Jerri
Jerri is my driving force and inspriation for children’s book illustrations. Jerri was designed in 2018 while I was attending my first year of college.
Getting to know Jerri
Jerri is a border collie who’s all about healthy eating and staying fit. He resides on a peaceful farm with many of his friends such as Richie the Rooster and the group of mighty sheep; Simon, Sally, and Sweetie Sheep. Jerri is friendly, kind, and loves to exercise!
“Hello, I’m Jerri! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Jerri is an ideal advocate for happy and healthy habits. He loves to eat fruits and vegetables. Jerri also enjoys reading and studying about different health benefits and vitamins provided by the foods he eats, which helps him teach his friends about healthy eating, too. He practices workout routines and yoga to ensure he keeps his body in shape at all times. While the whereabouts of Jerri’s parents are unknown, Jerri’s earliest memories involve growing up on the farm and learning to run, herd, and keep his friends on the farm safe. With the wide open space and greenery, Jerri quickly picked up on running and learning to properly stretch to prevent injuries.
Inspiration and Headcanons
Jerri’s 2018 desgin was inspried directly from the McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy promo for the 2009 movie, “Hotel for Dogs.” Designed after Shep the border collie, Jerri dawned a green bandana and had similar black and white markings like Shep. Shep was the only dog I had from the happy meal promo. I gave Shep to my dog Jackson as a toy to play with.
While Jerri originally had a green bandana, it was later to changed to purple with a bone in 2022. One of my illustration professors reccomended this change, informing me that the green bandana may blend in too much with backgrounds that had lots of grass or other plant life.
Moose
Moose is a German shepherd who was created in 2022. During a conversation in an illustration class, my professor suggested the idea of Jerri having a wife. I fell in love with the idea of Jerri having a wife and little Jerri puppies, leading to the creation of Moose!
Getting to know Moose
Moose is the strong, intelligent, and loyal partner of Jerri. This proud mother doesn’t let anyone or anything boss her around, and will always advocate for doing what’s right. Despite her sharp discipline and stoicism, Moose can be very playful and friendly.
“Hallo, mein Name ist Moose.”
Moose was raised in Germany as a puppy. She learned to howl just as quickly as she learned to bark. This was often heard around those playing the accordian, which was one of Moose’s favorite things. Moose is also known to have an endless appetite. She loves all things German cuisine and keeps to a healthy diet, much like her husband, Jerri. After being transported to the United States, Moose learned to speak English and served as a search and rescue dog.
Inspiration and Headcanons
Due to her black and brown color scheme, I knew I wanted to name Moose something chocolate related. Her name was originally going to be “Twix,” but I decided against it to avoid any copyright issues.
Moose’s name is intentionally spelled like the animal, rather than the chocoate. Though the name was supposed to match up with her color scheme, I chose to spell her name like the animal as a silly joke.
Jackson
Created in 2022, Jackson was designed after his father Jerri and made as the first puppy in the family. His first appearance is in the 2022 piece, “A Day at the Carnival.”
Getting to know Jackson
Jackson takes after his father in physical appearance and personality traits. This baby border collie loves to be out in the open and play. He also loves to learn about what foods are best for his health, always looking for new ways to become stronger.
“Heya! My name’s Jackson!”
As the eldest pup, Jackson is agile, and confident. Looking to his father as a role model, Jackson dreams of growing up to be big and strong like Jerri. “Someday, I’m gonna be big and strong! And then I’ll be as cool as you, dad!”
Much like his father, Jackson is always on the move and loves to run. His workout routines involve lots of of proper stretching and long runs, sometimes timing himself as he does laps around the farm’s open space. He’ll do anything to test his limits and push his strength to new levels, going as far as training and working out every day! Jackson also has a creative imagination, making him an ideal playmate to his siblings. He loves to play the role of strong, brave characters who aren’t afraid of anything.
Inspirations and Headcanons
Jackson’s design was not only made to look like his father, but is also what Jerri’s original design looked like with the green bandana before it was later changed to purple. The name Jackson also comes from my childhood pet, a tri-color cavalier king charles spaniel.
Chrissy
Created during the same 2022 piece, Chrissy is the daugher and second puppy of Jerri and Moose.
Getting to know Chrissy
Much like Jackson who takes after his father, Chrissy takes after her mother in physical appearance and personality traits. Chrissy strives to stand tall and play the disciplanary role to her two brothers; Jackson and Charcoal.
“Hallo, ich bin Chrissy!”
Chrissy, being the middle child of the family, looks up to both her mother and father greatly. Chrissy is loyal, territorial, and highly intelligent. She loves to read books and tell her brothers about the things that fascinate her within her learning. Because of her interests in academics, Chrissy tends to speak a bit more German than Jackson and Charcoal. When she isn’t reading books or studying, Chrissy loves to play with her family.
Inspirations and Headcanons
Wanting to be like her mother, Moose and Chrissi both have their favorite accessory. Moose has her green color with a yellow heart tag, while Chrissi has her favorite pink bow.
Charcoal
Last but not least is Charcoal! Charcoal was the final puppy to be designed in the 2022 carnival piece, being made as the third puppy of Jerri and Moose.
Getting to know Charcoal
Charcoal is the final puppy and baby brother of the family. This second baby border collie is a little quiter and more reserved than his brother Jackson, often ensuring safety over the thrill of the unknown and adventures.
“Hi there. My name is Charcoal. But uh, you can call me Coal. Either one is fine, really.”
Much like the natural trait of his German shepherd mother, Charcoal, or “Coal,” is very reserved around strangers and things that are unfamiliar. He’s very intelligent and finds a fascination for academics like his sister, Chrissi. Coal is soft spoken and anxious when it comes to the safety and overall health of him and his siblings. This can sometimes make him be seen as cowardly or overbearing to his older brother Jackson. Despite his less than loud behavior, Coal enjoys playing Jackson’s imaginative games and working out. The only difference is that Coal won’t push himself as far as Jackson does to become stronger. Coal prefers taking things slow, always stopping to smell the roses and enjoy things in the moment.
Inspirations and Headcanons
Charcoal’s design was made to be a combination of both Jerri and Moose. The intention was to create three different puppies to match Jerri and Moose. Jackson’s design took on Jerri, Chrissi took on Moose, and Charcoal was designed as a border collie with mixed German shepherd colors.