I like these, despite neither having nor wanting one as a child. My theory as to why I like these now (in 2023) bears upon One-Cent ACO.
My One-Cent drawings favored obscure subjects, with a preference for those of my childhood. Though I never wanted a Water Pet growing up, I very much recalled the *commercial for them, as it was extremely common to see on NickJr in the early 1990s (the only ad that was spammed harder was the one for Flexi-Blocks ...a product I hate VERY much and will harshly criticize once I start uploading to YouTube again ...but I digress). ^^
*My guess is the animation for the ad was made by DIC's Japanese animation studio, but I'm unsure of this---I base this solely on appearance.
Anyway, I had seen the Water Pets commercial on YouTube, decided Water Pets qualified as obscure, and ...made art, I guess. What kept the Water Pets afloat in my mind after was the fact I made the red one into a character in my Quickie comics. ^^
So, of course, that means the Water Pets now have a level of undeserved significance in my life ...so, without question, I've recently endeavored to collect all three pets IRL, and will soon make a big deal about them to the five or so of my watchers who actually care. ^^
I have bought all three of the pets (I'm waiting for pet 3/3 to arrive in the mail) ...consequently, one should expect more Water Pets art (esp. with Gene and Co) and a video. Just be patient. :3
Speaking of art...
I actually drew this Water Pets ACO sometime in the middle of February. :p
I didn't upload it because, well... for one, I wasn't showcasing any of my art at that time. For two, I just didn't like the pose. :P
Now, I sometimes make practice sketches for ACO, esp. if the subject isn't familiar to me. In this case the subject is one I've drawn a few times (and is simple enough anyway), so I just drew its ACO outright as an intended 'final product'. Alas, the pose looked better in my head than what came out on paper. :P
The pose, insofar as I can tell, is correct. I use a webcam photo of my upper body as a reference, with my arms stretched and my chest out (which moves the arms back). But because my body was mostly in profile (only the slightest bit of rotation towards the viewer) the far arm ...is hidden; it disappears. :P
Yes, arms/legs can be perfectly parallel or hide behind the body.
"No, I didn't forget the arm, I'm just a shit artist".
I could (and did try to) draw a far arm, but it always looked off because of the perspective. I could have just drawn a new ACO, but drawing has become a very unpleasant thing to do (as my lack of output should testify), so I ...just didn't want to (and still don't). That said, it'd been a while since I last uploaded something, and this card is better than no card at all. ^^
The meaning of the first is obvious, but the second is, effectively, me deciding that (yes) my art does suck, but so does the art of a lot of people---I need to get over my self-hate (and have, for the moment). ^^
Pencil...
The featured pencil is the 'Rainproof' from Dixon Pencil Co.
I'm unsure if this pencil is actually rainproof ...mayhaps it has some wax or fast dye immixt in its graphite, but what of the paper it's to write on? I suppose there are scenarios in which one may have a need to write in the rain (such as field reporting), but how common is that? One thing I know is pencils like this have been made at least since the 1930s, as I also have a 'Weather-proof' from that era by Eberhard Faber (I'll feature it eventually).
