About Crazdude

Carrie “Crazdude” Lindstrom (known to many as “Craz” — which was meant to be pronounced “Crazy” — but often goes by “Crazz” or “Craze”) is a self-taught artist who specializes in animal illustrations but is always up for a challenge. Her nickname Crazdude has been with her for over 20 years and was her screen-name (or some derivative of it) for nearly every social media account she had as she networked, inspired others, and improved her artistic skills.

She is self-taught in numerous mediums: Photoshop painting, pixel art, and collage; colored pencil illustration; watercolor painting; and Prismacolor Marker illustration. Her experience in the packaging industry came in handy for boosting her skills with Adobe Illustrator for vector-based illustrations, product labeling, book layout, and logo design.

All of her printed products are designed by herself and are either hand drawn traditionally drawn originals or printed reproductions of digital works. Most of her artistic inspiration comes from nature so animals and foliage are often showcased in her work. Her love of experimenting with different mediums and inclination toward bright colors make her gallery diverse with textures and colors. The majority of her printed products (including screen-printed t-shirts, greeting cards, stickers, and coloring books) are printed locally in Rochester, NY.

She studied film and psychology at University of Pittsburgh and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in the field of printing and graphic media. Her passion for drawing was evident since the age of 2 but she became more determined on her self-guided quest for improvement after joining Deviant Art during her college days and developed her mascot and “fursona” Craz-wolf.

Since graduating, Carrie has illustrated a children’s book in her maiden name (Carrie Stariha) with plans to write her own children’s book stories paired with her own characters and illustrations.

After dedicating 5 years to the print industry, Carrie decided to turn her passion for art into her full-time job. She vended at various Rochester area arts festivals but most of her time since has been spent creating commissions and merchandise for sale within the furry fandom. This welcoming and diverse community of creators and patrons are united in their appreciation of anthropomorphic animal arts.

Carrie got a mascot costume of Craz-wolf (by the talented duo Jes and Vance with Battitude Studios) so that people may see her selling in the dealers den during the day and socializing as Craz-wolf around the convention space once the den closes. The furry conventions are dedicated to the well-being of animals and often raise thousands of dollars for animal-related charities and organizations. In the first two years alone, Carrie has contributed over $500 in artwork for charity raffles and auctions with the Seneca Park Zoo Party Madagascar 2017 as well as various furry conventions for their associated charitable causes.

Want to learn more about Crazdude?

Here are some important links worth checking out:

Conventions Attended – Craz’s resumé PLUS! This page covers past con appearances, upcoming plans, evolution of table display, as well as Guest of Honor and Staff positions.
Art Shows Attended
Advice Blog Posts – As Craz has expanded her business, she’s learned a lot along the way! To keep a record for herself and help educate future generations of entrepreneurs, she writes a (sometimes overly detailed) advice blog that chronicles these experiences and observations!
Commission info – Interested in commissioning Crazdude? Click for prices, examples, and links to quote request forms.
Crazdude’s Telegram Channel – No Telegram account necessary to follow Crazdude’s updates on your favorite web browser!
Character Reference sheets – The reference sheets of Crazdude’s main fursonas and characters.

Do you enjoy Crazdude’s Artwork & Advice Blogs?

Be sure to share your favorite Crazdude blog posts on social media!
Also consider “tipping” by checking out Crazdude’s referral links
to companies like Catprint, Moo, Square, and Trello!