs. Considering Crocie’s stories are about finding kindred spirits in the most peculiar places, I figured a black cat would fit the bill nicely. Of course I had to name it after one of my favorite cartoon witches, but I had trouble deciding on either Luz or Kiki. Only after I ran the names and sketch by my friend @the-pale-servant did I settle for Kiki. I hope you all enjoy her and this DUDEL!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

Sum dudelz. Nun is from the movie Black Narcissus, which is great. #sketch #doodle #poopcork #blacknarcissus #study #pencil #illustration

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

Deep in the forests of France is the home of the fae folk or fairies. Many travelers have wandered through the woods to find them, few have ever found it. Save for a visiting Italian pizza maker searching the forest for fresh ingredients. He knew for sure that Escargot Pizza was gonna drive folks wild! What he didn’t know was that he was being watched. After days of being stalked he finally met his follower, Villa, the Queen of the Faes. In no time at all the two had built up a rapport, enough for the pink fairy to show this yellow stranger the hidden gateway to her world. Sadly, it was this show of affection that led both lovers to their doom. Discovering that the pizza maker discovered the secret to finding the Faes, they kidnapped him and used him as leverage against the Queen. Either he forfeit her friend’s life or show them where her kingdom lied. In the end it was for not. Once the hidden world was revealed, the Italian was butchered along with all the fairies, their magic siphoned off for various elixirs and tonics. Now the Queen was truly alone. And angry. She set out to find the poachers in order to give them a taste of their own medicine. To this day it’s said you can hear their screams echoing throughout the forest, their killer still mourning the loss of her beloved.

My, what a dark story. Especially since Fairy Villa originated in a humorous little follow up to 10 Minutes on Halloween. Not wanting Pizza Monster’s girlfriend to be left out of the fun, my friend Fantasynarium quickly made a comic where the ice cream monster had a surprise for her boyfriend waiting at her creamery. Said surprise being this awesome costume that nearly gave PM an aneurysm. Despite the awesome design developed by my friend, I only drew Villa in the ensemble once afterwards. As such I knew I had to bring the Ice Cream Fairy back for this year’s DUDEL event. My goal was to tweak as little as possible given how lovely the original outfit was. In the end it turned out great, especially with the choice in colors. Like the other DUDELZ the rule is only one color allowed, meaning everything else had to be grayscale. Doing so here gave the character a kind of goth look that I oddly dig. I may have to draw more goth Villa in the future. For now though, I hope you all enjoy this long awaited return of Villa!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE: Alecia wanted to try something new this Halloween season. By that I mean she wanted to get out of the house and not binge all thirteen Camp Carnage films. Again. Most of them were garbage anyway. No, there was something far more fun waiting for her! She just had to find it first. It didn’t take her long. Her friend Clark contacted Alecia informing her of an upcoming costume contest with a hundred dollar prize! A prize the masked maniac was determined to win! How fortunate that her spotted friend recently introduced her to a great show featuring a feisty femme fatale perfect for cosplaying! Skin tight military suits for the win!

Honestly, the backstory I make up for this DUDEL doesn’t matter in the slightest. This is simply long overdue vengeance. For the last two years my masked buddy Alec (@burningthrucelluloid) did his own Inktober challenge in the form of Dresstober. Instead of a list of prompts to base your art on, the artists in question are given a multitude of preselected outfits to dress their characters in. Or in the case of my cinephile companion, his characters, a few of mine, and me. You see, for whatever reason my friends get a big kick out of gender-swapping me. All because I dressed up as Sailor Moon the one time. OraTheRebelKitsune, I hope you’re happy cuz you technically started all this! Does it bug me? Yeah, kinduv’. Much as I love it when my friends make any pictures of or for me, it gets pretty annoying when none of them draw me as who I am. Alec is by far the worst offender, spending an astonishing amount of money for people to draw me sporting cleavage with their own gravitational pull. Earlier this year he paid one artist named fallen20xx to draw me as Ms. Marvel from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. I had gotten Alec hooked to the show while also gushing over Carol’s exceptionally sexy legs. Should’ve known that’d come back to bite me. Just like my friend should’ve known his constant drooling over Maria Hill and Abigail Brand would be his undoing. The latter had a more interesting outfit, hence why my best buddy is wearing it here. Also included is an actual quote he said while watching the show! By the way, I did all this before he paid for fallen’s commission, so really I was totally in the right to sketch this. In any case, I hope you all enjoy this sweet slice of revenge as much as Alec does! XP

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

How does an alien hailing from the planet Garbanzo manage to run a successful drive-in business in the age of streaming services? By not being an idiot. After buying a former run-down truck stop turned drive thru, Ziggy realized his enterprise had to cater to a niche audience. A niche audience that, like him, realizes the best way to watch B-Movies is on a big-screen from the comfort of your car. It’s why the Robot Monster goes to such great lengths to keep everything running smoothly. Thus everyday he sweeps the parking lots, pops fresh popcorn, and inspects his projectors. Gotta make sure the movie can actually be watched, am I right? Can’t very well enjoy The Blob when your equipment’s possessed by evil and spewing out blood like a gore geyser! It’s why he and his wife Wanda make sure to sharpen the chainsaw whenever possible. That’s just smart business!

It’s also an excuse for me to pay tribute to Evil Dead. Specifically the scene near the end where Ash (Bruce Campbell) stumbles around the cellar of the cabin, looking for buckshot only to find more blood. The poor man has the stuff dumped onto his head by the gallon via leaky pipes before he’s seen quivering in front of an antique projector. More of the red stuff leaks onto the lens, making it look like the whole world is turning a creepy shade of crimson around our hapless hero. According to Campbell, the scene was meant as a tribute to one of the production’s backers, Andy Grainger. Thank goodness for Andy then, cuz it’s easily the most ironic moment in the movie, even serving as the cover for the comic adaptation years later. It at least serves as the perfect visual for Sam Raimi’s style of directing. Weird camera techniques, buckets of blood, and Bruce Campbell’s sanity shredded to pieces. Now here it all is in my tribute to the films starring Clarksburg’s resident B-Movie expert, Wonder Ziggy. I hope to draw more of this crazy character soon, but for now I hope you all enjoy this DUDEL!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

PS: In case anybody's wondering where yesterday's DUDEL is, sorry folks, my schedule got wonky. I plan on re-releasing that soon, but first I gotta finish a commission for my friend AND cleaning my entire house to bottom. My entire body is sore, though given Ziggy's circumstance, maybe I shouldn't complain. XD

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK!

