Delaram Art & Design

It’s easy to look at cute animals and think they’re just as pure and lovely on the inside as well. But are they really? For all that we know, they might have the same pessimistic thoughts as us. What if all those fascinating noises they make aren’t so poetic and translate into nothing more than the same mundane conversations we have? We may never know for sure, but thanks to Joshua Barkman and his webcomic False Knees, we can at least imagine the answers.

The series takes a wild turn from conventional online animal stories, depicting woodland creatures caught up in various existential crises. Barkman found his angle and has the skills to work it, and his Instagram follower count is now creeping above 590,000. A resident of Kitchener, Ontario, he often draws animals native to the area in his frames, including the Canada goose and the red-breasted nuthatch.

More info: False Knees | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr#1 

False Knees ReportFinal score: 168pointsPOST

Hans1 month ago

Relatable.29ReplyView More Replies…View more comments

“I’ve always enjoyed drawing, and though I didn’t have access to much art education, I was fortunate to have a lot of encouragement from friends and family,” Joshua told Bored Panda. “I first started drawing with pencils, then felt-tip pens and watercolor. Now, I mostly paint with gouache and ink.”

Joshua’s comics are incredibly beautiful. The strokes, the colors… His carefully crafted frames are like windows into nature. Juxtapose that with the gritty, nuanced characters and you’ve got yourself a really unique series.#2 

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Hans1 month ago

Lovely!26ReplyView More Replies…View more comments

The stars of the show are birds, although Joshua is still working on making some actual bird friends. “The neighborhood crows are not interested in the giant bag of peanuts I bought specifically for them. A few black-capped chickadees visit my bird feeder out of pity. It’s not going great,” he said.#3 

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Jaana Kaurisalo1 month ago

Some birds eat fermented berries for fun, get drunk, and pass out somewhere by the dozens. 😀48ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#4 

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bookshellf1 month ago(edited)

We time 🙂31ReplyView More Replies…View more commentshttps://fbb2d674655497a37719dd448d0b945e.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

While Joshua’s path to such a concept wasn’t a straight one, you could say it was intuitive. “There are a few reasons why I ended up creating bird comics. I was spending a lot more time outside in 2015 when I was training to be an arborist and I was becoming more interested in the natural world around me. Until that point, my comics were a sort of pseudo-reality of my life, and I was ready for a change. It also didn’t escape my attention that my animal comics were far more popular than my autobio ones. But above all else, I wanted to make beautiful comics (and still do) and I think birds lend themselves to that goal particularly well,” the artist explained.#5 

False Knees ReportFinal score: 135pointsPOST

Cynthia Bonville1 month ago

Truly a crow.1ReplyView more comments#6 

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Qjt1 month ago(edited)

I love it 🙂1ReplyView more comments

Whether we’re talking about the loud-beak crow or the easy-going pigeon, Barkman not only recreates the way the animals look but their behavior as well. No wonder—he does his research. “I’m spending more time going out with my camera to get better acquainted with wild birds. I also read about them regularly,” Joshua said. “I get a lot of inspiration from other artists, and some of my favorites also paint birds. I follow and learn a lot from many bird scientists and photographers online. I find them endlessly fascinating!”#7 

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Paul K. Johnson1 month ago

But you could if you wanted to.3ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#8 

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Hans1 month ago

deep one!19ReplyView More Replies…View more commentshttps://fbb2d674655497a37719dd448d0b945e.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html#9 

falseknees ReportFinal score: 116pointsPOST

Luna1 month ago

so… close…24ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#10 

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Tri Wahyu Yulianto1 month ago

The meme27ReplyView more comments#11 

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DDmaybeandor1 month ago

Poor Mr. Howard, teaching these bird brains.54ReplyView more comments#12 

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general kenøbi1 month ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.View More Replies…View more comments#13 

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Grumble O’Pug1 month ago

Yes!!!2ReplyView more comments#14 

falseknees ReportFinal score: 90pointsPOST

Malachi Brill-Koza1 month ago

wow that beer must be strong!!!21ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#15 

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Malachi Brill-Koza1 month ago

-_-3ReplyView more comments#16 

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cybermerlin20001 month ago

Optimistic Squirrel7ReplyView more comments#17 

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Johnny Rodriguez1 month ago

Absolutly NO!!32ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#18 

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Paul K. Johnson1 month ago

Jonathan? Is that you?21ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#19 

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Malachi Brill-Koza1 month ago

grgralaerga he say’s11ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#20 

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Sarcastic Cow1 month ago

Sweet summer chirp…1ReplyView more comments#21 

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Paul K. Johnson1 month ago

I’ve played games that were less fun.21ReplyView more comments#22 

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Mrs_ Possum1 month ago

Caw 4ReplyView more comments#23 

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Kate Yeti1 month ago

Same, goose. Same.22ReplyView more comments#24 

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DDmaybeandor1 month ago

I like your style goose #2.14ReplyView more comments#25 

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cybermerlin20001 month ago

Lemon Juice19ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#26 

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Hans1 month ago

An ant relative to the garden compared to a human relative to the world (or the universe?)…yes, the ant is a big deal.18ReplyView more comments#27 

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Cynthia Bonville1 month ago

Okay, I have never ever met a jay who did not have something to say *constantly*. Are blue jays quieter then stellar and scrub jays?13ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#28 

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Bacony Cakes1 month ago

Step 4: Pure evil.14ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#29 

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littlesaresare1 month ago

I see he went to the Prometheus School of Running Away From Things25ReplyView More Replies…View more comments#30 

False Knees ReportFinal score: 46pointsPOST

Iapetos1 month ago

Unless you spend your half-life in a factory farm.19ReplyView more comments

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!201 Greta JaruševičiūtėAuthor, BoredPanda staff

Greta is a Photo Editor-in-Chief at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication.
In 2016, she graduated from Digital Advertising courses where she had an opportunity to meet and learn from industry professionals. In the same year, she started working at Bored Panda as a photo editor.
Greta is a coffeeholic and cannot survive a day without 5 cups of coffee… and her cute, big-eared dog.
Her biggest open secret: she is a gamer with a giant gaming backlog.

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