Chances are you know what the wildly popular Pixie and Brutus comics are all about and there’s no need to introduce Ben Hed. Unless you were off for a vacation to the moon and just joined the bandwagon. In that case, feel free to feast on the hilarious adventures of the unlikely pair that is a tiny kitty and a big, intimidating war veteran dog here, here, and here.
But Ben, who’s best known for his Instagram account "Pet Foolery," which has 2.3 million followers, is back with a new set of comic strips. This time, it’s all about imaginary animals inspired by mind-bending real-life pics. Ben decided to take the optical illusions to a whole new level and recreate the animals as if they were real. The result is surreal furry pals like antler cat and caterpillar dog, both cool and endlessly enjoyable to look at. Don't say you wouldn't want one, or all of them.
Ben is back with new mind-bending illustrations of imaginary animals
Image credits: pet_foolery
Image credits: pet_foolery
Image credits: pet_foolery
Bored Panda reached out to Ben to find out more about the project. It turns out, the idea of imaginary animals came at random. “I just looked up 'funny animal illusions' on Google,” he told us, and the rest is history. Meanwhile, Ben believes that throughout the years, his drawings have become more detailed and realistic in style. “But outside that, nothing has changed too much,” he assured us.
When it comes to coming up with new ideas and fresh storylines, Ben has occasional slumps like any other artists. “And it’s usually just when I don’t have a good idea for a comic.” There’s a whole different story if the illustrator has a good comic idea in mind, which makes it easy for him to be motivated. “As far as getting ideas, one thing I like to do is just write anything down that I think of throughout the day that could be a comic.”
Image credits: pet_foolery
Image credits: pet_foolery
Image credits: pet_foolery
In reality, none of Pet Foolery comics were conceived by Ben sitting down at his desk and actively brainstorming. “Most of my comics come from random thoughts I have when I’m driving to Walmart or cooking food,” he laughed.
If you've ever wondered why there are no detailed backgrounds in Ben’s comics, he has a good reason for that. “I choose to have no background because it makes the characters the focus. When a scene requires more environment, you’ll notice the backgrounds in my comics are more detailed, but usually a background isn’t really necessary.”
Ben uses Photoshop on a 13” Wacom Cintiq HD. He starts with drawing rough sketches, then goes over them with the linework, and only then, he colors it. Lastly, Ben adds the word bubbles where he wants to, and the strip is ready.
The antler cat seems to be the public's favorite