On New Year's 2024 I vowed to myself that I'd be more productive than ever, streamlining all of my ideas and making a decent living on commissions. While doing that I figured I'd keep my creative muscles limber by posting the occasional DUDEL or Sketch BOOM every now and again. Now chances are these won't be a daily thing. There'll be some days when I'm just feeling too bushed to scribble my silly ideas down on paper or I'll be too busy binging the likes of Steven Universe or Burn Notice. Yes, I am fully aware that those two shows make for a weird combination. Just imagine Michael Westen trying to help out the Crystal Gems, I'd totally watch that. Then again, I have a weird imagination as this DUDEL is about to illustrate.

Christopher Robin had many companions living in the Hundred Acre Woods. Though perhaps none plushy pal holds as special a place in his heart as his dear friend Edward Bear, or Pooh for short. Pooh was not a bright bear. Solving complex equations or discuss the philosophies of Plato were of little use to one who has fluff where his brains would be. Luckily brains aren't required to be intelligent. Old Edward more than made up for this when it came to his immensely large heart. Weather is was protecting his pal Piglet from Jagulars, helping his friend Eeyore find his tail, or simply bouncing around with Tigger, Eddy was the bear everybody turned to. Including Matt Whimsy, the animation magician of Hollywood responsible for Freddy and Fiona Fox. He and his animation team at Whimsy Studios adapted the classic tales of this lovable teddy bear into a series of movies over the years that have outlived A.A. Milne, Matt Whimsy, and even Christopher Robin himself. Now today fans of the characters can meet them at Whimsyland in California whenever not riding Edward's Excellent Expedition, helping the gang from the woods find the fabled North Pole!

Maybe I can help them find it after completing an entire Sketch BOOM. This was meant to be the start of one right up until Rosie Stardust foiled my plans. Dang that Cosmic Cutie and her alien design! Having said that, expect more from my multiversal adventurer later. For now I couldn't let a good design go to waste. What prompted me to draw this was Whimsyland, my answer to the question of what is Brooklyn Nine Nine took place at a theme park instead of a police precinct. Realizing I needed more recognizable characters for this fictional park, I decided to go with the ones that were thankfully in the public domain. Really the challenge was coming up with a design that wasn't similar to those used my a certain company, which I think I succeeded in doing. What helped was going back to the original designs by E.H. Shepard and keeping to the simplistic mindset. My biggest hurtle was Pooh's attire since, despite wearing one in the original freak'n book, I couldn't dress him in a tiny red shirt. So instead I settled on a scarf to fit with his adventurous life style. Here's hoping we'll see more of Old Eddy, Piglet, and Tigger in the future. For now-

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

PS: Oh, you noticed the logo on the bottom, did you? We'll talk about that later...

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

Bumper is a mystery. Nobody knows when he died, how long ago the deed was done, or who did it. All we know now is that he is a child-like spirit who can only speak one word: Boo. Despite not knowing much about his own origin, the floating marshmallow is more than contempt with living an adventurous life with his family whenever not making new friends. However, one shouldn’t be caught assuming the friendly specter doesn’t have a dark side. It rarely comes out, but is a sight to behold nonetheless. Revealed only when the spirit is angry or agitated, the small spook becomes a hulking, haunting mass of fear! Gone are his pudgy digits in favor of sharp claws, his round, caring eyes swapped out for white, lifeless dots surrounded by a ghoulish gray, even his Boo becomes a deafening wail! For others this form proves frightening. For the Swamp Gang it’s a sign that the little ghostly goober needs a nap.

Just like this drawing needs an explanation! Back in 2017 I had sketched a ‘scary’ version of Bumper for no particular reason. Whether it was an idea for a story or just a random scribbling didn’t really matter, so the idea was left behind. That is until June of this year when the Dungeon Moron @burningthrucelluloid decided to pull the wool out from under me. During the Curse of Strahd campaign, Crocie managed to find his otherworldly companion within the titular blood sucker’s domicile. However, by then a week had passed and Strahd had gaslit the spirit into thinking the reptile had abandoned him. Why Bumper would believe that when the vampire was the one who torched his original body and held him hostage for all the time is anybody’s guess. Gaps in logic aside, the floating marshmallow transformed a dark, snarling, horrendous version of himself Alec referred to as 'Dark Bumper'. Making it all the more spookier was the fact that I hadn't shown him my sketch until after that session. It was after doing so I realized I shouldn't let a cool design go to waste, thus utilizing it for this DUDEL. Here’s hoping you all enjoy it and that Bumper is really just a double agent.

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HAVING SAID ALL THAT: Two Bumper DUDELZ in a row? Jee Clark, I love the undead goober but don't you have other characters to draw? Yes, and I do plan on drawing more of them soon. However, do to prior art projects demanding my attention, there won't be any more DUDELZ for the next few days. This was the last one I had in the reserves, scheduled to be posted later on this month, but I didn't wanna leave you folks hanging. So here's one last DUDEL before we enter a temporary pause. 

