HAPPY THE HODAG
Brand & Product
Role: Creation, Illustration, Writing, Marketing, (all the things)
Project: Character Creation
There are many different depictions of hodags in my hometown of Rhinelander, WI and when I was growing up all of these hodags were shown to be mean and scary. I decided to add a new kind of hodag to the landscape and so in 2006, I created Happy the Hodag and his sidekick, Buddy the Bulldog.
Crafted to exhibit traditional hodag characteristics, but in a more accessible and friendly style for children, Happy the Hodag and his bestie Buddy the Bulldog star in four children's books I wrote, illustrated, and published. Happy the Hodag books, plushies, and accessories sit in the novelty product category.
Happy the Hodag is as chill as a Northwoods Spring evening, as sharp as a Blue Spruce pine needle, and allows very little to harsh his hodag mellow. Buddy the Bulldog is equally amiable but can be pretty feisty when provoked.
Children's Books
Happy the Hodag stars in my first children's book Tales From The Trees (2006), an introduction to the hodag legend for children. I published a second Happy the Hodag book in 2007, a prequel called A Monster Misunderstanding further expands on and diffuses the legend of this green beast for little readers and Hodag enthusiasts.
HODAG, my third Happy the Hodag book, was released in 2016 for Happy's 10th birthday and is dedicated to hodags everywhere. A departure from the linear storyline of my two previous books, Hodag was created in 2015 for Happy the Hodag's 10th birthday in 2016, it's a hodag homage popular with hodags everywhere.
HODAG, Color The Seasons (not pictured) is my fourth Happy the Hodag book and features eight new hodag depictions. It’s the exploration of what hodags are up to season by season in a keepsake coloring storybook. (2019)
Plush, Stickers, and Patch Product Creation
Apparel
Happy Paw Vibes Sticker Suite
Social Campaign
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