Saturday October 20, 2012

I’ve always considered children’s drawings to just be fugly by default, but I didn’t realize how truly heinous they can be until two days ago, when I was first introduced to a company called Child’s Own Studios. Child’s Own Studios makes custom plush toys based on kids’ drawings. If you think this sounds like a terrible business concept, you are not alone. The first thing I thought was, “This is doomed to fail.” Let’s be honest here: children can’t draw for sh*t. You know this, I know this–anyone who’s ever seen a child’s drawing knows that 99.9999% of all kids’ art is really bad. Like, you could be looking at what you think is a crayon sketch of some monster straight out of a Guillermo del Toro movie, only to find out that it’s a kid’s attempt at drawing a circle.

Considering all the sh*tty children’s drawings I’ve seen, it was hard to believe that any parent would willingly pay money to turn his or her kid’s nightmarish pictures into nightmarish toys. So when I checked out the Child’s Own website yesterday, I was expecting to see an “Under Construction” banner that was put up in the early 2000s, or a message like “We are no longer in business because our idea was awful.” I didn’t, however, see either of those things on the website. In fact, Child’s Own didn’t just survive; it was actually thriving.

You might be thinking, “Well, not all children’s drawings are sh*t storms on paper. There are talented kids who can actually draw out there.” And indeed, I found two drawings that were quite impressive, and turned out to make pretty cute stuffed animals.

An 8-year-old’s dragon:

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I would actually buy this for myself.

An 11-year-old’s dog:

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Wait, did I say I found two drawings impressive drawings? I meant I only found two. Yes, there were only two decent pictures on the entire site. The rest of them were pretty much what you’d expect of typical kids’ art–i.e., fugly as hell. As for the plush toy versions, those were literally some of the most f*cked up things I’ve ever seen…And now they will become the most f*cked up things you will ever see.

Artist #1, Age 5

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Okay, this is either supposed to be (1) a person sexually assaulting a horrified human-ficus hybrid, or (2) a deleted scene from “Powder” in which Powder discovers that the giant cyst on his left shoulder and hand-shaped skin flaps covering his nipples were really the head and arms of his symbiotic twin, Crack.

I looked at this and was like, “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” but then I saw this:

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What the f*ck is that?! And really, the best thing you could do to cut the creepy out of the drawing was to make two plush toys  instead of one?! Why not throw in some free therapy sessions while you’re at it, because that’s what this kid is going to need when he sees these f*cked up things in the dark!

Artist #2: Age 10

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I’m guessing the only reason why the kid named this beast Mud was because he wasn’t aware of the word “sh*tty.”

It appears that Mud was a plesiosaurus who got too close to a narwhal, crocodile, a colony of marine tube worms, and the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. And look! The kid even drew arrows to point out  the burns Mud suffered when he came in contact with nuclear waste.

As if Mud’s life isn’t already bad enough, he also can’t afford a dentist and therefore must live with five rotted-ass teeth and four yellow ones that are on the verge of joining them.

Here is Mud as a plush toy:

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On the one hand, I have to give props to Child’s Own for replacing Mud’s jacked up coal-teeth with porcelain veneers. On the other hand, he’s still Mud. And on the third hand, if we sent a 100 of these to Iran, it would be more than enough to convince them to kill their nuclear program.

Artist #3, Age 9

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Noooooooooooooooooooo!

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Artist #4, Age 5

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First of all, is this a homework sheet or something? Because it says “F Words” at the top, so I assume this was used to teach children the alphabet. Secondly, a good indicator that your child’s school isn’t cutting it is when—of all the f-words he could have gone with—he chooses “fart”…not “flower,” “frog,” or “fire,” but “fart.” And then he draws a backwards ass that is farting piss.

As if this picture wasn’t enough of an abomination, here it is as a plush toy:

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Yes, someone paid for this…with real money.

What the f*ck?! And not only that, why the f*ck?! It doesn’t help that Child’s Own fixed the backwards ass problem. I mean, look at it! It’s farting yellow tulle! Imagine how a kid would look hugging a fuchsia-colored butt with legs and feet, and seemingly frozen in time mid-piss/fart.