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

All Hallow’s Eve has arrived in the Big Apple. For many it’s a time for tricks and treats. For the Knights of the Square Table, it means overtime. While a handful of their colleagues attended to other affairs, AH, 102, ZO-E, and LAS-E were out on patrol when they got the call from Greenwich Village. Much like the parade held there every year, Halloween served as a perfect excuse for some psycho to make their move. Our heroes arrived prepared for the worst of trouble. What they couldn’t predict was one of their own being turned against them. AH certainly couldn’t. While surveying the crowd in the hopes to find their foe, a strange fog overcame and overwhelmed the blind bot. It forced her down to the ground, crying out in pain as a mysterious force transformed her. Her fingers crept out into claws, her face sprouted into a snout, her figure became far bigger. By the time her friends arrived on the scene it was too late: the AH Wolf was born! Compelled by the mysterious force, she swatted her colleagues away under the assumption they were the real threat. Whatever was manipulating AH had turned her into a monster. One that required the rest of our heroes to drop their plans to help their pal. Now with the magical might of EMIL-E, the Knights of the Square Table must turn AH back to normal and figure out who's behind all of this before it’s too late. Can our heroes save the night?

Even if they can’t, this was yet another fun DUDEL to draw. It’s also an idea I’ve had locked away in my mind for the longest time. You can tell because I first drew this character variation back in 2016, back when I was still in CTI. I drew that along with an idea for another spoopy sketch we’ll be seeing later this week, but clearly it was in need of a much needed update. At the very least I knew I wanted to draw this fun take on a werewolf howling atop one of the Chrysler Building eagles, which seems like prime real estate for monster posing. Seriously, if that hasn’t been done in a movie yet then somebody has to make it happen! AH will keep it warm for you until you do. Otherwise there’s not much to say about the redesign, since I stayed fairly faithful to the original with a few tweaks here and there. Really the most interesting aspect of this piece was when I drew it. There was a full moon out a few nights ago and I took that as a sign that I just had to draw this. The following night got even stranger with the arrival of a Blood Moon. Not only was the moon full, but not like Sandy Claws it was huge and red! According to my friend @Void-Android this is what happens when Earth’s shadow is in the lunar eclipse phase. Either way it looked super cool and prompted me to complete this werewolf-based DUDEL that I hope you all enjoy!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

Xena hears of an upcoming pumpkin carving contest being held in Downtown Clarksburg and eagerly enlists Bumper’s aid. Combining her twisted sense of ambition with his childlike creativity practically guarantees their victory, right? Wrong! That very same childlike creativity is what’s preventing the floating marshmallow from tearing the fruit’s flesh apart. After all, how could he hurt an innocent? How could he bring himself to do such an awful thing?

How could I bring myself not to draw Bumper and Xena for Halloween this year? For crying out loud, Croc’s entire family face the supernatural every other day of the year, so of course Halloween would feel naked without’m. Even if that wasn’t the case, this idea was too funny not to draw. It came to me while watching It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, laughing at Linus’s dismay when Lucy carves up the pumpkin they brought home. There was something so sweet and wholesome about the boy’s reaction that I knew would also work for Bumper, especially if Xena got involved. Unlike Lucy, who struggled to draw a basic face onto a pumpkin, Xena’s imagination is a lot more interesting to say the least. Needless to say it made drawing her Jack-O-Lantern fun to sketch. Another fun aspect were the kid’s costumes, Xena dressed as Ellen Ripley from Aliens and Bumper dressed up as a Ghostbuster. Much like Pizzabeard, I was dying for an excuse to draw these two in these outfits again after doing so back in 2021. It all comes together for an adorably funny DUDEL that I hope you all enjoy!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK!

There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

Avast me mateys, gather ‘round as I tell ye’ the story of Captain Pizzabeard! He was the fiercest pirate to ever plunder these seven seas! It was said he was saltier than anchovies, as volatile as jalapenos, and cheesier than mozzarella! Which be good, since all he ever stole was pizza. Honestly, with a name like that, what were ya’ scallywags expecting? Nevertheless the captain was a ruthless buccaneer with an appetite as deep as the Mariana Trench! Fighting by his side was the lovely lassie Vile Villa, the bubbly buckenner Fizzy Fright, as well as his three wards, Blueberry, Bubble Gum, and Burger. Together they robbed the ocean blind of its tastiest treasures! Alas, all good tales must come to an end! For one day his ship, the Jolly Domino, fell under attack by a conniving band of pasta privateers. Years of robbing these rapscallions blind had cost the Pizza Monster dearly. Before he could mount a proper defense, the privateers sent their foes off to meet with Davy Jones. Or so they thought. None could believe their eyes that fateful day. It was a week’r so after the Jolly Domino had sunk that their attackers were sent back to Clarks Bay port, their ship full of holes. Even more so when it was discovered that the crew had been liquified, their bodies melted by molten cheese! Some say it was Captain Pizzabeard seeking his revenge from the great beyond. Others say he and his crew haunt the oceans to this day, still searching the world for a salty slice. What do I say?

I say I’ve been wanting to draw Pizza Monster in this costume again since 2013. That year was when I launched 10 Minutes on Halloween, a quick little comic depicting what happens when Pizza Monster leaves his nephews and niece alone while Trick or Treating. Easily the best part of that comic was drawing everybody in costume, PM especially. While I drew him in his pirate ensemble once more after that, no other excuses presented themselves until this year. Being the first DUDEL of this year gave me the chance to test out the color scheme for the rest of my sketches, that being none save for one color. Obviously this one’s periwinkle. I love the end results, especially the ways I updated the costume. My only complaint would go to the background. My original plans of cross hatching it didn’t pan out, so I had to make a big, black, inky background to cover it up. Despite this stumble I hope you all enjoy this and future DUDELZ to come!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT IS I, SANTA CLARK! Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose. Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again. All the dogs in the neighborhood somehow learned to bark Jingle Bells in sync. Yet retail workers are still more annoyed with Mariah Carey. Snow is getting shoveled, tossed, and formed into sentient beings leading parades without permits. It makes for an excellent distraction as the Krampus abducts children for bad behavior. Fruitcake is exchanged only to find its permanent home in the garbage. Terrorists have hijacked the Holiday office party right before your boss can give you a Jelly of the Month Club membership as your bonus. And of course, the Turducken has returned to wreak its fiery vengeance upon an unsuspecting world! If all this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps this festive slice of cheer from the Clarktoons will!

