Mr. Dean's Animal Mash-Ups: An Amazing Menagerie of Impossible Creatures!

Welcome to my wild menagerie of weird and wonderful creatures. Imagine, if you will, that fascinating animals from all around the world of all shapes and sizes – some with wings, some with tentacles, some with fur, fins or hairy feet, you get the idea – have all been caught up in a magical maelstrom and out of this swirling creative chaos emerges something unbelievable, uncanny and not even possible! This entirely new order of beasts are no longer common birds, mammals, reptiles, fish or invertebrates, but an incredible combination, a "mash-up" if you will.

I have sketched out these critters for you -- some are adorable, some homely, and some may be outright scary looking -- but all are definitely bizarre. And here is where I need your help -- by adding color and details you can bring these friends to life. What colors should they be? Should the tiger-stripes be traditional orange and black – or green and purple? Should the scales or feathers be one bold color – or a kaleidoscope of vibrant neon colors – maybe fanciful patterns of dots and swirls? The choices are up to you!

Next, I invite you to explore these creations further – where do they live? In the forest? A swamp? Up in the air, or under the sea? Maybe in the desert or even outer space! What do they eat? Who are their friends? What are their favorite books? (okay, that may be going to far...). Just have fun and let your imagination soar!

For a little background on Mr. Dean's Animal Mash-Ups – for more than a dozen years, I have been teaching summer art programs and almost every day at lunchtime I would grab my sketchbook and sit with the kids while they ate. I'd invite them to call out different animals – “something that flies," another that is more land-based, and then something that swims (or at least lives underwater) – and then I would “mash” those animals into something new and often very silly. Over the years I have given away many of those sketches, and many were admittedly not "successful" (a dog-headed starfish with human feet was just too funky looking), but others have evolved into collection of animal mash-ups you are holding now.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did drawing them. Let me know what you think! Happy coloring, Mr. Dean