Meet Our Members
Clever Kaiju hosts a Discord community that is open to all visual artists looking for inspiration, encouragement, and support. We host challenges, virtual meetings, and other activities for our Discord members world-wide. Discord members with 6+ months of participation may inquire about, or may be invited by us, to become official Clever Kaiju members. Our official members are featured here, tapped for our Clever Kaiju Studio freelance work where possible, and may have their work featured in our store or webcomics platform.
Member Bios (listed alphabetically by last name)
Gary Bedell
Illustrator
Design, Digital and Traditional Art
Gary Bedell has worked as a professional illustrator and designer for over 20 years.
His inspiration comes from many sources. From the look and eerie feel of Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” video and visual artists like Katsuhiro Otomo, Arthur Adams, Koji Morimoto, Adam Duff, Rodney Matthews, and Craig Mullins, to musicians like MF Doom, Thundercat, DJP, and Karriem Riggins. But his main inspiration came from his grandparents and other members of his family. They taught him to push, work hard, and never give up, while also nurturing his creativity.
In his career, Gary has worked with such companies as Crypt TV, Activision, Aftershock Entertainment, Fantasy Flight Games, Disney, and Nickelodeon. He is currently the lead artist for Attack Wagon, creating conceptual art for their project Scrap Guilds. When he’s not working, Gary loves to spend time with his wife and three kitties, traveling, spending time on personal projects, DJing, and collecting vintage toys. He is a co-founder and co-manager of Clever Kaiju.
Ike (Isaac) Crawford
Comic book artist/writer
Illustration, Writing, Directing
Co-founder and co-manager of Clever Kaiju, Ike is a prolific self-publishing comic book creator and YouTuber. Ike started seriously making comics in 2015, after a detour into music, sound design, and psychology. All 8+ of Ike's books are free-to-read webcomics and he shares his mindfulness-oriented practice on his YouTube channel, Ike Comics. Ike wants to be a creator in a different way, making the best books he can while sharing behind-the-scenes into his practice and mindset.
Ike's storytelling is lively, macabre, psychological, and sharp. His illustrations are bold, high-contrast with loose and expressive linework. The pages are simple and sparse in a way that feels as if it conveys a rich world simply presented out of focus, inviting the reader to fill it in with their imagination.