Sloths!

For a while the hipster set was very fond of owls. They were on everything. Not just for kids but in prints for women's clothing, housewares, stationary - everything! Owls  are cool I guess, I almost exclusively see ones that have a sort of retro vibe, but I prefer how real owls look rather than the overly stylized versions I was seeing everywhere. Real owls are pretty awesome looking - they need no stylization in my opinion. Plus the vintagey owls remind me of weird framed illustrations on the walls of my pediatrician's office - which had probably been up since the 50s. I think that style of owl was popular in the late 60s - 70s, but thinking back - the illustrations in my his office were probably older because he was a million and a half years old and I don't think they ever redecorated that office in the history of his practice. Anyway, because I had that anxious association with the doctor's office and retro owls, I never really liked the stylized way they were depicted.

At this point you're probably saying "what do owls have  to do with sloths?" well for starters, don't interrupt - it's rude. I'm getting to the point, so hang on a minute. I mention owls and their popularity because I think sloths are gaining popularity as "favorite animal". I'm starting to see a lot of cute sloth designs/illustrations/products. I've always loved sloths. They are so very strange looking and seem so good natured. 

Have you ever seen the video of the sloth trying to cross the road, but there is traffic so a group of people have congregated to try to slow down the traffic and then finally one of the people decides to pick the sloth up and carry him across at which point the sloth's arms go out and he arches his back a little and the genius editing the video started playing R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" as beams of light shoot out of the Sloth? Well if not, here it is (you're welcome):

 (*Update - I'm not sure if the embedded video was removed because of my negligence or what but just in case it disappears again - here is the link to youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba7rRfKIHxU/ )
It's amazing! Not just because it is hilarious, but because the sloth doesn't even seem to realize he is not actually controlling himself. Yes, I know - I'm anthropomorphizing the sloth, but they seem so unfazed by humans. Maybe they are just too slow to be frightened. And they have that permanent smile - how could you not love them?

Anyway, I have an illustration I did about 7 years ago at the peak of my sloth obsession called 

"Sloth's Day Out" 

He's on an adventure. 

There are several back stories about the sloth. There were a few versions: 

• One about how he is bored and wants to explore beyond the jungle
• One where the theme was about understanding one's limitations
• One was about the importance of helping others 
• One was about punctuality (snore)

 I created the illustration, used it for promotional cards - but then I wasn't doing anything with it so today I decided to extend it horizontally so I could slap it on a mug and sell it on Zazzle:

and now you can buy this on a mug here:

http://www.zazzle.com/sloths_day_out-168391762262404040/

 Maybe now that my obsession has been rekindled, I'll do some more sloth illustrations and come up with a solid story - who knows it might be worth publishing.