Cherry Blossoms with Cat and Bird

I think it is safe to say that neither of my sons have ever requested flowers to be drawn on a napkin.

There was a lovely period before enforced gender conformity, when I was drawing princesses for Ansel.  Having said that much, now I cannot resist sharing a family annecdote... Ansel's interest in princesses coincided with the final phase of his toilet training, so I was using Barbie style Disney princess dolls as rewards for the successful evacuation of solid waste into appropriate recepticles. (And yes, I would have avoided buying such unrealistic- body-image-purveying dolls for a girl child, but somehow bucking gender conformity to buy them for a boy canceled out my feminist objections to the dolls). At any rate, here is the punch line to the story: we still occasionally refer to visiting the bathroom for solid waste as "I need to go earn a princess."

To return to the napkin  above:  it is rare that I get a girly request these days.  The floral napkin pictures here  is for a  7 year old daughter of friends, and was the result of a school fundraising auction.   All she asked for was "cherry blossoms"   No weapons, no lasers, no trademarked characters.  I hardly knew how to proceed.

After looking at hundreds of cherry blossom images  online, I was somehow compelled to add the animals into what became a rather fussy image.  I hope she is not too disappointed.

Corvo From "Dishonored"

Being too young to play "Dishonored" does not keep Archer from being a comprehensive authority on the game. 

Winner of Tuaca Napkin Competition

I was honored to have my napkin selected for the grand prize in the TUACA napkin competition. (Link to TUACA facebook post on the prize)

The top image below (Two Lions Walk into a Bar...) was selected.  It was the third image out of four that I had submitted.  TUACA sent me a very generous check and a box full of TUACA themed swag.

The kids have already plotted many ways to spend the money.  They feel quite responsible for "our" prize as the napkin project overall is theirs.   If only they had any sense of financial reality...And if I could just manage to win a napkin drawing contest once a month....

You can click on the images below to see the original posts.

Thanks TUACA!

Rock Golem from Battleheart

Archer announced yesterday that he had been playing Battleheart for a total of more than 7 days.  I was a little confused by this statement, since I know he has had the game since 2011 at least.

(In fact, you can see a Battleheart napkin from 2011 here which reminds me what the napkins used to look like....)

I was briefly horrified by the idea that what Archer really meant was that he had logged 7 x 24 hours cumulatively  on the game.  After some questioning, he corrected himself, "Oh, I meant I've spent 7 HOURS total on the game."

While this did not make me proud, at least I didn't feel like Child Protective Services would be arriving immediately to pick him up.

Oni Mask from "Mark of the Ninja"

As of yesterday, Archer's most recent obsession with a game that is too old for him is  "Mark of the Ninja."

Scorpion from "Injustice" with Zombies

Archer's latest fixation on a video game that he has not actually played has been "Injustice: Gods Among Us," and the Scorpion character in particular.

As he carefully explained to me this morning, "Injustice" is a Mortal Kombat style fighting game which features DC characters....with the exception of Scorpion who is an import from the Mortal Kombat universe.

Archer asked for Scorpion to be fighting at least two zombies.  When I started perusing creepy images of Walking Dead style zombies last night, I came to the conclusion that friendly "Plants vs. Zombies" members of the undead was a better bet for a lunchtime image.

One hopes that they are able to jolly Scorpion out of his bellicose mood before he punches one of their heads off.

Jeff the Killer and Ben Drowned

Archer enjoys freaking himself out with creepypasta characters like Jeff and Ben.
He wanted this image to be scary...but not too scary.

As his mother, of course, I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing.  One doesn't want to deprive one's offspring of a little developmentally appropriate enjoyment of horror.  But a situation where a kid is afraid to cross a darkened bedroom to go to the bathroom at night is definitely undesirable. 

Zak Saturday and Komodo

About once every six months, Ansel is reminded how much he likes the series "The Secret Saturdays."

And once every six months, I am reminded that there is really nothing plausible for me to do with Zak Saturday's hair.  I drew his face and his pet/ family friend Komodo, the Komodo dragon, in a more realistic manner, but Zak's two toned hair really defies intervention.

Ansel's summer program is over at noon, so he is technically not taking a packed lunch to camp these days.  But he was feeling a bit napkin deprived, and felt that he needed to demonstrate what the napkins looked like to the people he hangs out with from 8 to 12.  I guess this napkin is just going along for a morning snack.

Godzilla Launches Fireworks Over the East River

Godzilla, Baby, You're a Firework:

The kids were very excited about the fireworks being back in the East River for the first time in several years.

Maybe the rain will let up so we won't need Godzilla and his "atomic breath" to make the evening impressive.

And while I'm at it, here's a link to last year's Fourth of July napkin, featuring the Alien, Predator, Uncle Sam and bomb pops.

Sonic from "Sonic and the Black Knight"

Archer requested that I copy the image off of the Wii game box, so I take no credit for Sonic's manly pose or charming weapon.

Sonic the Hedgehog, with his strangely naked noodle arms, Mickey Mouse gloves and 80's footwear, is a character that I have trouble appreciating, but Archer is always happy to discuss his merits at length.

I think we bought this game because four people could play at once, promising fewer WHOSE-TURN-IS-IT-REALLY? altercations at play dates...

Or at least that would be the case if we could ever find all four Wii controllers at one time.

Dante from Kingdom Rush

In my own defense, I can only say that this character is really tiny on the screen, and I had very little to work with on this one.

Levi from "Attack on Titan"

We still haven't seen the "Attack on Titan" TV.  Archer is in fact lobbying against watching it because he thinks it will be too scary for his younger brother...just benevolently concerned for his brother....

But he still wants to read all of the books.
And my manga-style drawing could still use a lot of help....

Eren From "Attack on Titan"

Archer's interest in all things "Attack on Titan" has continued to blossom.  He's been asking to watch the television show.  I read that it is "the Japanese equivalent of 'The Walking Dead'" which seems not like an endorsement for viewing by an 11 year old and his 7 year old pop culture sidekick/younger brother. Archer tells me that the show is broadcast on "Adult Swim" at 11:30 pm.  Uh huh.

Meanwhile, we continue to  emphasize prominent weapons.  The fighters in "The Attack on Titan" universe wear some sort of jumping/grappling gear which allows them to launch and swing from cables so they can slice at the enormous titans' weakest spot on the nape of their necks. 

Gamera and Godzilla Observe Gay Pride

The original Kaiju's gender/orientation was always murky- Maybe it was just fluid?

I feel like it is my maternal job to question the orientation of my sons' favorite characters at least once a year....but unfortunately, neither of them would take this napkin to camp.

Last years Pride napkin with Batman & Superman: link here

Colossal Titan From "Attack on Titan"

Archer suddenly "discovered" the series "Attack on Titan" this week.  By "discovered" I mean he finally picked up and read the books that had been on his book shelf for several months.

This often happens, when I first suggest a book, it is met with dislike or derision and hostility.  But when found in a pile somewhere without obvious maternal intervention, the same book that was previously rejected can become the subject of an obsession that lasts for several weeks.

And it certainly doesn't hurt when that book is the source of a video game that involves the bloody killing of huge monsters, and the ability to transform into a huge monster oneself.