Artist Showcase

Hello sweet friends! 😊

How are you?


The last time I posted was early March, and a lot has happened since then!

Elefox tees and more

First of all, I'd like to address the "elephant in the room" - facebook is on a Big Blog Deletion Rampage! At first, when I discovered my 9 (nine) notes of Kawaii365 throwbacks had been removed, I was distraught. They mistook my work for "spam" and so I went into facebook's Help Center and contacted them directly (after about half an hour of trying to figure out how to). I explained my situation as an artist, sharing posts from this very blog, for my friends, fans and family.  I was ignored for some time.  After awhile, I went onto blogging groups and asked others if they have had similar issues (having their links removed right out from under them, and accused of sharing spam).  As it turns out, the answer was a resounding YES!

From my research and chatting with fellow bloggers, it seems that since a recent issue with making vaccinations mandatory (which I support by the way), facebook has created a system to detect the anti-vaxxer mommy blogs and immediately remove them, with community health's interest at top of mind. This is good to remove harmful posts, but..... they've decided that ALL blog-related posts are spam. And that's not right.  Nine notes I made... for my beloved fans, and facebook removed them all....  and it's not just about me. They've done similar things to a lot of other bloggers.

So, out of support, some of my friends have suggested I share artwork and blog related posts on sites such as MeWe and even GetAssist.  I'd like to apologize for my being away since then - I've been battling depression since discovering those notes removed, and feeling victimized for sharing art.

Anyway, in lighter news...

whenever I feel "persecuted" for being an artist, it makes me stronger and I learn new ways of promoting my work.  In this case, I put together a video of my best works, to share with you.  Thank you, and enjoy:

If you truly are a fan, please feel free to pledge support for us (me and the Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends) at Patreon. You'll get monthly coloring pages, access to top-secret content, and a coupon code for Etsy!

Open the video on YouTube and share it on your social media - it's free, it's quick and you're helping my work get known within a wider circle.  Thank you 😍

And before I go, I'd like to share my space-themed kawaii art with you. If you follow my Instagram, then you know that I recently took some paint to my denim jacket and made a little space scene of it:

I cannot wait until warmer weather so I can wear this outside!

And then, when I had to retire this cute bunny "wallet" (actually an Instax photo album, good for holding all kinds of cards, but eventually wore out)…

I decided to continue with the space theme, and when Rob gave me one of his wallets (brand new, just not used yet), I saw the blank/black surface as a new canvas.... 

Who knew decorating random surfaces could be so fun? 

Bonus: I am part Irish, and to celebrate that, I enjoy making Irish-themed tee decals for my RedBubble shop.  To celebrate this Saint Patrick's Day, I ordered my own "Lucky Duck" design. Here it is on my body: 

Have a great day! 

xoxo, Daryl J.

Christmas Stocking of Kawaii Cuteness

Wow, it's apparently been a loooong while since I've posted here 
v(=∩_∩=)ﾌ


The last time was around Halloween - my second-favorite season, trumped by Christmas! And speaking of Christmas, that's what I'm here to write about today - some of the amazing stocking stuffers from my awesome hubby-bubby Rob ♥‿♥


So I'll start with photos and follow with the story:

In order from top:

When I was a little girl (about grade 6), I had one of the uber-popular Tamagotchi toys. I took care of that thing like there was no tomorrow, right down to waking up late-night or early morning when the thing beeped. I snuck it to school but when a teacher took it - later giving it back with a promise from me not to bring it to school - the poor thing died. And those late 90s/early 00s models didn't have the reset capability that today's models have. I was devastated at the time, and though still intrigued with the idea of "raising" another one, I didn't bother for a long time. 

Anyway, during a 2018 trip to Sunrise Records here in Bower Mall, I saw some on display and turned into a total fangirl! So Rob surprised me by putting a pink one in my stocking. I've since played with it and it died - the one above is a duplicate because I lent the original gift to a good friend, who in turn misplaced it and so I went to replace it recently at the Toys R Us in Bower (these buggers are still insanely popular and sell out quick)! Below is a video of me grieving for the original one [Rob got me for Christmas] during a family trip to Cancun:

And the following photos [above] are of some of those awesome cookies from Second Cup - a confectionary brand called A Couple of Squares - these particular sugar cookies in Christmas themes, such as a candy cane & hot chocolate, as well as a toque and mitt (so Canadian)! I adore these cookies mainly for their kawaii aesthetic and long shelf life. It's incredible that they're all hand-made! 





And speaking of...

