All images are hosted on Flickr – click through for a larger view, and for image descriptions (Alt Text equivalent).

First up: not Squirrel, but Mouse. She’s checking out the cheese section of somebody’s well-stocked pantry library.

Next up: Squirrel and Fox did all the tourist things in DC – in addition to and a drawing I posted earlier, there is this snapshot:

Squirrel enjoying some quiet time, while I experimented with Procreate:

New one! Like many mammals, food is an enormous source of motivation for squirrels. It will even make them do math and physics. How will this end?!?

Things I learned from a year of drawing squirrels and other animals:

• I still need to work on a consistent style for my squirrel, if I want to present him as a single character. It’s ok to switch between a more anthropomorphic and a more realistic/animal representation, but they’re not the same squirrel throughout.
• Some squirrels look more like a kangaroo I need to work on the face.
• Finding the balance between enough detail and sufficient simplification is really hard. Cartooning is a real skill and takes a lot of practice to develop.
• I’m loath to give in to the trend of 3 fingers + 1 thumb for cartoon characters, but drawings get crowded with 4+1.
• Squirrels are fun to draw, but so are mice and foxes!

Would you like to see more cartoon-style drawings of Squirrel and friends? Let me know in the comments!

I’m not even asking the question if art should engage with current affairs. To me, it’s a given: if art is about self-expression (we can debate that question), then it will end up reflecting the world of the artist. And yes, cartooning is art. It takes considerable skill, especially when it looks easy.

1. “These haunting underwater photos portray climate change in a new way” (CNN, Nov. 4)

Haunting images.The article also describes how the artist worked with the local community to create this project. Here’s the most chilling part of the entire piece, to me:

“Somebody said it was quite post-apocalyptic. And I said, ‘No, it’s pre-apocalyptic.’ Because it hasn’t actually happened to these people yet.”

Nick Brandt, photographer

2. Cartooning that Oxfam report on billionaires

Oxfam published a report on the impact of billionaires on emissions. Part of the problem is their lifestyle, jetting around the globe in their private airplanes and consuming a disproportionate amount of … well, anything, to be honest. Big new angle in this report is the research on the impact of their investments. That shows their impact is far worse than you’d think. With COP28 on the go, this report now has gained traction, so you’ll see lots of stats bandied around. If you’re confused, remember your friendly cartooning and illustrator friends are always ready to bring clarity in complex affairs with a light touch, and First Dog on the Moon is no exception. Head on over to the Guardian and read the full comic!

I’m with Squirrel…but for different reasons. (I mainly worry about falling off the treadmill). I really do NOT like those hamster wheels for humans, and unlike other people I routinely run slower and less far on them than I do outside. In June I was forced onto one due to the Lehigh Valley reaching the unenviable status of “most polluted air in the world”, when the smoke from the wildfires blew our way and made me wear a face mask outside when I had to go out briefly. I still wanted to get a run in, but not in this pea soup (Youtube video). Hamster wheel in the gym it was… I returned to running outside as soon as the Air Quality Index returned below 100 and it feels much better to be outside!

Do you like running on a hamster wheel or are you with Squirrel and me? Let me know in the comments!