I will hopefully have a better picture of this one soon, when i get the piece back from my teacher.

This started as painting homework, now its turned into a full fledged project. And I'm having tons of fun with it. There will certainly be more on this later.

Anywho, this is part of my Gryphons of the World project. One of my teachers in incredibly enthusiastic about it, he wants me to turn it into a whole section for my portfolio.

Probably the most common breed in the world, the Standard Gryphon is an older variety, and was often used in European crests and seals. It became a popular symbol for its strength and power, and was left alone for many years because people feared its strength and ferocity. Like the lions they resemble, Standard Gryphons live in family based prides, and are generally found high in the mountains. Their base prey is deer, though some have wandered low in the mountains and snatched livestock to feed their prides. Sometime in the early 16th century, the species began to be domesticated. All the details on who began this have since been lost, but soon many rich families had one or two Standard Gryphons in their families. Poor families could not afford to keep them, but through black market trading, some families or groups did come across them. Today, these gryphons still live wild across Europe and Africa, and some have even migrated to Great Britain. They are also still used as mounts, and are fiercely loyal to their human companions.

Done in Watercolors on cold press illustration board