Let's make like The Ghost of Christmas Past and rewind back to 2014. Folks were suffering from Frozen Fever, both as a result of the movie and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. That year also saw Jimmy Fallon take over The Tonight Show after Leno stepped away for real this time, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swung low while the Guardians of the Galaxy aimed high, people still cared about Kanye and Kim's relationship as if either people are worth your attention, Bill Cosby was outed as the horrible monster that he is, and most importantly of all, I initiated the 12 Days of Christmas event. Yes, clearly that's as major a moment as those other things I mentioned. Starting December 14th I would post a new pic or comic everyday leading up 'til Christmas. Our first year saw the Pizza Bites writing their oddball letters to Santa (with help from Mr-Herp-Derp), Crocie visualizing his perfect yuletide, and even a full length action comic starring me as a seasonal superhero. And in case anybody asks: no, the Holiday Knight isn't coming back. Sadly, neither will the 12 Days at this rate. Despite my continued best efforts, this festive event hasn't been able to return ever since 2020. Blame that on the last four months of every year becoming an increasingly busy time for. Should the choice arise, I will always pick spending the season with my family over drawing. Weird to hear, I know. Still, that's not to say I haven't been hard at work. You can tell I have considering this giant page of sketches I found lingering in Clarktoon Christmas limbo. Thus we have Dumpster DUDELZ: Regifted Edition! Let's take a peak to what's waiting under the tree?

[1] KARL THE KRAMPUS People credit that crummy 2015 horror movie for introducing Krampus into the popular culture. To that I say; you're all wrong! Clearly I did that a year earlier with my own character, Karl. Being a Clarktoon take on a German folk monster, naturally he became a big, bumbling goofball envisioned to have the voice of Richard Kind. It also meant he encountered Croc's Swamp Gang the most, Xena and Bumper especially. After years of the two (or at least Xena) tormenting the fluffy demon, it was time for a facelift. Honestly this design is a drastic upgrade over the original, making Karl more monstrous while not losing his approachability. Cuz only in the Clarktooniverse will you meet a cuddly monster who drags naughty children of to hell. XD

[2] NUTCRACKER: REB00TED CAST Nutcracker freak'n sucks! I have made my opinions regarding this boring ballet no secret over the years. For crying out loud, I compared going to see it to the Five Stages of Death. Nothing against anybody who does enjoy it, just don't count me among your masses. Getting me to like adaptations lacking Mickey and Minnie is a challenge. Then again, I enjoy a good challenge. While contemplating what I would do with the story one year, an ad for Matrix: Resurrections dropped onto YouTube. After seeing it I thought: what if the world of Nutcracker was set within the Matrix? Hence we have Nutracker: REB00TED! I plan to diverge more plot details later, but for now you can at least meet our cast. Starting from left to right we have Prince Leon, the Nutcracker Prince who's grasp on reality is slipping. Helping to guide him is the Count Drosselmyer, turned into Love-A-Lot Larry Beary. Don't let his cuddly facade fool you, he will whoop yo' @$$! Alongside his niece Clara, the badass ballerina determined to rescue her beloved and free the kingdom from the evil Rat King! What does the king look like? Good things come to those who wait...

[3] ROSIE MEETS THE HOGFATHER Any excuse to draw Rosie Stardust is an awesome one! Even if the sketch is last minute like this one. During the Holiday season last year this random little idea sprung into mind of Rosie exploring Christmas contemporaries across the multiverse. This would include Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Hearth's Warming Eve, Life Day, and of course Hogswatch. Anyone familiar to the works of Terry Pratchett will recognize the name. Just like those esteemed few will also recognize the mini-Claus counterpart the Cosmic Cutie's encountered. It's not the Hogfather she was expecting, but she will gladly take it!

[4] WILBUR'S PLASTIC TREE You'd think a collection of coupons would be the easiest to complete. Just like you'd think the monkeys would stop flying out of my butt at some point. Nope, that ain't happening. Blame it on my nitpicky attention to details, otherwise Wilbur's White Elephants coupons are already a third of the way done. In fact, the sketch here is already fully colored just waiting to be posted. Being the cheap sonuv'a bush he is, Wilbur naturally won't go for a natural Christmas tree, instead opting for plastic. No, the other kind of plastic. The kind that'll guarantee some poor tree manufacturer in Hoboken will get an angry phone call from an irate store manager. And in case you're wondering what he sounds like, my ideal voice actor is Daran Norris doing his Jameson voice from Spectacular Spider-Man!

[5-7] REDESIGNS FOR RANDOLF, CUPID, AND ZED My, here's a jolly trio that haven't been seen in a good while. Probably because I keep wanting to give them better designs! This is an itch I can't ever seem to scratch! Since I've listed all three of them together, let's go over each character:

RANDOLF: The cocky but caring step-brother of a certain red-nosed reindeer, Randolf hosts the famous North Pole 1 radio show alongside his bear buddy Zed whenever not hosting the even more famous Reindeer Games. Out of all the characters, Randolf is the one who's design if the toughest to crack. I want him to look young, but not super young. Think early to mid 30s if you will. It'd probably help if I could pin down a potential voice for him. Sam Rockwell is the top contender in my mind.

CUPID: Following some messy drama between princessofDisney27 of Disney and I, the original version of Cupid was thrown out and reworked from the top down. With an extreme hairstyle I 'borrowed' from MLP and an athlete's need for speed, Cupid lives up to her namesake who first pulled Santa's sleigh years ago. No idea on who would voice her if I could afford it.