…the recent trip to Cancun, see this post on the Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends, to read about this cute bag's adventures: https://zoodanimalfriends.blogspot.com/2019/02/my-bag-went-to-cancun.html

This just in - 2019 is already 1/12th over. Therefore, the calendars I've made for your enjoyment, are Now on clearance: 

Kawaii one: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/561981932/now-only-199-printable-calendar?ref=shop_home_feat_3

Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/647446398/now-only-199-printable-2019-calendar?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Support the growing Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/helpakawaiiartist


Thank you! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Vistaprint Business Cards

Hi there!

As you know, I operate out of Red Deer, AB. So you may have already gotten one of these cards from me - either in person, or found on a table in a restaurant (that's how I've made some of my best connections!)

The original design, expanded to show the words.

If you are wondering what this website is (and don't feel like typing in the URL above), then here it is for you:

Daryl Januszewski Art


So if you are here specifically for the kawaii aspect, that's awesome!! Thank you, and enjoy!

And... if you already know that outside of the cute cartoons, I do other styles of art as well, then that's great! In fact, I've been a cartoonist since I was a toddler... they weren't great yet, but since age 2, art has been my life!

I grew up watching Bob Ross, and for Christmas and birthdays, my mum got me art kits (yay!)

In elementary school, I was making comic characters already (like Reena the Witch, and Kitty, Kitty, Kitten). By junior high, I was taking art classes and in high school, various friends would request art from me - that felt so awesome!! 

Between 2007-2009, I earned my Art Diploma from SCI (Quebec), and in 2016 I began this cute art project, which eventually led to me being included in Alberta Culture Days, as well as Art Battle International.

In 2014, I opened my Etsy shop (Darylart Digital), and in 2016 I opened both my RedBubble and Zazzle shops (KawaiiNMore). The style is 'cute cartoons', coloring pages, accessories & apparel. 

And, in the summer of 2018, I took the Art of Cartooning course, instructed by Gerry Rasmussen of Betty, at the college here in Red Deer 😊


Why am I sharing this with you?

Because, if you're here for the art aspect, then there's something quick & easy you can do to keep me producing more art for you to enjoy!

You'll notice that, on the above business card (from Vistaprint), I mentioned something called Patreon. What is that?

Patreon is a funding platform for creators such as visual artists, game developers, YouTubers, musicians, authors, and more!

For $1/month, you'll get a monthly coloring page to download and print, and enjoy coloring in.

For $5/month, you'll still get the coloring page; you'll also get a custom illustration of yourself in any cartoon (2D, hand-drawn) style you'd like me to do.

So without further ado, here it is for you:

Daryl's Patreon Page

Let's Laugh At A Terrible Video

So right now, there's this video on YouTube, about using fabric markers to put kawaii characters on clothes. Well, it's more about updating their brightness... and the camera angle is so painfully awkward, that the video is kind of hard to watch. Actually, the comments section is disabled!

Oh yeah... this is also a video of me, LOL. 

You can watch it here:

So, because I had the webcam attached to a hair accessary (I can't afford a Go-Pro camera, unless of course, you'd like to pledge at https://www.patreon.com/helpakawaiiartist) this video didn't show as much of the coloring-in job as initially hoped. Therefore, please enjoy the images below (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

This shirt is available at RedBubble

Okay, thanks for stopping laughing long enough to read this - muah! 

Celebrating A 1-Year Anniversary

Hi everyone, today is an exciting day (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Though it's hard to believe, today marks the one year (already!) since I completed the year-long, cute art project dubbed Kawaii365. If you live in Red Deer, you might remember seeing random 'cute art' in public places around the city, including stickers, doodles on random objects, and even charms made from clay!

You can see my very first [of the 365 of them] at this link here - http://kawaii365.blogspot.com/2016/07/first-one-of-365.html

I know, it's shocking that it's from 2016... when I first started this blog, it was motivated by reading that book, Unstuck, by Noah Scalin, that Rob & I won at that adult coloring event at our library.

Excitedly, I jumped in head-first and just wanted to 'go for it'. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if anyone would even notice me doing this project... even if I just did it for the sake of doing it, and it never got known, that was okay. At the time, this blog only had a handful of total views... in fact, I celebrated when we hit around 500. That was super-exciting! Now, this blog has seen nearly 26,000! Yay!


One of the most major highlights, was getting this project featured on the author's blog, surprisingly not that far into this project... I'm super glad that happened, because it inspired me and motivated me to keep it up for the entire year! See it here: https://makesomething365.blogspot.com/2016/07/kawaii365.html



The year flew by really quick, and though there were admittedly days when I felt less motivated, I literally never decided to 'put it off' or skip a day. This project was great for mental health (I deal with depression, anxiety and minor ADHD symptoms) because it made me accountable. This gave me an actual goal to work toward, and something that was all my own, and was a great outlet to express feelings, thoughts, ideas and other things happening in my life at the time...



