Fox Con 2023

We’re heading to Fox Con 2023!

Fox Con is a local high school student ran convention at Fox High School in Arnold, MO. Come check us out on March 25, 2023 from 11 AM to 3 PM CST.

Vacation Bonus Post

Welcome to a vacation bonus post!
Why a bonus post? Because I forgot to include some doodles I did while on our trip. so, I thought I’d put together a bonus post with the doodles along side some photos we took of the things in those doodles~
So, without further delay, doodle ahead!

Some trees and forestry robot doodles/concepts.
The blue one is an emergency rescue-bot, the green one next to them is a forest health inspection-bot, and the fellow near the bottom is a fire surveillance-bot (they’re attached to a watch tower).
Tree.
Different plants I saw while walking the trails (+1 Banana Slug).

I didn’t get any pictures of the burnt hills, I was busy doodling down the scene while Kiades drove. I did get a photo of the lake though.
These were terrible, minus the turtle in the upper right. I was doodling these in a very dark and crowded room. Worth it though.
I loved the cephalopod exhibit. Sadly it’s closed now, but they do have the deep sea exhibit still going. These little guys were awesome.
Kelp~

Vacation summary

Back in August Kiades and I (Cas) went on a small week long vacation in California.
It was a trip.
The sort of trip you need a vacation from your vacation from.

It had it’s ups and downs and a lot of amazing things to see but, a lot of experiences I never thought I’d have. Mostly because I never thought of them. I’ll give you a small description between some photos.

Starting off our trip we landed in New Las Vegas for our layover. Then we missed the flight from Las Vegas. We slept overnight in the airport.
Fun times~

Here’s Kiades with a bunny statue.

We took a nap at our hotel before immediately going to the Japanese festival in San Fransisco. It was awesome. I loved the Japanese center. I miss it greatly.

A Cas overwhelmed by so many manga choices!
There was a stand there that had amazing mochi donuts. (In fact, all the food I saw there looks good. I wish I had more time to try things)
There was a conveyor restaurant. I loved it.

Got mistaken for locals. More than once.

The view as we made our way out of San Francisco.


Took one of the US’s most dangerous roads… At night.. In a Prius. Never again. (Them views were worth it before nightfall.)
I don’t have any photos of after dark, so here’s a few through the day before sunset.

The beginning of the curvy roads.
The beach we stopped by here was very gravely. Large dark stones. Was neat to look at.
Some pretty flowers I saw on the beach.
I can’t help myself with flower photography. I normally keep it to myself though. Maybe in the future I might share more.
A Cas studies a rock.

(Good advice here. If you go to a beach made of stone, bring good footwear. Do not, I repeat, do NOT go barefoot.)
This beach was much smoother.
This beach also had a lot of these little guys running around.

The next day we got to see the redwood forests!
But before that, we were greeted by this feral cat outside our cabin.

Cas petting cabin cat.


I wish I had more time to see these trees. I could spend years amongst the giant sequoia.

A hiding Cas lurks in this photo~
A wild Kiades has appeared.
Cas for scale.
To put it another way.
Each Cas unit is five foot tall.
That tree is a lot of Cas units tall.

While on this trip I developed a fondness for Banana Slugs.

I don’t care what anyone says, they are cute and adorable weird things and I regret not getting a plush one… I still got a patch and sticker so it’s okay.

After a couple of days in the woods we got back on the highway to head back down, this time towards the Bay area. Along the way seeing some of the sites.

This tree is a real head scratcher.
Cas unit for scale.

Rocks.
Got to see Chapman’s Gem and Mineral Shop on highway 101.

Drove through the Avenue of the giants.
More trees. Yes, I love trees. And these trees.. These trees were amazing.

A Kiades for size reference next to the Immortal Tree.
Cas: Hey Kiades! that tree looks pretty big! Let me just… Scoot back to get more in the photo.
That is one big tree~
Rental Prius for size reference.

Met a man who ran a gift shop in the Avenue of the Giants who shared my love of Banana Slugs. 💛

Sadly missed Confusion Hill by about a half an hour. Still got a picture of Bill Cypher from the cartoon Gravity Falls (it’s a good show, trust me).

Just don’t make any deals with him.
I have to come back to California, if for anything, just to see this one place.


