This is sort of...I'm not sure how to begin if I'm honest. As you know, aside from dealing with my own health issues, I'm taking care of my elderly mom who's been....well, her health has been in decline. She's been depressed over it, and rightfully so. So I got it in my head that it might be a nice idea to make her a sort of...well a present to cheer her up. Of course, it's a...strange thing to think making her a 'fursona'...or a 'feathery' I guess, makes for a good present. But I just felt like...I don't know, it might be nice....she might like it considering what she's been going through. At the very least it may earn a smile. So I took a stab at some concepts for "Lady Aleta", a Snowy/Barn Owl hybrid character with a rather regal, yet gentle appearance.

A long time ago, my mother did one of those...I don't even recall what you actually call them. Spirit walks? Guided journeys? Basically, one of those meditate and drift off into a daydream or...visualized world sort of things? Basically searching for a spirit guide for introspection. This is something I've never been able to achieve myself, as my mind is often too frantic and scattered to allow myself to fully relax and leave my body (In a metaphysical sense). But for my mother, she succeeded. And what's more, she met her totem spirit. She hadn't been sure what to expect, something traditional like a wolf or some sort of small furry woodland creature to be her spirit animal. She didn't really have a favorite or expectation. So it surprised her when a snowy white owl flew into the clearing and met with her.

Since then, snowy owls became her favorite animal, and so that's what inspired the choice. It also gave me some nice practice in terms of drawing avians as it's been a long while. Granted, I see a lot of Helluva 'owl demons' in her design. Mostly in the very high crest/hair and a bit in the eyes. But that look of royalty was an important aspect to infuse...because I guess that's how I've always seen my mom, at least when I was a kid. Gentle, loving, fierce when she had to be, (Mostly when defending me), but... I dunno....maybe it's because as a kid I looked to her for guidance and knowledge, and revered and respected her and so...a look of royalty gets mixed into the design. Granted, it's no secret my Mom was very much about her appearance. Not obsessed, but she took pride in it.

I think I've got the designs down, so sometime soon I'm going to make a simple colored thing to frame and present her. Maybe she'll like it, maybe she won't. But at the very least I think it'll cheer her up. More than any gift I could pick up at a store at this point.

I'll probably copy and paste this description for the follow-up. As it's just more sketches. Although I'll add here that this is the more refined, close to final version of Lady Aleta. Complete with a little toddler Misfit in tow.

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