Yeah there is nothing furry or anthropomorphic about this piece but it is still an interesting piece and it unfortunately shows all to clearly the importance about double checking your reference before using it!

This was suppose to be the cover art for a failed 1990s Steam Punk magazine that never got its first issue out the door. I never got paid but I still have the original art. This was before Steam Punk was "in" and most folks didn't even know what a Babbage engine was.

Now the cautionary tale about reference. First and most obvious is the Union Jack in the background! When I did this piece I had no good examples of the Jack and I used another artist's painting of one the Jack for my piece. Unfortunately they got it wrong and I just perpetuated the mistake. Lesson. If you are using reference it is always best to have multiple source and to use material as close to the original source as possible. In hindsight taking the time look at the library for a book on flags or even British history would have served me better.

Second reference faux paux is the rocket in the background. Actually rather proud of the rocket, and still like the BOAC lettering on the side of it. Where I fell down is on the flame coming out of the nozzle. The reference photo I used was of a rocket already in flight at about 80,000 ft. At that altitude the atmosphere is much thinner and exhaust from the nozzle flares out much more than at sea level. Compare it to my last posting here on FA http://www.furaffinity.net/full/3853393/ Of course this error had to be pointed out to me in the middle of an artist reception at a con by a guy who worked at NASA! Now "Heading Out" was done several years later when I was much wiser in the ways of illustration, so I am more cautious now.