Meet Gulper. He’s the biggest, most easy-going fish in the sea.  All he wants in life is to drift through nice sunny waters.  He’d love it if you joined him for a swim, and you’re welcome to hitch a ride on his fin. 🙂

Gulper has a giant mouth, but don’t worry, all he eats are tiny sea critters called plankton- just like whales. 🙂

Also like whales, this guy is enormous!  Here’s a short video of a whale shark and diver, just to give you a hint on how big they are.

As big as the shark is, Gulper is even bigger. 😀

Probably not much bigger, and most reports you’ll find are greatly exaggerated.  But hey- whale shark size is still huge, and anything bigger than that is just about mind blowing!

Because he’s such big fish, he’s not very fast, so it’s pretty easy to swim up to him and grab onto a fin.  (whale sharks are on the slow side too)  But Gulper doesn’t have to be fast.  Once he grows large enough, only a few very large pliosaurs are big enough to bother him, and clouds of plankton doesn’t swim away.  He might be lucky enough to catch a few of those squid, if they’re slow, but for the most part he just drifts through a big cloud of plankton with his mouth wide open.

Though I’d try to steer clear of that mouth too, if I were you.  Don’t want to get accidentally swallowed!

 

Making progress…

I got two more color sketches for the “dummy book” done, woohoo!  Things are really filling out nicely. 😀

 

Here I want to take a moment to say thank you.

Over the past year I’ve been involved with the Dinosaur Toy Forum.  Just lurking and reading all the great threads and the wealth of knowledge at first, then actively participating.  The members are always very kind, and help with whichever questions I may have (which are many).  I’ve really appreciated their generosity with their knowledge on prehistoric creatures.

More recently, I’ve been posting picture book progress on the forum.  And it’s members (you know who you are 🙂 ) have been most supportive and generous in their kindness and advice.

Working on the picture book is a joy and a step towards a dream of helping my family financially, and bringing a little brightness to the world with my art…but sometimes the sense of “not good enough” and seeming lack of progress can be overwhelming, and a few kind words can really turn a gray day into a great one.

When you share encouragement that really means the world to me. Thank you. 🙂

I thought I’d share a few of the kind words you have given me.  They really give me an extra boost when it seems I’m not making progress at all.  It’s the reason I finished two color sketches this week!

“Hello, I have been visiting the petshop blog for quite a while now, and I must say, the art is absolutely amazing, and the concept itself is something I have been wanting for so long. Just a question,when is the book coming out? I’m a big fan.”

 

“Your artwork is so charming! 😀 I especially love Copper & Daisy and Skittles!!  Best of luck with your books; they’re exactly the type of storybooks (and artwork in particular) I wish there were more of.”

 

Thank you! I truly appreciate it. 😀

 

Coming Next Week…

This little fuzzball likes to party at night. 🙂

Share your guess in the comments! She’s one of the critters over on the critter page. 🙂