Now imagine that same kid also hugging the stuffed human-ficus monster/Powder and Crack tag team. Why? Because they were both drawn by the same child.

Bleach! I need bleach! My eyes need cleansing!

Posted 10/20/2012 at 7:37 AM

36 Comments

wow, people actually produce some of those things?

Posted 10/20/2012 at 8:37 AM by maniacsicko

You have to admit though, the company/person recreating the crazy pictures into plush is pretty talented!  Crazy drawings though! I will have nightmares!

Posted 10/20/2012 at 9:25 AM by CandiedChristine

Good effort.  However, here is the zenith of critiquing children’s art http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule.  This still makes me crack up and snort like a dim-witted imbecile.

Posted 10/20/2012 at 12:3 PM by zircle999

Haha, I like the Mud plush! I think it’s hilarious! The other ones make me want to cry out of fear, though.

Posted 10/20/2012 at 11:25 AM by randaness
Ummmmm the farting one is disturbing. That clown one was pretty scary too.
Posted 10/20/2012 at 12:40 PM by MJeeeeeeeezy

LMAO.  Mud is kinda cute!

Posted 10/20/2012 at 12:37 PM by JL789

Is it Mud or Mad?

Posted 10/20/2012 at 1:31 PM by coolmonkey

The sad fact is that the Parents are the ones paying, And parents think just about anything their kids do is “cute”.  or “precocious”.  It (usually) stops the parents from strangling/drowning them.

At the risk of seeming too “pc”, I’m going to give equal time to the child’s point of view:

Check out:http://tinyartdirector.blogspot.com/

Posted 10/20/2012 at 3:16 PM by Ewithani

Oh dear lord

Posted 10/20/2012 at 3:39 PM by npr32486

aw but you found the horrible ones! hahah  I saw this before and would love to get one once my little boy is older.  but ya know, be choosy with the drawings. Definitely wouldn’t get a fart one.

Posted 10/20/2012 at 6:5 PM by blue_dragonfly420

I would love to hear those kids critique your ‘drawings/doodles/comic strips’ or whatever the hell they are.

Let’s
have your parents send in your comic strips and have them published in a
real comic book,
I would love to hear allllllllllllllll those kids roll their eyes
at the thought that your parents paid for it.

Posted 10/20/2012 at 4:43 PM by Joanna_said_SO

i kinda think they’re adorable. but u gotta give them credit, where would they copy them from? all imagination. can’t suppress imagination. “so what if i wanna color in the cows with purple? I don’t wanna fit into the mainstream?”

Posted 10/20/2012 at 4:25 PM by f5ye_angel5
This is pretty cool if you actually drew something cute/ really neat and wanted it turned into a plush. However I agree, some of these are just purely awful and shouldn’t have even bothered to have been made, especially that butt farting urine….
Posted 10/20/2012 at 2:49 PM by lianO_Owang

This video is the funniest most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen.. check it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc0EDtIcEDU

Posted 10/20/2012 at 4:57 PM by chillinhard5

I am just laughing and laughing…

and then wiping the tears off my cheeks.

Posted 10/20/2012 at 8:21 PM by wickedgood

ROFLOL

Posted 10/21/2012 at 3:16 PM by eascoaster

The Jake one is a nightmare. Like Nightmare on Elm Street but with an Albino.

Posted 10/21/2012 at 8:17 PM by Scrooge0

You’re so funny; i wish you can be a newspaper critics for movies and other stuff.

Great sense of humor.  Kids aren’t always right, that’s for sure.

Then again, people paid $10+ million for Picasso’s postmodern art. :p

Posted 10/22/2012 at 9:27 AM by sf2slc

 the drawing/toys are hilarious, the comments are hilarious…. am i the only one who finds ALL of this hilarious?

Posted 10/21/2012 at 10:45 AM by I8it
Considering how harsh you are on kids, I take it you’re not a parent? Who expects kids to draw something amazing? I don’t. But hey, they have imaginations. Let ’em use it. I kind of think this is a cool concept. The only one I didn’t like was the “fart” one. The rest are all nice in my opinion. Being able to make a kid’s picture come to life, so to speak, is a neat way to remember a picture they drew when they were small. I wish my parents could have gotten me one for one of my little kid drawings.

