Christmas 2021

 Where has the year gone?!

Oh well, let's step into the Christmas season with joy!

Advent Calendar 2020 - Sharks of hope!

 What a year this has been. Like, it wouldn't surprise us if an asteroid was heading our way or a zombie apocalypse happened right now. Which is why I wanted to end this year on a hopeful note. I didn't want to give in to those annoying feelings that made me question my sanity or purpose. We could all use some extra joy and hope this year.  

As the advent season begins, I thought this would be a good day to kick off the countdown to the day of all hopeful days. 

We never had those fun advent calendars kids these days have - a little lego or candy a day. It's nice to have something to look forward to. A Shark advent calendar is just what I needed to give me something to look forward to - at least for the next four weeks. 

This year, I wanted to include a few Tropical themed Christmas scenes as well because many of us live in places that don't get snow or have cold winters (and yet our Christmas decor is all about reindeer and snowflakes). 

Here's to a hope-filled season ahead.

Posted on Day 8, December 6th 2020 - A Nurse and a Sturgeon message. I've been wanting to do a pandemic message with a nurse shark and a sturgeon for a couple of months and finally got around to it. The holiday season is a tempting time to forget safety measures but let's not forget that the coronavirus is still around. Keep safe and have a wonderful season!

Christmas Collaboration Cut-out crafts with Sharktopia! Download the page here.

Day 1, 29th November 2020: Christmas time at the beach

Day 2, 30th November 2020: Shark in a Christmas Stocking

Day 3, December 1st 2020: Sleigh ride 

Day 4, December 2nd 2020: Clash of the carols

Day 5, December 3rd 2020: Nothing like Hot Chocolate

Day 6, December 4th 2020: Sharky Christmas Ornament

Day 7, December 5th 2020: Christmas Banister Slide

Day 9, December 7th 2020: Sand Angel Shark

Day 10, December 8th 2020: Singin' in the snow (modified from my Singin' in the rain one)

Day 11, December 9th 2020: Lending a helping tail

Day 12, December 10th 2020: Snow Shark

I'm traveling for a few days but will do my best to keep posting.

Day 13, December 11th 2020: Sand Shark

(I should've posted this one first because I got a few "what about warm countries?" in response to the snow shark :D)

Day 14, December 12th: Mmmmulled wine!

Day 15, December 13th: Catching snowflakes

I'm afraid it had to be a simple and quick drawing for today because I'm traveling but still wanted to try and not miss a day. This particular idea wasn't even on my list! 

Day 16, December 14th: Cookies and milk (sorry, Santa!)

I like how the cookiecutter sharks ((Isistius brasiliensis) turned out. Deep sea sharks are not the easiest to draw! The "generic-looking" shark is the milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus).

No. 17, December 18th: Happy, Happy, Happy Christmas!

I've been wanting to do something with Happy Eddie and Happy Chappie for a while.  I didn't want Pretty Happy to be left out. They're shysharks.

 I missed a few days because I was traveling. I hope to catch up though.

No. 18, December 19th: And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet

"Auld lang syne" is one of my favourite tunes and the lyrics always make me feel nostalgic.

No. 19, December 20th: A Wonderful Life

When I did the "sharktivity" series earlier this year, someone had asked me to do a shark in a biology lab. I didn't get to do it then but I wanted to do it before this year ended. This is also a shout-out to all who worked so hard this year to find a covid-19 vaccine and I really hope that the vaccine is highly successful and that life can go back to being wonderful. And that this time round, we'll appreciate it better.

No. 20, December 21st 2020: Peace on Earth

No. 21, December 22nd 2020: Joy to the world

It's not the most joyful of Christmases this year for many across the world. I didn't even feel like captioning it this. But we need to hold on to something, preferably something good. Christmas is a reminder that all is not lost. May you be filled with hope, joy and peace this Christmas and in the coming year.

No.22, December 23rd 2020: May your days be merry and bright!

This didn't actually start off as an ugly sweater drawing. I'd originally intended it to be a "White Christmas" one because the sharks are all some sort of "white" sharks. 

L to R: Whitenose Shark, Whitetip reef shark, White Shark, Oceanic Whitetip, White-bodied catshark. 

PS - It's really hard to draw ugly sweaters!

No. 23, December 24th 2020: Tidings of comfort and joy

It was extremely difficult to draw anything for today because there's just been a stream of terrible news all around. But I guess I needed this - something comforting and joyful to focus on. It's Christmas Eve. Soon it will be Christmas.

No. 24, December 25th 2020: A new and glorious morn

This was actually the first drawing I'd done in this series but it made most sense to post it on Christmas Day. It's a line from one of my favourite Christmas songs, "O Holy Night". What better way to conclude a series with the theme of "hope". 

Masters of the Puniverse

Expectation

Reality

Who didn't love He-Man while growing up? I've been wanting to do a real He-Man tribute for a while and finally got around to it. The idea of a Tiger Shark as Cringer/Battle cat just popped into my head and then I had no excuse but to do this. At first it was just the "expectation" one... but then I thought it would be nice to do one similar to my Thor one as well and hence the comic one. Although I couldn't really think of a series yet.

ps - I also didn't want to call this He-Shark because that's just weird.

Six fan arts #2

 

Here's the next round of fan arts based on suggestions I received. I got a lot of really nice suggestions and wish I could do them all. However, I had to choose the ones that could be sharkified best. There are a few more that I'll do soon. I noticed after I had finished them that more than half are from Britain!

Be sensitive and sensible.

Did you know that a shark can sense you in the water in many different ways? It can see you, smell you, hear you, feel you and feel you. The lateral line of a shark can sense pressure changes in the water and their ampullae of Lorenzini can pick up the faintest of electrical fields. Except, they have better things to do than stalk you for the sadistic pleasure of it.

As much as I love the song "Every breath you take" by The Police, I always thought it was a bit stalkery. I've had a stalker or two in my life (and not because they love my cartoons and want a commissioned piece) which is already a stalker or two too many. I just watched the show "You"which aims to make you almost root for the psycho but victims of stalking would only be sickened by it. It's any day better to be stalked by a shark, than a psychotic human.

May your year be filled with sharks!

How many sharks can you count?

13 Reasons Why (I Love Sharks)

I probably cannot tell you how many times I've been asked the question "Why Sharks?". I usually tell them it's because they ask such a question.
And then I thought about it and decided that I should give them a bunch of real reasons why I love sharks. So I came up with these. Don't worry, I do have a few sarcastic replies as well which will hopefully be another comic strip at some point.

For those of you who don't know, Port Jackson sharks are a type of Bullhead shark species (Heterodontiformes).

If you have a particular reason why you love sharks, do let me know and hopefully I can turn it into a cartoon for the next set of reasons.


I'll get a poster done at some point and it'll probably look like this. So let me know if you'd like one.

ps - I have not watched "13 Reasons Why" nor am I a fan of "Game of Thrones" so my apologies to those shows.

A Shark Lover's Life

Don't get me wrong - I love it when people tag me in or send me shark videos and pictures. I do feel like I've reached some sort of life goal when that happens. For those of you who don't know Phil Watson, check out Shaaark!
I only realised after I drew the Fox that Pink Fong's Baby Shark version has a fox as their mascot. I first heard the Baby Shark song at a camp about 15 years ago. It was just as cool then as it is now. I still get asked why sharks every now and then. I'm working on the perfect response.