I have been wanting to do some fan art for a good while – there are so many artists whose work I like. However, some time ago this webcomic named Mal and Chad, created by a quite young lad named Stephen McCranie, caught my eye inmediately. Some may compare it (unfairly so, maybe) to Calvin and Hobbes on its look and feel – After all, it’s about a young boy and his sidekick, talking pet. But there the similarities end, and there’s something about the cuteness and lighthearted innocence of this strip that touches a soft spot on me, enough to make a piece like the one I’m showing here.

I started to sketch directly on Sketchbook Pro using the Intuos tablet and did the coloring in Photoshop. I wanted to leave things loose and rough around the edges here, to give it a fresh, organic feel. And because I’m experimenting with “earthy” color schemes for my creations.