ZED: Raised by gay penguins on a diet of Polar Cola and smooth jazz, Zed is a laid back bear with a beach comber's attitude.  So long as wherever he is has a heater and is populated by his buddies, Zed will go with wherever the flow will take him. His design is the easiest, being a polar bear in a Hawaiian shirt. One of these days I wanna draw him with his two penguin papas too, but for now we at least have the bear. Again, not sure who I'd have voice him.

[8] BUMPER'S A STAR! A sad truth about my Christmas tree is that I can never put a star on top of it. Everything we've tried is too top heavy. For the longest time I meant to make one featuring everybody's favorite floating marshmallow, finally following through on this desire this year. I made a shape template in Illustrator, drew the front and back of Bumper around it, colored it all in Illustrator, printed both sides out and glued them together. I would've just printed both sides on one sheet of paper, but printers are evil devices meant to torture mankind as a whole. I hate them! But I love this tree topper! ^^

[9] PANICKED TURKEY It's a shame Panicked Turkey didn't get to come out of hibernation this year. Especially when I had some good ideas for tips involving Canon Events, certain cartoon rodents, time traveling, dragons, and Rosie. Chances are I'll be able to use these ideas again in the future, but for now I just wanted to post something with the cowardly bird. So here's the sketch detailing his redesign from last year. Like Karl, this is another change I really like, PT feeling more expressive than he previously was. Hopefully we'll get to see this design in action again next year!

[10] I'll Have a BOO Christmas Without You ...I'm not even sorry! XD

[11] ALIENS OF THE ROCKAPOCALYPSE! Hey look, more characters you haven't seen in forever! This is Phil, the Clarktooniverse's resident one-eyed rockstar from outer space. Back in the day I used to do mock album covers for Christmas, Phil's girlfriend Yezzi standing in for Mariah Carey on one particularly great one that still holds up. Sadly there's only so many iconic Holiday CD covers you can do that aren't just the same generic 'things coming out of a box' design. Heck, it's why the last one of these I did was based on a Manowar album. That following year would've seen an all-new, totally original creation depicting Phil and Yezzi rocking around a dried out Christmas tree in a Nuclear Winter Wonderland. Sadly the full sketch was never realized, save for Phil's rocker gear here. Worse still, these characters have been retired until I can iron out the finer details of their story. Once I do, expect the ultimate comeback tour from the Aliens of the Rock! Just in time for the yuletide / end of the world!

[12] PANICKED WHO? What turkey? I don't see any turkey. All I see is this friendly induvial with a mustache! One who was just drawn randomly with no other intent behind it. Totally. XD

[13] KREEPY KRAMPUS Once upon a time I was able to complete entire comic storylines before Christmas. That couldn't be said for this one comic where Bumper and Xena both try to buy each other Christmas gifts, each of them going after different notable Christmas creatures to pay for them. Bumper would've gone after the wild Nog while Xena would've picked a more frightful foe: the Krampus! This image of the German monster is what she'd find while searching for information online, my intent to be truer to the original folklore than my usual interpretation. It would've made Karl's inevitable appearance that much funnier. Part of me still wants to see this comic fully realized someday. Until then; let this haunt your nightmares!

[14] ANGELICIA, THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON Remember earlier when I mentioned a comic centered around me as a Holiday hero? The one I will never bring back? Part of that idea involved a literal spirit of the season named Angelicia, an adopted sister of sorts to Finjix's own character Aklamos. Both of us have tweaked and upgraded her overall appearance over the years, this being her last for an intended Sketch BOOM that was scrapped. I really should use this character again, the question is for what?

[15] A TURKEY DINNER TO GO! Like I said, there was once a Holiday Sketch BOOM that was never completed. This Panicked Turkey sketch is one of the few things to survive from it. Ignoring how this design was pre-2022 makeover, I still think this silly little pic is hilarious! Next Thanksgiving I'll make sure to remake this in full color!

[16] THE NOG Along with Karl, the Nog has become a seasonal staple of the Clarktooniverse. For years mankind has wondered where the eggs for Eggnog have come from. Some silly saps think they come out of chickens, but we all know that's a lie! Obviously the eggs come courtesy of the wild, North American Nog! These rambunctious creatures hail in the colder climates, sticking primarily to the North States where they graze on wild berries, tree bark, and rare flowers. Whenever it's not foraging for food it's fending off wild predators, displaying its tusks for potential mates, running for Congress, or raising their young. That is, the young that actually get to hatch. Good luck drinking that next ice-cold cup knowing the Nog is 100% real and you're feasting on what could've been one of its young you sick monster!

[17-18] TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE DOVES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Doves! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Doves! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Doves! Heroes for the Holidays! BIRDY POWER! Back in 2019 I made a silly little parody of the Ninja Turtles based on the beloved Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas". Was it an extremally obvious joke to make? Yes. Does my earlier pun prove I will stoop to such lows? Heck yes! Thus these two goofy characters were born and eventually given the names Currier and Ives by AnimatedTigerGirl. Currier is the one with the bo staff on the left. At home he's a easy-going party animal, but in the field he's a dedicated leader fighting to keep his family safe. Next to him is the nunchuck-wielding Ives, a hot-tempered brainiac with a big heart. Together the two must save their mother, face the 10 Evils of Christmas, and help out their new human friend Ash.

Standing in for their April O'Neal is Ash, one of their few human friends who helps her fine-feathered friends move about New York. Since this story is set during the 90s, she's naturally a skate-boarding tomboy ready to prove to her dad that she's more capable than given credit for. That chance comes suddenly when her father is abducted by the Partridge Crime Family and their ten specifically themed assassins. Now Ash must rescue her dad alongside these two magically enhanced bird-themed ninjas. Y'know, that old chestnut!

[19] SHORT-E AND SHER-I Dang, it's been a while since these two were seen either. I'm sensing a pattern here. At leas these designs have held up the best. Heck, they look especially good in their winter ensemble. SHORT-E wears basic gloves and a jamaica while SHER-I went shopping with EMIL-E to get fancier gloves and a beret! SLAY, QUEEN!

