#CreativeCryptids

Cartoon from my #inktober series Creative Cryptids titled "Zombie Problems: Back from the dead to haunt your brain again!". A zombie has arms outstretched toward a figure. Zombie: "Arrrrr... Brains! I want your brain all focused on meee....". The figure: "NO! Stay back! You're dead! You can't haunt me any more. Nooo!"

Day 21 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids are Zombie Problems. They're those pesky problems you were sure you solved and laid to rest - back from the grave to pester you again! #sciart

Cartoon from my inktober series Creative Cryptids titled "The Cupid of Science". A cupid has a bow aimed at the back of a figure. The figure is staring at an Erlenmeyer flask they're holding and hearts are floating up from that.

Day 20 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is The Cupid of Science. Those fortunate enough to be struck by this cherub's arrow will live a life of constant wonder (don't check back on this poor soul in 7 years when the grant funding runs out though - that's a different story). #sciart

Cartoon with my #inktober titled "Grant Goblins" showing a slot labeled 'Study Section Grant Submissions' on one side. On the other side, which is dark, papers float down to three goblins who are waiting for them saying "Oh goodys! Let's rip it APART aim by aim!", "I gots the hypotheeses... they mine!", "Did they cite MEEE. Don'ts thinkso"

Day 18 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids are the Grant Goblins. Have you ever thought about what happens to your grant proposal after you submit it? Well, these little ugly guys are waiting for freshly minted ideas to come to them so they can chew them up and spit them out. #sciart

Cartoon from my #inktober series Creative Cryptids titled "Procrastination Demon/Angel" - a close up of a head and shoulders - on the left shoulder stands a small demon who's saying "That stuff will all wait. You should kick back and relax" and on the right shoulder an angel saying "Good point. Self care is really important you know."

Day 18 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids are the dynamic duo of the Procrastination Demon and Angel. It's good to know these two critters will be on your side if there's something to be done that can be put off instead. #sciart

Cartoon for my #inktober project Creative Cryptids titled Formatting Sprites. Two small blue sprites are shown around a computer monitor with "My Important Document" on it. A voice is saying "Hey! Why are my figures all messed up? Who moved all this text around?!?". Both of the sprites are laughing.

Day 17 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids are the Formatting Sprites. Close relatives of the Lab Imps (Day 3) these capricious and downright cruel little guys are responsible for a lot of mayhem in MS Word documents - generally at very crucial times like right before a deadline #sciart

Cartoon from my Inktober project Creative Cryptids titled "Data Leprechaun". A green guy with a red beard stands next to a bucket that's full of binary data. A label pointing to the bucket reads "He keeps his gold close but keeps his data closer."

Day 16 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the Data Leprechaun. This mythical fellow hoards his data and guards it fiercely. Hopefully he's not the one you need to ask for that important dataset for your research. #sciart

Cartoon for my Inktober project Creative Cryptids titled "Dr. Causation & Mr. Correlation". A tall figure stands on one side smoking a pipe with a stovepipe hat (Dr. Causation). A smaller hairy looking guy with a wild expression has blood on his hands wiped on his jacket (Mr. Correlation). The blood on his jacket doesn't necessarily mean Mr. Correlation is violent or has committed a crime. But, you know, it could.

Day 15 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is this pair: Dr. Causation and Mr. Correlation. You're often looking for the good doctor, but instead find his chaotic counterpart. The silver lining? They can sometimes both be the same dude! #sciart

Cartoon for Inktober project Creative Cryptids titled "Monster Under the Bed" - a figure lies in bed with open eyes. A voice comes from the shadows under the bed saying "So, do you really think that grant will be funded? What're you gonna do if it doesn't huh?" "Where are you going? In life I mean? Do you have any idea? Let's compare with everyone you've ever known..." "Remember that one thing you said that one time? Yeah - the stupid thing." "Also you're not getting any younger. You could die at any moment." "You should get more sleep..."

Day 14 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the Monster Under the Bed. This one is hardly even a cryptid - everyone has one of these monsters. They are the worst. #sciart

Cartoon from my #inktober project Creative Cryptids titled Ghost Ideas. A ghost floats in the background saying "Oooooooh!!! That thing you thought of that's so So great...." and a figure stands in front facing the other direction saying "There it is again!" "Ok. Now it's gone."

Day 12 of my #inktober2024 #CreativeCryptids is Ghost Ideas. Ooooooooh... scary! Or maybe just annoying. You had that great thought in the middle of the night, while driving, or while in the shower. Now it haunts you, hanging just outside of your grasp and popping in and out of existence #sciart

My first 12 #inktober2024 #CreativeCryptids. Some are mysterious, some are monstrous, some are villainous, all are fun. #sciart

Cartoon from my Inktober series Creative Cryptids titled "DemiGordon Conference" shows a creature (a demigorgon from the show Stranger Things) behind a lectern clearly giving a talk on its research presented on a slide to one side. The cartoon is a pun on the Gordon Conferences, a well-known and prestigious series of conferences in the sciences.

Day 12 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the terrifying creature from that one National Laboratory and also, coincidentally, the research conference that it's presenting its (presumably terrifying) research results at. #sciart

Cartoon for my Inktober project Creative Cryptids titled Dunning-Freddy-Krueger Effect. A figure with blades for fingers (Freddy Krueger) is saying "Your worst NIGHTMARE! You think you know, when in reality... you DON'T! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!". This is a play on the actual Dunning-Kruger Effect, which described the (very common) occurrence where people with limited knowledge in certain areas overestimated their abilities. The problem is, everyone is susceptible in some area of knowledge/expertise - it's kind of unavoidable.

