6legs http://www.6legs.com/ en-us Copyright 2011 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:13:15 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Pleasing Fungus Beetle pleasing-fungus-beetle.jpg

The Pleasing Fungus Beetle, Gibbifer californicus, not to be confused with the Handsome, Shining or Silken fungus beetles.

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2009/11/pleasing-fungus-beetle.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2009/11/pleasing-fungus-beetle.html ink invertebrates marker Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:13:15 -0500 Baby caribou cariboubaby_web.png

More caribou! I made this one for a caribou biologist whose wife was having a baby.]]>
Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2009/09/baby-caribou.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2009/09/baby-caribou.html caribou cartoon digital finished art Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:22:35 -0500 More red-winged blackbirds blackbirds.png

A bevy of blackbirds, made in Illustrator.]]>
Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2009/05/more-red-winged-blackbirds.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2009/05/more-red-winged-blackbirds.html birds digital finished art Fri, 01 May 2009 18:25:55 -0500 Caribou too caribou.jpg

It's a cavalcade of cavorting caribou. Some ideas for a book a friend and I are kicking around.

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2008/05/caribou-too.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2008/05/caribou-too.html cartoons caribou digital finished art Wed, 14 May 2008 17:23:43 -0500 New antlions Antlion kid A swarm of new antlion illustrations are up at antlionden.com.

If you`re looking for an insect gift for a nature-loving friend, I highly suggest antlions!  This company has been around for several years now, and is a joy to work with.
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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2008/04/new-antlions.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2008/04/new-antlions.html bugs commission digital invertebrates Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:17:52 -0500 Merry Krampus krampus.gif How wonderful that there is such a thing as a Krampus, and I didn't even know about it until yesterday! 

Krampus is a shaggy demon who accompanies Saint Nicolas on his Christmas rounds in parts of eastern Europe.  Bad children, as I understand it, are beaten and stuffed in a sack. 

In all the commercial hubbub of North American Christmases, we've obviously forgotten the real meaning of the season -- violent goat-faced demons.
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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/12/merry-krampus.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/12/merry-krampus.html cartoons digital monsters Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:31:55 -0500 Egyptian Vultures Egyptian Vulture 1Ever since picking up a british encyclopedia of animals in the bargain bin at Borders*, I've been enamoured with European/African birds.  They're so odd and beautiful.  Here's a sketch of an Egyptian vulture.

*The Canadian dollar is at a 30 year high, but Canadian booksellers still charge the 'Canadian' price on the cover -- often 30% or more over the US price, plus the %15 or so sales tax.  I've come to the conclusion that buying books here is for chumps, so I'm stocking up whenever I cross the border.]]>
Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/10/egyptian-vultures.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/10/egyptian-vultures.html cartoons birds coloured pencil digital marker sketch Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:55:05 -0500 RSS update http://feeds.feedburner.com/6legs
Thanks!

If you're not using RSS, give it a try!  It's very handy if you follow more than a few blogs or news sites every day.
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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/09/rss-update.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/09/rss-update.html cartoons meta Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:19:11 -0500 My new mantis pets

mantis
My mantis cup just runneth over this summer! I've found three in the past week, and kept two.

I have them together, so I hope they fall in love and make little mantids (instead of just eating each other).

UPDATE:  They ate each other.  Love is rough.
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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/08/my-new-mantis-pets.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/08/my-new-mantis-pets.html bugs invertebrates photos Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:28:59 -0500 Camel Cricket camel-cricket.jpgI've never found a live camel cricket in the basement, but I know they're there. Every so often, the cat will wander by with a big, stripy leg in her mouth. I also find a mess of little cricket body parts every time I sweep down there.

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/07/camel-cricket.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/07/camel-cricket.html bugs ink invertebrates sketch Sun, 22 Jul 2007 03:57:08 -0500 Finished caribou mask mask3.jpgAfter all that lead-up, I suppose I should post the finished mask! I finished it off by sanding the paper mache a bit, then smoothing everything out with wood spackle. Finally, I painted it with acrylics.

It's not really wearable, and it's too front-heavy to hang on the wall. Live and learn. Next up, maybe a badger mask?

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/06/finished-caribou-mask.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/06/finished-caribou-mask.html caribou finished art mask Sat, 16 Jun 2007 21:51:04 -0500 June bug larva junebug.jpgI've been pulling up yards and yards of grass to start my garden, and man, there are a lot of lawn grubs in there. These white, curled guys are by far the most common. They're baby June beetles, those big brown beetles that buzz around lights in late spring.

Since this is my first garden (and my first yard!), I felt a sense of emotional stewardship towards the first few. They're not just grubs; they're my grubs! But after I hit number 10 in as many minutes, I started throwing them to the starlings (my starlings!).

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/04/june-bug-larva.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/04/june-bug-larva.html bugs digital invertebrates sketch Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:10:19 -0500 Papier Mache Caribou Mask, step 2 mask2.jpgNext step! The antlers are made from a wire and tinfoil frame, covered with paper mache. I glued them on with a ton of hot glue, and removed the lower jaw, which was making it hard to breathe with the mask on.

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/04/papier-mache-caribou-mask-step-1.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/04/papier-mache-caribou-mask-step-1.html caribou mask Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:06:19 -0500 Papier Mache Caribou Mask, step 1 mask1.jpgMy artsy time lately has been taken up by a mask project. I've made masks before, but you know what they say about art -- it takes 10,000 crappy drawings before you produce something good. It took about 3 masks, but they get a little better each time.

This is the start of a caribou mask. I laid newspaper strips over a form made from a plastic masquerade mask and hardware mesh, and used paper pulp clay for the details. Once it dried, I carefully (!) removed the mesh and mask.


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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/03/papier-mache-caribou-mask-step.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2007/03/papier-mache-caribou-mask-step.html caribou mask Sat, 03 Mar 2007 19:49:40 -0500 Fire in the hole -- Centralia, Pennsylvania
Photos from our trip to not-quite ghost town, Centralia, PA.

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Comment on this entry http://www.6legs.com/archive/2006/12/fire-in-the-hole-centralia-pen.html http://www.6legs.com/archive/2006/12/fire-in-the-hole-centralia-pen.html photos Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:28:07 -0500