Stan Lee Inspired Many Cartoonists

On November 12 of this year, the world lost a cartoon & comic character legend. Stan Lee was 95 when he went. Unlike other comic book artists of his day, he gave the characters (such as Spider-Man) a long & complex history, complete with fears, personality quirks, bad days, and all things relatable. He made the once more-than-human super heroes, human.

And since then, the cartooning industry has never been the same. Fans tend to gravitate toward characters with whom they can identify... 

Though he was known for detailed, powerful and aggressive comic book art, he has inspired many different types of cartoonists. Not unlike Walt Disney, he was an artist who followed his own path and did what felt right at the time. And this created a universe of beloved characters! 

I grew up in the 90s, and was lucky to have witnessed such an array of super heroes and enjoy some good comic book/pop art style illustrations, which helped inspire my love of drawing. 

Though I don't draw in the same style (I gravitate toward both digital drawing, and cute characters, mainly with animalistic traits) I do appreciate the inspiration.  The picture below was sketched as a tribute to a fine cartoonist & designer of relatable characters. 

Why Do They Have Elements?

It has recently been pondered about why each character's description page shows an 'element'. 

As you've noticed, each of the 12 characters has a zodiac sign (none of them are duplicated). This is because - as an astrology fan - in a way each character embodies traits from their sign. 

For instance: like me, Octomouse is a gentle and timid Pisces. That means she is a 'water sign' (which is why she is part sea creature and can swim). 

The zodiac signs we know in the Western world, each have one of 4 elements. Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.  I'd like to try a little experiment here. First I'll list the general traits affiliated with each element (in Western and Eastern practices). Then I'll list each Zoo'd friend and their element, and then you can tell us where you see similarities 😊

Fire:

🔥Passionate about life

🔥Very confident, high self-esteem

🔥Never afraid to have a good time (the first ones out on the dance floor)

🔥Impulsive temper, large tantrums

🔥Genuinely care about others and will do grand gestures to express that

🔥Love their freedom and won't be tied down

Earth:

🌍Crave security at all times

🌍Are often quiet and thoughtful, intellectual

🌍Incredibly hard workers and very dutiful

🌍Highly critical and a bit picky, high standards

🌍Very sensual and love to indulge in pleasures

🌍Grounded in reality and unlikely to dream big

Air:

⛅Very intellectual and quick-thinking

⛅Highly talkative and 'chatty'

⛅Highly intelligent and difficult to fool

⛅Great at 'reading people' (body language, etc.)

⛅Also great at reading, and loves learning

⛅Not comfortable with emotions and prefer thought processes

Water:

🌊Deeply emotional and very sensitive

🌊Which leads to empathy and compassion

🌊Though sweet-natured, water personalities can have wild tantrums

🌊Usually quiet and dreamy in demeanor, mysterious

🌊Often lost in deep thoughts, has vivid dreams

🌊Very creative and romantic, a true 'dream weaver'

And now, let's look at our sweet Zoo'd friends...

1. Dogosaur - Fire (Aries)
2. Pandaroo - Earth (Taurus)
3. Parrofly - Air (Gemini)
4. Slowan - Water (Cancer)
5. Elefox - Fire (Leo)
6. Beever - Earth (Virgo)
7. Rabbird - Air (Libra)
8. Froogle - Water (Scorpio)
9. Unicat - Fire (Sagittarius)
10. Penguana - Earth (Capricorn)
11. Zebat - Air (Aquarius)
12. Octomouse - Water (Pisces)

So go ahead, check out your favorite characters and compare their personality traits to the ones described in their elements!  Now have a great day 😊