We slept overnight at a lake cabin.
I woke to spot mink hopping along the shore line. Which was pretty cool.

Cas’s phone takes really interesting night photos.

Saw the Lower Lake Stone Jail.


Found a tower made out of bicycle parts.

Sorry for the window reflection.

Detoured back through San Fransisco so Kiades could fulfill a promise to get me some coffee… Also for one more trip to the Japanese center and those mochi donuts.


Went to the Mystery Spot. Loved it. The workers there were awesome people.
If you like campy silly mystery tours (even if you know they’re fake but you come for the show) then this is the place for you. And yes, I did get a patch here too.
(Be warned if you get vertigo easily though.)

Never enough bumper stickers. Never.
He is indeed a mystery~


Went to the board walk in Santa Cruz. It was awesome. I have no other words to describe the experience.
Kiades and I spent the day here hanging out, watching seagulls, riding a few rides, and playing arcade games. I very much want to go back.

We were at the boardwalk until it closed, so we decided to hang out on the beach for a bit before heading out.

Next day I wanted to check out a pizza place I heard about. It was worth it.
The place is called Pizza My Heart.
I love this place. Not just for the pun in the name, not just for the cool sharks they got hanging up, or the neat surfer decor everywhere. Yeah sure, those things too-

-But also because the pizza was so good. So good that Kiades went to buy a Tshirt (with free slice of pizza).

A Cas for scale.


And finally… The whole reason we went to California in the first place.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium!

It was so cool. Crowded, but cool. So cool, I’m just gonna dump some snap shots here.

Mister Kiades holding a Cas’s sketchbook.
And Kiades was never seen from again… Oh wait, no. He’s fine.

Incoming jelly-spam. Don’t judge. You know they’re majestic.

I would love to ink a picture using this as a drawing reference.
I love Isopods, even more so Giant Isopods. I don’t know why.
Whale skeletons are neat. They have interesting shaped heads and still have finger bones. This has always fascinated me since I was a kid.
Otterly adorable.
A Cas sketchbook getting a front row ocean view~
Last thing to do. Go to a beach that isn’t rocky, or cliff sides, and touch the ocean!
So now this Cas can say they have touched the East and West coast (as well as the Gulf).

And last but not least. the finale picture before the journey home.

However you spent your summer, I hope it was a good one. Here’s to the rest of the year.

– Cas The Monster
– Kiades NOT eaten by a giant clam Aeon

Site update, convention and comic update!

Greetings!
It’s been a while. I’d like to apologize for the absence of anything happening here, just a lot of life things happening and having to take the time to deal with those things first. I do have some good news though!

First, a late happy one year anniversary for my comic Mechanical Hearts synthetic Flowers! The comic turned one year old this past December!
(Confetti canons here.)


Secondly, this site has had some updates! A new banner and background, a color scheme change and some minor updates to pages and such. A few things behind the scenes too, mostly working on the shop and Ko-fi page. One isn’t ready yet, but the other is! Sort of.. It’s up for viewing but there isn’t much to see on it, but Ko-fi is ready for taking tips, no pressure though. Tips are very appreciated but not necessary. In the future I’d like to put some content on there, but for now I just need to get things in order.

Third, my office/studio room has been down for deep cleaning but I’ve had a bunch of my art supplies (including my computer and tablet) moved to another location so I can get back to work. I have also recently purchased a new scanner and I’m waiting for it to arrive. So, now I can scan some of those traditional pieces I’ve been meaning to make prints of, such as The Little Lost Robot comic!

Oh, I almost forgot, a big important thing too!
If you are in Missouri in the St.Charles area or somewhere nearby, you can come meet me, Cas the monster, and Kiades the computer guy, at the St.Charles Mighty Con comic con on June 18th and 19th! Come by, say hello! Talk about random art things, comic things, food things! You can buy my stuff or even just loiter! Just whatever you do, don’t forget to check out the other awesome people there, seriously, some great artists listed on their website, go check it out.



Anyway, I don’t want to bore people with all the life things that have been happening recently, just a lot of reality caving in on our parade, hopefully it’ll smooth out soon.
Being an adult is hard man. Reality just needs to let me get back to my comics and stories.


Well wishes, and hoping you people are all safe out there-
Cas the monster~