Anyway, for the very last project (#365), I used a shoebox and some random leftovers from the stuff I bought at Dollar Tree, and made a miniature museum dedicated to the previous year. Around this time, I had also started my Patreon Page,  and shared it on there, too.

Let's look at the museum's first video and second video, one year apart...

Anyway, realizing exactly one year has gone by already, blows my mind. I still recall the nervous excitement I felt while being interviewed to be featured in a couple of local publications here in our city: 

Red Deer Express - https://www.reddeerexpress.com/home/red-deer-artist-creates-365-projects-for-365-days/

RD News Now! - https://rdnewsnow.com/article/544797/year-long-art-project-brings-out-best-local-woman

😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻😻

In other news, 

Rob & I visited a cat café today, and they happened to have Kitten Tuesday. Here are some clips from our adorable experience (✿ ♥‿♥)

Thank you, domo arigato! 

Kawaii Squishie Keychains

Hello sweet friends!

This evening, as I approach bedtime, we will keep this review to a short and sweet video (sweet-smelling, too - wish I could share!)

Highlights of the video:

😍 These are very affordable, if you'd like some too. Just search Amazon for Goodangie00 - her shipping is mostly free and seems to be world wide. I did some research after the video.
😍 I don't know yet, but am thinking of doing a blog giveaway with these - like 1 per each winner. I think they are too adorable to hoard all to myself and want you to enjoy them too. I'll let you know when I've ironed out the deets. 
😍 The one with an 'X' for the nose & mouth, reminds me so much of Rabbird, which was sorta inspired by a cartoon rabbit I saw as a kid. If you want to know about my sweet baby Rabbird, check her out here.
😍 That 'squee' sound effect from one of the squishies, was from me, LOL. I do think they would be so much cuter if they made that noise on their own while being compressed.
😍 They should be able to be hung off of bags of all kinds, and can probably also accessorize beltloops, necklaces(?), and likely can be used as keychains or at least on keychains as well.


😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍


Anyway as you know, life is pretty busy as an artist, blogger, wife & home-maker, and of course, retail worker. I really do my best to keep you entertained, because I APPRECIATE you and your patronage coming to check out this kawaii blog, which has been crafted for your amusement.

I understand everybody literally has the same 24 hours in their day, and it's up to us as to how we utilize our time. I'm not whining, finding excuses, blaming outside sources, etc...…

When you show that my finding time to share with you and entertain you, isn't in vain, then you make my world brighter. And for that, I thank you (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

How can you do that? Well, glad you asked! Just check out Patreon.com/helpakawaiiartist and there, you'll see a page dedicated previously to the year-long kawaii art project and now dedicated to the 12 zany, kawaii animals that I'd like to entertain you with. When you become a Patron, then you're helping me with day-to-day costs associated with creating.

These costs can include art supplies, fees for websites or Vistaprint, entry fees for exhibits, and of course advertising in general. Even if you don't want to submit a measly dollar each month, you also help me greatly when you share the page with people you know, love & trust.

Thank you!

Happy Birthday Animals!

Wow guys!

Isn't it hard to believe that, at least 3 of our Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends, are already a year old today?

On June 19, 2017 - shortly before the end of the #Kawaii365 project, I was deciding what to draw for the day's project. I had already been thinking of some potential hybrids between various animals, and doodled these first 3 characters of the series:

Unicat seems to have stayed pretty well the same (yes, I *am already aware of UniKitty from the Lego movie, as well as the Caticorn design on drinkware - it's a free world and we're all designers with similar thoughts).

Dogosaur got a much bigger head and different face... being part Stegosaurus, he seemed like he needed red eyes.

And Rabbird might be the most significant change, as here, I had her shaped like a potato with no legs, hahaha! Not sure how I planned to get around that one!

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Here is a closer-up picture of the original sketches:

Since June 19 last year, these guys have come a long way - 9 more were created, and they have their own blog, a facebook group, merchandise, a Patreon page, two coloring books, a Buzzfeed Quiz, and soon-to-be web comic! 

Also, Rob & I will be voicing them later on, as we move toward possible animation. These cute/weird animals have become an integral part of daily life :)

Look at the subtle changes in each one nowadays. They've come a long way, and they're going further!

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Another interesting thing about June 19, is that it's also the birthday of one of my best and longest-running friends, Sabrina! (✿◠‿◠)  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

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To celebrate the 'birthday' of the Zoo'd Animal Hybrid Friends, please enjoy sharing this kawaii birthday card I animated!