[20] SNOW CONIE MEETS THE NOG Yes, another refuge from the scrapped Sketch BOOM. This one featuring the unofficial mascot of the Sketch BOOMs, the Snow Conies! Or at least one, facing down the angry snout of a mother Nog. I envision these creatures having the temperament of wild hogs, much to the misfortune of this innocent sentient dessert!

[21] SIR PANICKED TURKEY, THE CANADIAN! Along with redesigning this cowardly bird, I also made a special bonus Panicked Turkey tip for Canadian Thanksgiving. It was very last second, going through a few iterations before settling on the final idea. Before then the plan was to either have PT surrounded by angry canucks with guns in a style similar to the John Wick posters or the giant chicken disguising himself as a Mounty, not yet realizing he'll find no peace in the Great White North. Ultimately both were dropped in favor or one menacing Mounty looming over the frightened fowl, which I thought wouldn't work until I saw the final product. Funny how that works, innit? Still, what about the entre in shining armor? That has to do with an idea I mentioned earlier, but I dare not spoil the surprise further than that. Like I mentioned, said idea can be reused for next year. So when Turkey Day rears its ugly head, Sir Turkey turned tail and fled!

[22] UGLY SWEATERS, TROPICAL WEATHER Yet again another idea I hope to bring back, though slightly modified. Originally the plan was to make Ugly Sweater pin-ups for the couples (or friends) of 3K with my friends Finjix and @burningthrucelluloid. This one was the only one sketched before Alec lost his Adobe art programs that would've allowed him to help in this project. Even then, my nitpicky attention to details got the better of me again and too much time was wasted attempting to draw the other pics. All we got out of this failed collaboration were Nerva and her buddy Weed Eater in their Hawaiian-style sweaters, the latter not happy about his situation. He was even depicted eating the sweater and partridge at one point. Who would've guessed the living Christmas tree would be a humbug?

[23-24] CROCZILLA VS TURDUCKEN When I released by Terror of the Turducken posters back in 2020, peeps said they would totally pay to see that movie. Hopefully the same can be said for its sequel, an epic clash between the titular Turducken and the colossal Croczilla! Why are they fighting? Who cares, it's two giant monsters beating the stuffing out'a each other! No doubt the posted to go with this creature feature would've been a legendary one! At least had it not been for my nitpicky attention to details. Plenty of poster designs were drawn up, including this one that was inspired by the then-current Godzillva vs Kong posters. Perhaps I can recycle this idea next year when the sequel comes out and the two fight another giant monkey. Until then, feel free to place your bets on which of these festive Kaijus come out on top!

And if you're rooting for the Turducken, enjoy this redesign of the character where each of its heads feel more distinct. Hey, if nothing else it's cooler to look at than another freak'n ape.

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

You know what’s really scary? How we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about Earth's oceans. Centuries of sailing, navigating, and exploring the big blue ball has still garnered very little knowledge of what lies below the waves. Considering what we have discovered though, maybe that’s for the better. For down in the deepest, darkest trenches of the seven seas lives some of the most frightening fish known to man. Blobfish, vampire squid, giant spider crabs, ghost sharks, who knows what else is down there? Polka Shark does. While out searching for a midnight munchie the nutty predator came upon a strange, glowing fish buried deep beneath the sand. Being the sensible sort of creature he was, Polka swam away without giving the glowing fish another thought. And by that I mean of course he ate it. So now he’s a zombie.

For this DUDEL, fans of Polka Shark can breathe a sigh of relief. Much like when Goofy died in 1999’s How to Haunt a House, this is only temporary. It’s also an idea I’ve had for a while. Assuming my memory isn’t faulty, this idea initially took shape back in my days attending CTI, quickly scribbling a zombified shark in the margins of my homework. I ran the sketch by Polka’s original creator Finjix and he got a giggle out of the idea as well. A decade later and I finally got around to sketching the whole idea out properly. My time management skills are rivaled by no one! Still, I think the wait was worth it. My attention to detail has gotten better since my college days, resulting in an undead fish that looks notably more rotten. His flesh is flaking off, black ooze is dripping from his maw, there’s a giant hook stuck in his head, it’s all so gross and I love it! Unlike Striped Starfish. His expression perfectly sums this sketch up. I hope you all enjoy this DUDEL more than he does.

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK! There is a madness deep in the dark catacombs of Castle Clarkenstein. For years these claustrophobic corridors have been the home of the ghoulish giraffe himself, watching as the world passes by. He prefers it this way. It gives him more time alone with the voices. The voices tell him many strange things. Yet they always come back to one: make more monsters! Everyday they tell him this. Everyday he is unable to comply. Hey, being a mad scientist on a budget means he can’t afford the fancy scientific equipment needed to breathe life into newborn abominations. Guy’s gotta afford pizza somehow. Luckily, he has discovered a way of sorts to please the voices. During all those years of watching, Dr. Clarkenstein noticed a particular pattern. Every night during October saw artists posting new pictures based on peculiar prompts. Many of them based on children of the night. While the spotted specter might not be able to craft new zombies, he can sure as heck sketch’m! As such, I provide this friendly warning to you all now: Be afraid. Few people can survive the horrors that are DUDELZ of the Damned!

By that I mean I decided to do my own take on Sketchtober this year just minus the prompts. Anybody gotta problem with that? Tough, cuz I already drew this crap so you might as well check it out.

