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.
James Rutherford
2D and 3D artist
Illustration, Animation, Educator
James Rutherford considers himself a generalist digital artist who has created everything from 2d and 3d graphics, animations, 3d modeling, rigging, vector graphics, and general illustration. James is a co-founder of Clever Kaiju, bringing to the table his 10 plus years’ teaching experience at Missouri State University along with his professional experience in the gaming industry, working on over 25 accredited titles.
Muzi Sensei
Manga artist/author
Illustration, Character design
Muzi Sensei is an indie manga artist currently working on his latest project, Bloody Hell. Born in South Africa he had to claw his way to find enough resources to help him up his game. He has done multiple manga titles in the past. Muzi is now a proud member of the Clever Kaiju community!
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Nate Howard (Mammoth Press)
Artist/writer, Designer
Illustration, Animation, Tattoo
Nate Howard is an independent artist, specializing in graphic design, illustration and animation, and is cofounder of Clever Kaiju, a design and animation studio with a focus on artist outreach and education. Nate is also the co-owner of Cryptic Tattoo and Social Gallery in Springfield MO, under the tattoo brand “Mammoth Ink”- tattoo work can be seen on Facebook and Instagram.
Nate’s most notable work includes the webcomic series “Potbelly Mammoth” at potbellymammoth.com, as well as the self-published graphic novel “Behold: The Mammoth!” published under Mammoth Press LLC. Additionally, Nate is the creator and host of an arcade playthrough and artist interview Youtube series “The Mammoth Multicade”- an arcade cabinet designed and built by Nate, where guests play their favorite retro games and discuss their careers and experiences as creators.