Originally Posted Feb 14th, 2014 05:28 PM
ACCOMPANYING STORY: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12776020/

This is unusual for me but part of a big story taking shape in the back of my mind. It's about a world where birds rule. There's a complicated sort of biology/evolution at play combined with a skill at genetic manipulation. One of the aspects is that they have evolved to require flight only early in their life, later developing wing-arms that allow more creative pursuits (building civilization for example). But some birds choose to retain flight for a longer period. There are many species and a rather interesting society that is space-faring. Anyway, I digress... this is the first glimpse at that world. A high value to them is to never lose touch with their past and with their origins-- the world that gives them life. Part of that is reflected in what this old anthro-eagle is doing. The morning after a cherished soul has passed, he has climbed to the top of a very old mountain (see the rounded, weathered rocks?). He is wearing no technology, no clothing, as he releases his mate's down into the wind as the sun rises. Not that it's required to release their soul or anything, but it reinforces the remembrance of their life and the return of their essence to the natural world from where it came. Who knows if they have a soul that goes somewhere else. It doesn't matter here for they live on in the life they have nurtured, by their acts of goodness and, now, their very bodies. It's a new day, a new part of their life. This mountain is their new home.

TECHNIQUE: Digital speed painting (e.g., few lines, mostly brush techniques)