Turning Atrocities Into Art One Flag At A Time

Ah, that’s an unfortunate line folks draw sometimes, that because I call my little dudes ‘monsters’ that I’m comparing whatever the purpose behind the flags I look at to something negative, but lo! That’s entirely incorrect! 

I actually really, really love ‘monsters’, the concept of them, the history and varying definitions of the word, as well as to a certain extent the sheer flexibility of the definition. For me, when I refer to my creations as ‘monsters’, I’m more using the word as a category for beings that I create that aren’t human in the sense that they aren’t homo sapiens, but they are people in the same sense a human being is, you know? I’m very passionate and attached to my characters, and in a lot of my written and artistic works that I don’t share on here, I keep that definition but in those instances I like to bounce the idea of monster vs. human in the sense of ‘what makes us human’ as well as using it as a story device to discuss metaphors for things such as gender, sexuality, race, that kind of thing. To a certain extent, the idea of a ‘monster’ can be a really great way to discuss ‘us vs. them’ mentalities and how differences can form within ourselves and our societies as well as how they can effect interpersonal interaction. Maybe this is a result of feeling like an ‘other’ in my own life as a result of my own conceptions of myself and how others feel about and view me, that this feeling of being an other has led me to empathize with the idea of someone being different from a normal in a way that they can’t help but that does nothing to detract from their innate humanity - but honestly that’s a big ol’ tangent on a perspective that I don’t so much apply to all of these dudes, as I try to keep this project relatively light! For my intents and purposes, my monsters are people and very human. It isn’t meant to be a backhanded statement on some nonexistent attitude towards the creator of this flag - if that was my mentality on every monster I created, then I guess I’m dehumanizing LGBT folks, of which I am one, I guess I’m bullying the creator of the French flag for using the colors, I guess I’m being cruel towards your skateboarder cousin Throckmorton for making a monster out of a flag related to him - that argument holds water like holey cheesecloth, my good bro.

And on another note, one of the intentions of my projects is to divorce the connotation of a color scheme from it’s sometimes divisive origins and repurpose it into something that everybody, whether they wholeheartedly agree with, disagree with, or feel nothing but complete apathy towards the original. Occasionally, I use my monsters to pay homage to something - for example, a lot of my country monsters have some kind of nod towards the country that particular flag represents - but in general, I try to toss aside preconceived connotations and replace them with a sense of togetherness and understanding I think a cool character with a neat story can bring! 

Bud, this is why I blocked you. Death threats? Really my guy? So edgy I almost relapsed 🙄 What’s next? You going to go back to sending gore? Rape threats, mayhaps? You going to call me a slur? You’ve done it all before, and it’s never gotten you or anyone else anywhere. Just makes you, like I said, cruel. Get over yourself.

Art of @mogai-monsters-and-more ‘s amazing monster design. Gladys is amazing and I love her and I just wanted to turn her into this mysterious, spooky woman.

NAME: Ranibow Sprimkle Esquire

PALETTE: Sprinklic (This flag nearly killed me, I’m begging you to look at it)

NAME: Gladys

PALETTE: Chromaergender

NAME: Dudley

PALETTE: Canada (Country Flag)

MONSTER: This chunky bear is one of the sweetest you’ll ever meet. He smells strongly of maple syrup (a favorite food of his), and he insists to anyone who will listen that nothing compares to delicious Canadian maple syrup. He hangs around different syrup farms to learn all about how maple sap is harvested and refined so that one day he can make his own!

NAME: Luis

PALETTE: Arizona (State Flag)

MONSTER: This cactus man is the sheriff ‘round these parts! This monster might not be the sharpest, but he’s genuinely kind and wants to be the best sheriff he can be. That ambition mixed with what some would describe a borderline stupid level of bravery has led to quite a few close calls with outlaws. 

NAME: Tai

PALETTE: Mersexual

A darling friend of mine on my Discord server made an adorable flag that they dubbed the ‘Moe Pride Flag’ X”D They are far too kind to me, but they gave me permission to share it, and I love the greens, so here it is! Thank you! :D

NAME: OwO

PALETTE: OwO (Joke Flag)(Flag No Longer Found)

MONSTER: Unlike her twin UwU, OwO’s alignment is chaotic evil. Though UwU’s usually there to balance her and prevent her from doing anything truly dangerous, she has committed several arsons under lack of supervision. 

Here he is! It looks like he’s lacking a name though. Any suggestions?