Day 11 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the Dunning-Freddy-Krueger Effect. Terrifyingly real, this cryptid haunts your dreams with the idea that you probably talk a lot of crap where you believe you are the expert. When in fact you're not. #sciart

Cartoon for my inktober project Creative Cryptids titled Bigmeter. A Bigfoot creature is shown saying "I may be just a simple cryptid but even I know to use metric."

Day 10 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the cryptid formerly known as Bigfoot. He's come to a realization that metric is the better system so now he roams the woods of the Pacific Northwest as Bigmeter, spreading the word of metric. #sciart

Cartoon for my Inktober project Creative Cryptids titled Sleep Vampire. Two figures are talking, one saying "I don't know - I sleep a lot and never feel any less tired." In the background is a vampire with a cape held (vampire-style) over his face.

Day 9 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is Sleep Vampire. This cryptid explains a lot about my day-to-day existence. Couldn't be the late-night social media, increasing age, or brain spinning in the middle of the night. Nope: Sleep Vampires is the answer. #sciart

Cartoon for my Inktober project Creative Cryptids day 8: The Unbalancer. A dark, thin, unbalanced figure looms over an ultracentrifuge.

Day 8 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is The Unbalancer. It's never really happened, but it's always a possibility that The Unbalancer will bend it's bony fingers to the task of unbalancing your ultracentrifuge run. And you know what happens after that. KaBOOOM!!! #sciart

Cartoon for Inktober from my Creative Cryptids project titled Dead Line. A dark imposing figure looms over a figure at a laptop who is clicking away and looking over their shoulder.

Day 7 my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids the a-little-too-on-point-given-that-I-missed-posting-yesterday Dead Line. It sees you when you're waking. It knows when you're asleep. It knows if you've been good or have been slacking off all weekend playing video games and watching shows #sciart

Cartoon for Inktober Creative Cryptids day 6, Reviewer 3. A figure walks across a bridge holding a paper in their hand. A hairy hand protrudes from under the bridge and a voice is saying "WHO'S THAT TRIT-TROTTING ACROSS MY BRIDGE"

Day 6 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the dreaded Reviewer 3! Feared across all of peer review, this ruthless troll exists only to nitpick at your (clearly perfect and free from any defect) paper and cause it to be rejected. Booooo!!!! #sciart

Cartoon from my Inktober #creativecryptids project titled (in 50's monster movie type) "IT CAME from the COLD ROOM!!!" - "WHAT is it?" "WHO left it there?" "WHY does it smell so bad?"

Day 5 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the It Came from the Cold Room Horror!!! Beware! That oozing, putrid pile of goo you found in the lab cold room may, in fact, be plotting to kill you. #sciart

Cartoon titled Creative Cryptids for Inktober. This one is The Headless Project. The silhouette of a horse with a headless rider holding a flaming pumpkin in its outstretched hand. Labels point to the horse and rider "An important and/or complex project", to the rider's (lack of) head "It has NO HEAD!", to the pumpkin "There's this flaming carved pumpkin" "How's that going to run the project?" "how?"

Day 4 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is The Headless Project! Is it a cryptid? A monster? A tragic figure? Yes. Galloping off into the unknown night with very little idea of where it's going or why. Truly frightening. #sciart

Cartoon with my #Inktober2024 Creative Cryptids theme. Titled, 'Lab Imps' it has two impish looking creatures in front of lab equipment. Boxes point saying "That $200K instrument won't uncalibrate itself!", "Important samples? Holiday weekend? Got you covered!" - the imp is holding the plug from a -80° C lab freezer - and "Random and/or cryptic tube labels"

Day 3 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids are Lab Imps. Every lab has them and they're responsible for all the bad things you ... err... that happen around the lab. #sciart

Do I draw new Inktober drawings every day? No. Do I follow the prompts at least? Also no. But do I care? Yeah, no.

Cartoon for #inktober2024 project #creativecryptids is Metagnomes. Two small gnomes in red pointy caps are working on piles of DNA sequence.

Day 2 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids are the Metagnomes. They're always on hand to help with mining sequence from those complicated microbiomes. #sciart

Cartoon for #inktober2024 project #creativecryptids is The Are You Done Yet-i. A shaggy monster is asking "Are you finished with your thesis yet?" "What about that paper yet?" "OK. What HAVE you gotten done yet?"

Day 1 of my #inktober2024 project #CreativeCryptids is the dreaded Are You Done Yet-i. Terrifyingly annoying with all these questions about your productivity and whether you're making any progress. Sheesh. #sciart

Cartoon previewing my Inktober2024 theme titled Creative Cryptids. This one is 'Lab Imps' and has two impish looking creatures in front of lab equipment. Boxes point saying "That $200K instrument won't uncalibrate itself!", "Important samples? Holiday weekend? Got you covered!" - the imp is holding the plug from a -80° C lab freezer - and "Random and/or cryptic tube labels"

This #inktober2024 I'll be posting a new Creative Cryptid that has to do with science, academia, or the creative process every* day of October!

I've got one based on a previous cartoon to give you the idea: Lab Imps

(* as many days that I get to anyway) #sciart #CreativeCryptids