It is said a monster once menanced the mundane town of Milton, Georgia. The year was 1816, the same year Doc Clarkenstein inherited his family’s enormous estate. By then the young giraffe had been attending school in order to advance the field of biochemistry. It was all he could do to cope with the loss of his family. Being the last of the Clarkensteins was a horrifying revelation for the spotted student. Made no better by the fact that he had yet to meet a woman, settle down, and have a child of his own. What if he died tomorrow? His proud heritage would be lost then and there. Death, it seemed, was his ultimate enemy. Faced with this proposition, the one man clearly had one course of action: conquer death. Should he discover the secrets of restoring life to those already passed, then surely he would have nothing to fear! Except maybe the uptight heads of the university, who disbarred the madman after he proposed his theories to him. As far as they cared, only God may tamper with life itself. Well if God didn’t want the disavowed doctor to meddle with the afterlife, why would he give him this idea anyway? Who were these stuffy scholars to tell the grieving man that he couldn’t bring back the dead? None of them could stop him. Especially now that his family home was fitted with what he needed: a proper lab filled with body parts harvested from nearby cemeteries. Most of them having belonged to American crocodiles for some oddly specific reason. Eh, beggars can’t be choosers. With all of this assembled, the young doctor gave birth to a new form of creature: Crocenstein!

Much like the AH Wolf, Crocenstein is yet another idea I’ve had for a while. The idea first sprang up in a Halloween comic for 2014 exploring Bumper’s fear of Ghostbusters. After the little ghostly goober is zapped at, slimmed, and set ablaze as a giant marshmallow, the comic ends with Crocie giving his wife the stinky eye for showing him the flick. It’s there we can see my original Crocenstein design, which wasn’t that good in hindsight. Ignoring how derivative it is of the design made famous in the films, the clothes he’s wearing are too clean and there’s few indications that he’s essentially a zombie. Dude’s supposed to look dead, not like he has an exaggerated forehead. That’s not even getting into the problems with Alberta’s Bride, but that’s a subject for another DUDEL. For now I just knew my buddy’s monstrous variant needed an update. After drawing this picture twice, I think it’s safe to say it came out looking good. Gone are the clothes in favor of different body parts from various species of crocodilian and reptiles. Unlike his book counterpart, Doc Clarkenstein isn’t too picky about parts. Especially when the end results look so cool regardless! Expect more of this monster in the future, but for now I hope you all enjoy this DUDEL!

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

On March 6th of last year I posted a collection of discarded drawings called DUMPSTER DUDELZ on deviantART, my way of making sure abandoned art would be seen. It hadn't been the first time I had compiled all of my leftovers together, 2013's Sketchapalooza ULTIMAtE acting as the original Clarktoon sketch dump before I made Sketch BOOMs a thing. The only difference this time was that all the artwork was original, Sketchapalooza including fan art of Queen La, Mickey Mouse, and Blue's Clues. With all the projects I start then never finished, I figured a compilation like this would be a perfect way to show what all doesn't make the final cut. Now with it being the dawn of a New Year, I decided to bring the idea back with a vengeance! That is until I saw how many scrapped scribbles I actually had. Unlike the previous DUMPSTER DUDELZ, which had amassed years worth of rejected content, this one comes at the end of a single year where most of my ideas managed to make it online. Heck, one of the sketches seen here actually was posted to deviantART before now. You know what I say to all that though? Screw it, let's post it anyway! Hopefully my posting all of this will usher in the beginning of a full, productive year of artwork. If not, I at least got to humiliate my good friend Volts48...

1) SPOOKY SCARY SEXY MASKED MANIAC Halloween is always a rough time for me, artistically. With Christmas taking up all of my focus I'm left unavailable to post anything for the second best Holiday of the year. Not that I ever stop trying, mind you. My goal for 2022 was to post a specially themed Sketch BOOM themed around the month of monsters, even managing to get one of my ideas down on paper. Said idea being my buddy Alec genderbent and dressed in a Virgin-Killer sweater as revenge for all the times he paid other artists to draw me with massive boobs or in frilly outfits. To any artist that has done that, rest assured I don't actually take any offense to it, I appreciate any fan work based of my characters regardless of how ridiculous. Besides, you at least draw she-me with clothes on, so there's that. This was just a silly excuse to put my friend in the exact same situation he puts me through as well the culmination of an old inside joke that even he forgot about. Back when I first started my Discord server I was very strict about what could be posted, so Alec made a big stink when my college buddy Alice2Rose posted a picture of one of these sweaters, my ignorance showing when I didn't even know what it was. Leave it to an anime weeb to detect a virgin killer a mile away. In any case, here's hoping the aftermath of my friend's long forgotten stink brings you some Halloween fun on this New Year's Day.

2) POLKA PUP, DOO DOO DA DOO DA DOO Yet another joke that culminated on my server, this time from my friend Void-Android. All throughout the last year the mechanized man was obsessed with posting comics and GIFs of puppy sharks, their precious lil' faces flooding my server like the world's cutest Sharnado. Seeing as my friend Finjix and I semi-frequently collaborate ideas for our own shark character Polka Shark, I figured it'd be fun to draw the fantastic, frantic fish as one of those peculiar house pets. The end result is an adorable abomination that'll annoy the carp out of his friend Striped Starfish.

Striped Starfish: Just what I needed; Polka with legs. There goes my plans of washing ashore and dying of heat stroke.

For those wanting more of Polka Shark's absurd under-sea antics, go check out SIM-N's gallery on deviantART. For now though I hope you all enjoy Polka Pup more than the Starfish did.

3) The Mummy of 3K, Queen Emoteph Like I said at the beginning, I had completely forgotten about having already posted this sketch of ERN-E's girlfriend and Yas Queen of the year 3000 EMIL-E as a Mummy. The idea comes from my repeated attempts to bring back the Monster 3K Pin Ups that SIM-N and I used to do for Halloween, Emoteph being brought back from our initial run from 2015. Alas, all that came from this was this admittedly awesome sketch. Fingers crossed I get to take this idea to its fullest extent next year, ERN-E opening a tomb to find the hottest Mummy ever found by man or machine.

ERN-E: That is one fresh-looking corpse... EMIL-E: You're not too bad looking yourself, big guy.

