This is the first card that I designed in the series, and what an unusual one at that. At this point in my magical drawing adventure, it had been a very long time since I did a full colored piece, so my technique was a bit rusty, but at the time I created it, it was basically my "Main Gun" piece, and I used it a lot until I was able to draw better and refine my technique a bit after. Oh yeah, it seems that I got so used to associating Xynthica with Pepperidge Farms Goldfish crackers that I completely forgot that this drawing was a novelty at the time. Apparently, due to the popularity this piece attracted, I did a couple of other drawings with Xynthica using Goldfish crackers as hair ornaments, and it's kind of sunk in as about normal by now.

For those who might not live in North America or know what Goldfish crackers are, they are a very delicious snack that comes in a variety of flavors, sizes and colors, particularly in the United States where they come in a very colorful variety, or so I've heard. Usually, Goldfish crackers come in cheese though. My earliest memory of Goldfish crackers came when my mom and dad presented them to me as a kid, a long time ago. Back then, they came in huge cartons, and my mom used to joke that it was really fish food. These days, I buy the original type in bulk, and they come in three foil packages inside a large box that I kinda' treat as food rations when I'm drawing and forget to eat. This seems to happens pretty often actually. Pepperidge Farms and it's parent company Campbells did some pretty interesting things in their marketing campaign history, such as going on a tour across the United States utilizing a car that looked like a giant Goldfish cracker. I'm personally in awe of the marketing genius behind the product, and the dialogue they use on their official site is hilarious!

As I recall, Goldfish crackers were one of the first few snacks to remove trans fat, which is all good for me, since I'm health conscience. They also have a bit of a record for suing the seven shades out of any other company that tries to make a cheese flavored fish shaped cracker, with Nabisco being victim number one, but eh, can you blame them for protecting creative property? Anyhow, long story short, thanks to this drawing here, Xynthica seems to have been somewhat associated with Goldfish crackers, which is fine with me, since they're my favorite food.

Since their birth in 1962, Goldfish crackers have come to stand for creative marketing, customer service, copyright control, health conscientiousness, cultural content, and kick ass lawyers, oh and they also taste really good. Those are all extremely valued qualities in my book, as opposed to... oh, let's say the watermelon symbolizing the female reproductive organ. On the ironic side of the fence, the primary lawsuit that Pepperidge Farms whooped Nabisco with was on a snack pertaining to the cartoon CatDog that belongs to Nickelodeon and had a fish shaped cheese cracker originally. As it would seem, a company called Studio B made some of the episodes for the show. Studio B happens to be only a twenty minute walk from where I currently live and has housed many of the instructors who taught at my film school. Amazing how things in the world are connected, isn't it?

Oh yeah, if you want a cheap way to make "Flavor Blasted" Goldfish crackers, it's easy. Just mix in a seasoning packet or two from a small sack of instant noodles. All you have to do is add the seasoning into the foil bag that normal Goldfish crackers come in, close it and shake well. It's not exactly as good as the real thing, but it's a lot cheaper and you can buy the normal Goldfish crackers in bulk, along with the noodles, which is always a good way to save money overall.