It’s a good way to keep fostering creativity in a child. I am not against that at all.

Posted 10/21/2012 at 2:21 AM by firetyger

I love them all.  They actually are very cute.

Posted 10/22/2012 at 11:51 AM by blonde_apocalypse

You have issues. I never knew all kids were supposed to be savants in the arts in order to claim any of their drawings worthy of becoming a life long memory. How many kids can say they custom drew their freaking plush, I deem this idea GOLDEN. Granted the fart one is a little odd for a child but pretty hilarious if an adult bought it as a prank gift.

Posted 10/21/2012 at 5:54 AM by Snoog420

@Snoog420 – @blue_dragonfly420 – @firetyger – oh finally, i thought i was the only crazy one who didn’t agree with the blogger. i agreed with all your comments!

i would definitely buy this for my daughter!
it’s the ultimate of all ultimate way of encouraging a child’s imagination!
to have a thought, grow into an idea, multiply itself and become imagination, and to express that onto paper whether through drawings or words.. is one thing we cannot teach a child, it’s something they’ll learn themselves through time. we can never teach them imagination and creativity, but we can encourage it, and this idea is BRILLIANT!

and to judge kids’ drawings? come on… what a new low.
it’s not about how good they are, it’s about the creativity.

i wish my parents did this for me when i was a kid, it would become my instant new lovey and i would keep it forever.
i’ve had customers ask me to make a cake based on their child’s ideas or drawings, and let me tell you, when the parent is ordering, it’s all for love.

Posted 10/21/2012 at 9:55 AM by Joanna_said_SO

I’d buy Mud. ❤ He is sooo cute

Posted 10/21/2012 at 3:3 AM by PorcelainDoll_xo

This is really mean, the plush toys are actually really cute! They’re children, grow the fuck up ~.~

Posted 10/21/2012 at 11:30 AM by UnconventionalButterfly

Omg the f-word one had me crying from laughing so hard.

Posted 10/22/2012 at 9:54 AM by xxmikediditxx

Aside from the creepy clown, I thought the rest of them made pretty cute plushies.  Even the fart, though I can only imagine how awkward it would be to explain what the hell it is to someone.  “Oh, what a cute doll!  What is it?”  “…a fart.”

Posted 10/20/2012 at 11:58 PM by chronic_masticator

WOW, at the comments, just WOW

Posted 10/21/2012 at 11:18 AM by PattyM57

The “F Words” one is the only disturbing one, in my opinion. The other things are just awkward toys and drawings

Posted 10/20/2012 at 9:18 PM by ChainBracelets

That. Is. Horrifying! D:

Posted 10/20/2012 at 6:22 PM by Miss_Mayfare

This is way too funny. Also, I can’t believe this company is thriving. Seriously…WTF!?!

Posted 10/22/2012 at 5:42 PM by yakko1

actually, I think this is a cool idea. the toy itself doesn’t have to be awesome. i imagine it’s a super cool experience for a kid to be able to design his or her own toy.

Posted 10/22/2012 at 11:55 AM by galadrielspitcher

omg I want one

except no 3.  That thing will eat you in your sleep

Posted 11/11/2012 at 7:16 AM by GooMee

Geez, people are pissed at this blog? Get a sense of humor! It’s not like one of the little artists is going to be reading it. That clown should star in a horror movie! And the parent who got the fart imortalized must be a real joker.

Posted 10/22/2012 at 12:10 PM by whyzat

I think it’s cool myself.Can you imagine how the child feels having it’s drawing made into a plush toy?If anything,it adds a new dimension to the childs thinking and imagination.They see what they drew on paper would look like as a real object.Sure,there isn’t going to be overwhelming sales of these except by family members but you never know what an imagination can spawn from this.I like the idea and kudo’s to those who are willing to put up money to do something like this.

Posted 10/22/2012 at 1:27 PM by Somefishytales

@chronic_masticator – You crack me up girl! Hahahaha 

Posted 10/22/2012 at 1:28 PM by Somefishytales

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