this is my progress so far on this piece "Dispersal Males." i've been working in Corel Painter X pretty much just experimenting. i've been looking up numerous pictures of clouds, trees, grasslands, grasses, rocks, etc. to try and get the textures right. while i don't want this to look "photo-realistic" by any means, i want to provide enough visual cues to the viewer, using a modern version of 'tromp l'oeil' - an artistic term meaning to fool the eye.

i worked on the sketch all last evening, about three hours, i think? i've been working on the painting all late morning/early afternoon, about four hours. i'm stretching my poor computer to the limit, so i'm glad i've been saving it constantly. my laptop overheated or something and crashed; luckily it's okay, i'm just going to get one of those cooling pads for it.

this is a version of the work without the overlying sketch - the way it will look when i'm finished. you can see the blank spots where i've left room for the Ore, the carcass, and details.

onto beastie babble!

*~~*

when male Ore (pronounced OH-reh) reach sexual maturity they are expelled from their herd. many form a bachelor herd that roams between established territories, migrating with the grazers (and the seasonal rains.) since Ore are omnivorous they not only migrate to follow the herds to hunt from them, but also to graze off the numerous fruiting trees and shrubs.

out in the wild on their own the adolescent males learn valuable skills about hunting, grazing, and safe traveling. herds of Ore have multiple territories they travel between during different seasons. dispersal males learn this in small herds of 6-10, when they are strong and experienced enough they leave the bachelor herd and begin trailing established herds.

these two males are likely cousins or brothers. while dispersal males form tight bonds - sometimes nearly verging on homosexual - while living in their bachelor herds, life-long bonds are usually only formed between males that grew up in the same herd as foals.

they have stumbled upon a kill. while most of it has been picked away it leaves valuable clues. upon inspection they will be able to find that young females have scavenged at this site. if they persevere they may be able to track the herd that likely made this kill. once they find it they will be confronted by the lead males.

if they are strong and cunning enough they will be able to steal one - or multiple - mares from the herd. these two young stallions will then take their new brides back into the wilderness to mate and bond with them. this is the most dangerous time of a young Ore's life: the wildernesses of their world are unforgiving, the environments extreme, and predators fierce. if they return to the herd too soon then the mares will reject them and they will be chased out of the herd or possible killed. if they stay in the wilderness too long then they risk starvation or predation.

these young stallions aren't thinking about all that, though. right now they are just concentrating on the hundreds of scent-messages left around the kill.

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A note on sharing: i'm a firm believer in share and share-alike. while i work ungodly hard on creating these races, i don't think it's any fun if i'm the only one who gets to play with them. it's like if i got a brand new gaming system that was the best ever, but no one else got one.

that's why, as long as i am credited, i would be honored if people make fan art of my creatures. if they pick your interest, go ahead, make a character! try it on!

just make sure you like back to my main-page and credit me for the original idea. also, please show me! i would love to see how people interpret these things.

1/9/12 - put in scraps