4) ERN-E X EMIL-E Speaking of the Clarktooniverse's first couple, here we have ERN-E and EMIL-E in some slightly updated designs. After years of making his eyes one big screen, I finally decided to give ERN-E more human-like eyes for ease of expression. Em herself didn't get much of an upgrade, but a sketch of ERN-E alone felt naked without his best girl by his side. Here's hoping I get to draw more of these two together in the future.

5) LET'S DANCE AT WHIMSYLAND Okay, this one's definitely needs an explanation. 2022 saw me make my fourth pilgrimage to Disney World to meet up with my friend @the-pale-servant / @agathe-the-smol, despite my vow to not visit the park until Bob Chapek was fired. I have made it no secret how much I despised the bald-headed, brain-dead, creatively bankrupt loser in charge of the Disney during his tenure, his treatment of the Disney Parks being a key factor. Whereas most people saw the parks as a magical wonderland always ready to be expanded and improved, Bob saw it as a money-printing machine he could run raged without a break. It was disgusting. This was most evident when Jart and I got stuck on four different rides, often times more than once. Though to be fair, we still had an amazing time while there! Still, my continued cynicism against the state of my favorite place on Earth wasn't getting any healthier, so I decided to express my contempt creatively. Welcome to Whimsyland, a theme park opened in 1962 by Matt Whimsy as a celebration of the human spirit and endless imagination. Here you could meet Fred Fox, the company's cartoon mascot currently exiling himself to the Park in response to how the CEO's handling Matt's business. Fred is my Mickey stand-in, though unlike Mickey he makes it clear he hears fan complaints and hates being depicted as the villain. Dancing the charleston beside him is Fiona Fox, cartoon fashion icon that the current CEO keeps exploiting, though Fiona at least uses this to her advantage by continuing to inspire young girls. Along with the rest of my currently in development cast, Whimsyland might become the most perkiest place on the planet once more. Until then, we can at least enjoy these two characters dancing to this.

In case you're wondering why I never posted this, you can thank my questionable coloring choices for that. The orange coloring on Freddy feels fine, but the same can't be said for Fiona's fur color nor for their attire. Like I said, this idea's still a WIP.

6) SOMETHING IN THE WAY, OWL DUDE IN THE RAIN Poor Owl Dude, I don't draw him nearly as much as I should. Luckily, the new story ideas I have in mind with him should help fix that. And no, SIM-N, none of them involve a stove!

7) SAURA, EXPERIMENTAL SKETCH If any Clarktoons dominated a majority of my thoughts this year it would be Fred Fox and Saura, my teenage heroine with the power of transforming into a hyper-evolved dinosaur warrior. Helping matters was the fact that Alec got interested in the idea, collaborating with me on certain elements of her story while also commissioning our friend @zernna to draw her every chance he got. For the record Zerna, I plan on releasing a colored reference of Ms. Bosewick here sometime this year, so if we pay you to draw her again you'll know exactly what she looks like. But first I decided to experiment a little, adding details to Saura's design that ultimately won't be a part of her end design. A rule with character designs in cartoons is that the more lines and details you add, the older a character looks, which is what I felt was the major problem was here. With any luck, Saura's finalized design will look plenty bad@$$ without making her look like an actual fossil.

8) POST-BUMPER: ORIGINS Earlier this year I decided to make myself some mailing labels with Bumper on them, quickly drawing Crocie's adorable little ghost buddy as a mailman. The end result looked mighty cute, ignoring how the post officer used another mailing label to cover up mine. Turns out there's somebody in the world who doesn't find the floating marshmallow cute after all. Weird, right?

And for those of you wishing to see what the end product looked like:

9) FRED FOX Surprising as it sounds, it took me a few tries before settling on Fred Fox as the Whimsyland mascot. My goal was to create a rubberhose character in the same vein as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Felix the Cat, Bendy, and the Cupheads, while also making it unmistakably my own. So at first I tried a turtle, only to quickly realize that wouldn't be as cute or charming as intended. Next I tried an elephant, which admittedly looked better, but for whatever reason that didn't work with me either. Finally I settled on a fox with a Boston accent named after a running joke from the Angry Video Game Nerd and the rest was history. 

10) CHIBIZOWA What you're currently looking at is not the Clarktooniverse's answer to King Ghidora. At least, not at the moment, anyway. All throughout 2022 I had intended on drawing birthday pictures for my friends online, including Zerna, someone who has very kindly drawn a lot of my characters over the last few years. What I had planned for her birthday was a sketch of her girlfriend murd3r3r being dragged to the mall by my mechanized mercenary Candy Banger to find the ultimate birthday present, Coco not being accustomed to the violence Candy brings to any situation. In the end, thanks to some advice I got from Alec, a worn-out Coco gets Zerna a three-headed dragon plushtoy named Chibizowa with Candy giving a thumbs up from the window so the two could have a cute moment together. Now for all of you wondering why I didn't end up making this adorable-sounding gift pic, there's a lot of factors that went into it. The first being time, something I am terrible at managing. The second was not knowing enough about Coco, having to go off what I saw in the pics posted in Zerna's gallery. I didn't want to assume what her personality was like, I'm terribly shy by nature, and matters weren't helped by her own lack of art depicting her aliensona. It's why I'm jumping on Zerna's band wagon by telling you gremlins to hound her for sona designs/more art!! >:'0 For now though, I hope you all enjoy this sketch. Who knows, maybe on day I'll end up making the planned present a reality.

11) ONE LAST FRED FOX And that's all she wrote.... OR IS IT!?

Not included with the DUMPSTER DUDELZ were these two random sketches based on the musical Twisted, which my friend Alec finally convinced me to check out this year. I enjoyed it immensely, even buying the soundtrack and digital recording of the show before drawing their Jafar in the same style as the original Aladdin. Turns out you can make this character look sympathetic. No doubt he'll have a good 2023 as will all of you! That is if you keep dreaming a little harder...