A Delightful Memoriam

Originally from DeviantArt:

"Back in kindergarten or so, I was already into drawing and the like, but things went in full force when I found Cartoon Network. The sort of "monster-of-the-week" kiddie superhero shows were (are) my jam, and nearly all of them had Derrick's fingerprints on 'em. His drawings were my favorite on CN, 'cuz everything else was either too stripped back or too detailed, but his stuff had a good 50/50 split and were- most importantly, fun to draw. I spent all free hours scribbling Transformers characters and Ben 10 monsters, and picked up stuff like anatomy, shading, character design, and stylization way more naturally than any art class could teach.

Like I said, Derrick's art style was really easy to pick up, and most of my drawing practice and art skill comes from trying to copy it as a kid. His drawings (and shows) taught me that things can be serious and emotional without being grim-dark or stuffy, they taught me that weirdness and abnormal features aren't inherently flaws- they taught me that it isn't wrong to have fun.

I always made it a pseudo-bucket list item to get into Cartoon Network and get my own kiddie action show. Maybe some kid out there would get into art by copying my drawings? One of my other vague "maybe-I'll-get-to-it-one-day" list items was to bump into Derrick someday. Probably not become best buds or anything, but he seemed like a cool dude to work with, and he pretty heavily inspired my work, and I thought I'd pay him back at some point. Reading the news this morning was one of the biggest gut-punches in recent memory. Most artists I follow I don't have any personal connection or feelings about, I just like their work. Derrick J. Wyatt was half the reason I learned to hold a pen, and hearing of his passing struck a cord.

-Rest In Peace, Derrick."