One day, unstable Stephen McCarthy fangirl and twitter pal Heather O’Neill and I decided to have a contest for who could come up with the creepiest tribute to Big Creepy Steve. There were ground rules: You could use outside help, but not anything that wasn’t publicly available (no calling in favors from the team), must be funny/cute creepy and not “you are no longer allowed within the town of Foxborough” creepy, to be presented at the final regular season home game.
Heather wrote him a ukelele chorus. Me, I called for backup from my pal EK, because I’m not that great at manga-style figure drawing on short notice, and ordered some linens from Amazon.
Then I found myself wondering what colorway of Nike Mercurial Vapors would be most kawaii, and it was at that point I realized it wasn’t that I’d gone around the bend so much as the bend was six states away and also on fire.
I made a Big Creepy Body Pillow.
Initially, I wanted to do the whole thing using Derwent Inktense pigment sticks, but the combination of watercolors and thin cotton had too much bleeding and too little opacity to work, so I switched to my usual paints.
Finished pillowcase is 21″ wide by 60″ high, though the pillow itself is 20″ x 54″. That’s a bit smaller than Big Creepy himself, but whatever. Had to go to Home Depot and buy a custom-cut sheet of Masonite board to get a smooth surface to hold the pillowcase snug for painting.
As is traditional with creepy nerds and their hug pillows–or “dakimakura” if you want to be all Japanese about it–I did a little photo tour with Big Creepy Pillow. Click below for the whole long stupid creepy story!
First, I gave him a good solid meal.
Then it was time for a relaxing pregame nap.
Oh, Big Creepy-sempai, you can’t play without your protective headband!
Time to go to the game! Let’s get you buckled in safe and sound.
How exciting! They’ve brought the new Supporters’ Shield trophy to view!
Aaaw! Even Cathal from the front office can’t resist a Big Creepy Hug.
Disappointment! Looks like you’re on the bench tonight, Big Creepy-sempai. Maybe you’ll come in as a sub and help win~
Closeup of shirt detail. Changed sponsor logo to Uguu~~ after a typical nonsense verbal tic from cute girl anime. This was the hardest thing to paint. BTW, I was asked if, as is traditional with the anime pillowcases, there was a “sexier” version on the back. Answer: Jesus Christ I know this man’s parents.
The kawaiiest Mercurial Vapor colorway is blue with chartreuse and pink detail. Also added a little heart for his number, which he wears in tribute to a friend.
Close-up of big creepy glittering anime eyes, including the scar next to his left one. I got a lot of “wait, is that Kelyn Rowe?” questions. Rowe’s eyes are brown, plus he doesn’t usually have the 5 o’clock shadow.
Success! I seem to have won the creep-off. As of now, I still have the pillow, but since Steve’s apparently a popular dude at Children’s Hospital, if he’d like to give it to a deserving fan over there, I’m happy to pass it along. I also got a lot of comments from people, mostly teen girls, wanting to buy one, which I think I’m gonna pursue with the team. Turns out there’s more Big Creepy Demand than I thought.