Bow hunting season has started, my friend.

Very cool elk. :]

Oh wow, how long does this take you hun? I have like.. no patience with traditional media even though I REALLY want to learn. Absolutely gorgeous :D You're getting better and better.

LOL, about three days? Maybe? I worked on it really sporradically between commissions. XD

I've found that putting on a movie helps me work on my traditional materials stuff...when I get impatient with the picture, I just watch the movie for a while! And then I do art again at the boring parts. ;)

Dang you're quick to reply. That's quite an effort there, I lose interest if I do something else in between, it's why I end up with too many half finished pieces.

I started a pencil drawing last night, perhaps I'll actually finish it :D I totally admire people like you and the others that can work with traditional. In high school I only worked with traditional, but I kinda lost the touch :/

So if you dont mind me, I go sit here in this corner here and worship quietly :p

LOL, I happened to be online when you commented so I was able to whip out a reply but quick that time. XD

Hmmm...have you ever tried daily tradmat sessions? Like...an hour or two set aside each day, and only for working on tradmat? Might help some. :)

and I thought I was the only one that prefered working with a little background noise. I put on Blue Man's "the Complex Rock Tour Live" while working. prefer to have instrumentals going on in the background.

XD I love background noise. And I think Defiler likes to keep music playing when arting...but don't quote me on that I'm not 100% sure. XD

Wow. I really like how you did the hoof holding the bowl. And I agree with Chaotikat. Your colors rock my socks off and fling them across the room.

Thanks! :) That hoof was really hard...I didn't want to give him a human hand but elk can't hold stuff. XD

oh man that's truly lovely. and excellent subject material :3

Thanks! :) It came down to deciding between elk and caribou...elk won 'cause they make the creepiest sounds ever. But I might go back and do a similar piece with a caribou, too. XD

i'll certainly look out for that.

Now this is jus' marvelous! :)

Very nicely done!

Gorgeous!! And I agree, the bugle of the elk is indeed haunting...I wish I could find a CD of just wilderness sounds like that, without any music or beat added to it.

Aww, thanks! :) And if you ever find a CD like that, let me know 'cause I'd love to have one too.

Will do. :)

Holy -!
Woah this guy is increadibly handsome. Your detail is outstanding! I love his pose it seems alot more natural than just sitting crosslegged or soemthing. And the simple background goes so well. Wonderful work!!

Thanks so much! :) I so rarely attempt backgrounds because I always feel like the detail detracts from the subject, so this was sorta an experiment to see if I could be minimal in the background and not make it look like crap. XD

It's wonderful to see a deer/elk anthro. I find that their limbs are some of the most fun to stylize and combine with human anatomy. :3 I really like you you've turned the two smaller toes into 'thumbs' of sort...I've never seen it done like that before! :B The call of the elk is truly haunting...it's a wonderful sound, though! :3

Thankyee! :) It was hard to make the hoof-hand but it was also really fun. :D

Mmm, very nicely done! You have the ungulate anatomy down perfectly 83 I love that elk butt XD

LOL, thanks...and yeah, I've come to calling this the fluffy elkbutt picture. XD

They DO have neato white rumps, too. XD

Looks awesome! Very natural even like that fact that it looks more animalistic than human! Beautiful work, wonderful detail! :)

I really like how I can almost picture him getting up and walking off on 4 legs rather than 2. You blended the elk and human very subtly.

:D Thanks so much...I hadn't thought of it that way! :) Yay for undefined movement! :D

I've seen a work like this before, but I always like it. What's the symbolism behind it? The Myth?

Not much backstory, really...just my way of silently opposing the stereotype. XD It seems every piece of generic anthro ritual picture has 1,836,497,826,345,934 ritual components...beads and rattles and a bajillion other little things. :P Not all rituals require or are even suitable with so much STUFF...I really wanted to make something truly simple. No decorations or body paint or feathers in his hair or dangly things on his antlers, no rattles or drums or musical instruments...just a simple clay bowl and his voice. :)

I guess you could say "simplicity" is the symbolism...the stark simplicity of winter. :)

As for the subject matter...I definitely wanted to make a cervidae-critter as the subject...and to be honest the elk won out because they do have such creepy but cool bellows. If you haven't heard one before, look up soundfiles, wolves have nothing on a really mature bull elk for eerie wailing howls! ;)

Oh I live in Elk country, it's really ethereal ^^

I can see were you're coming from. It's a way of returning to the simplicity of ritualistic behavior and more for the meaning instead of the look.

...wow, I like how you said it a lot. That's...so much more eloquent and to the point than the way I was saying it. :D

Just a disclaimer...I'm not knocking folks who add in a trillion ritual components and decorations and stuff...I just don't think it's appropriate for every single ritual depicted. ;)

Oh, I know. The bazillion ritual pieces are great and everything, but a lot can be said both ways. :)

That came out quite well. I wish I could have watched you work and layer things. Your work is so beautiful and I would learn a lot.

XD *cough* I posted WIP's on my "exclusive" filtre on LJ. ;)

I know. That'll be corrected soon. *grins*

Woot! XD

I love this.

magnificently done!

OMG beautiful! Interesting subject, great composition, and the colors are perfect! This is truely a winner right here!

Very cute realtive. ^_^

This looks really wonderfully, the picture really portrayes the scene you've described well. Lovely detail. i hope this one sold for a good ammount.

This one's great !

Awful good to be a scrap