yeyea :D I was wondering how you were just rapid firing out all those wonderful creatures all the time.... glad you took a break :D its a nice piece of art... nice positioning of everything and perspective too... its nice and peaceful :J

Thanks a lot :) And yeah, I thankfully don't have too much trouble finding interesting things to focus on when it comes to monster/creature concepts :b although it can definitely get tedious. That's one of the nice things, though - I'm generally doing all sorts of different concepts, so I'm almost never stuck doing JUST elementals or JUST humanoids or JUST dragons, etc.

Yeah, I really wanted something with a "warm" atmosphere, something that showed affection and history but was also kind of chill/casual. I'm looking forward to painting all the food bits >_> XD

W I want one!

I know, me too ;_;

So cool! I really like the composition in this sketch. :D

Thanks a lot! I'm really happy with it so far :)

This awesome! Three things that I also like.

Also, living tents kinda rule.

Yes, they were three very good things, I thought :b I mean, I guess most people think the food is the food, and the fantasy beast is the fantasy beast, and the hunk is the hunk, but really... The beast is the beast AND the hunkiness for me XD I love big beasties so much <333 Just wanna hug his big face so bad :3

And yeah, gotta admit, a bit of my nostalgia for all the camping we AREN'T doing is in this picture, too :b The whole... cozy campfire, home away from home, making the most of what you've got with you and somehow enjoying it even more because the challenges of being out there make it feel more worthwhile...

That, and I wanted to convey that they take care of each other :3 <3

I like 'em both, to be honest :3. Actually thought they might be about to go raiding (the food was for appeasing the gods first, or to invoke battle-frenzy) then I read about the storm. So now I think that they're in love. And go raiding villages. But that's me.

Oh man, it's been years since I last went camping. I suppose I've turned into a bit of a wimp recently. I need to get used to being dirty again. But there really is nothing like sitting under the stars with no other evidence of humanity than the fire you built. And maybe a dirt path or something.

Hehe, yeah, that's sort of the fun of leaving the story up in the air - people can make up their own stories for them to be fond about :) As for what I think about their backstory, I wrote it up for a person on dA:

"I wonder about his wings. This is sort of something I was trying to pretend to not notice, but I totally did :V But beastie has stuff strapped all over him all down his side, but it wouldn't be able to wrap around his torso properly if his wing membranes fully attach down the side of his body. In the end, I decided not to worry about it, because this picture was supposed to be fun and I wasn't about to let a niggling detail like that stop me, but I AM aware of it.

In relation to that, a random story idea that came to me is that maybe the beast was raised in captivity as a cub as a pit-fighter - like, thrown into pits to fight other people and animals, and his keepers sliced his wing membranes down the side so he would never be able to fly away (might also explain the source of those scars, and the original reason he has piercings in his wings, to help keep him from getting away) - then maybe this guy here showed up one day to fight in the pits, wins, and demands as his prize to take the creature with him.

Or something? I dunno, as I said, it's all a mystery for now! <3"

As for their present, maybe they just travel from place to place - maybe sometimes they sneak their food, or maybe they do odd jobs and "quests" for it, or maybe they mostly live off the land since they've already got their gear now. Maybe they're like how Draco and Bowen scam villages in Dragonheart: beastie shows up "terrorizing" the place, and the guy "defeats" him for a reward :b I personally feel like they mostly live off the land and keep to themselves - they're maybe a bit scoundrelly, but not overall bad at heart :3

And yeah, I definitely wanted there to be a closeness between them, which is why I titled it the way I did. For me, they're just really close buddies, sorta "the only family I have" kind of deal, but I can totally see it being a romantic love or something :3 <3


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Tsk, naughty ;) Go camping again. Sleep outside in a tent and go swimming in a lake (okay, maybe not while it's winter) and have a campfire!

I'm still sad I didn't get to try my brilliant camping plan before we left :( I love meticulously and perfectly roasting marshmallows - I'll happily roast them for other people all night :b So my brilliant idea was to bring frozen perogies, which I love (if you don't know, they're basically savoury dumplings filled with a creamy potato stuffing, often oniony or bacony or cheesy in flavour) and roast them like marshmallows :b But I never got a chance x_x :C

You did not disappoint with this random piece, Jocarra. Very interesting to see something for and from yourself - I hope there's to be more in store from you, especially of your previous cast of characters too.

Thanks! Glad you think so :) *nods* I'll see what I can do - finding time to do up that Ash portrait probably wouldn't take too long, nor would doing one of my customary for-me cartoony things :b I don't want to worry about it too much, though, since that'll just make me clam up more :V I'll just see what I can do :)

It is also the end of the year when business is winding down in terms of production, so I believe it is a fair enough argument to finish what you need to, then dedicate the rest of the time to yourself and Casey, artwork included there since you've had so little time to act on it.

I would not worry about it, more just let it flow. After all, it is for you this time.

*nods* Yeah, that's the plan more or less :)