a collection of some of my personal favorite backyard visitors - please click to fullview!
this piece is available as a print on my Redbubble! link in my pinned post!
small digital painting done as a test for a larger project - i did end up going in a different direction with the final piece, but i’m still pretty pleased with how this test turned out!
dino doodles....dinoodles
my best girls from Jurassic World Evo! i got way more attached to these digital dinos than i expected, tho in retrospect i don’t know why i didn’t see that coming alsdkjfasdf
Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) mushroom cow, inspired by a suggestion from @mish--shticks! thank you so much for the suggestion, this was such a fun challenge! the shagginess of the inkcap mushroom immediately made me think of Highland cattle, so i went with a combo of the two.
this painting is available as a print on my Redbubble! please check my pinned post for the link!
i couldn’t just stop with the “common” variety of Mooshroom, so i doodled the brown variant as well! .........and then another Mooshroom and her baby as well so the first duo would have friends to hang out with.
as with the previous Mooshroom and Mooblooms that i posted, these darlings will be available as prints, buttons, and stickers on my Redbubble, so please check out my pinned post for a link!
Haunted Carousel 8 of 8: The Western Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
Even a creature as mighty as the rhinoceros is not invulnerable to the threat of extinction. Like their cousins, this subspecies of black rhinoceros was heavily hunted in beginning of 20th century. Their population rose in 1930s after preservation actions were taken, but protection efforts subsequently declined, and along with them the number of rhinos. Like other rhinos, they were widely poached for their horns, which were alleged to have magical properties. In 1950s, Mao Zedong encouraged traditional Chinese medicine in attempt to counter Western influences, leading to the extinction of this and several other rhino species. By 2001 only 5 individuals remained - a survey 5 years later could locate no trace.
Haunted Carousel 7 of 8: The Baiji or Chinese River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
First described in the ancient dictionary Erya written in 300 BCE, the Baiji was regarded as goddess of protection by fishermen along the Yangtze River that was its home. As China industrialized and made heavy use of the river for fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity (approx. 12% of world’s human population lives and works within Yangtze River catchment area), the dolphins’ population declined drastically. Protection efforts were instated in 1970, then redoubled in 2001, but by then it was too late. The last captive specimen, “Qiqi”, died a year later in the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology’s dolphinarium. The World Wildlife Fund calls for preservation of any possible baiji habitat, in case the species is located and can be revived, but the species is considered functionally extinct.
Haunted Carousel 6 of 8: The Golden Toad (Incilius periglenes)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
This beautiful toad was endemic to elfin cloud forest area north of Monteverde (Costa Rica). First recorded in 1966, its rapid disappearance beginning in 1987 was well-documented, but the causes remain poorly understood, and the toad had vanished by 1989, only having been known to science for twenty years. It bears the grim distinction of having been the first species verified to have gone extinct from the consequences of climate change (causing habitat loss and spread of disease). As such, it is commonly considered to be the "poster child" for the amphibian decline crisis - the ongoing mass extinction of amphibian species worldwide, one of most critical threats to global biodiversity.
Haunted Carousel 5 of 8: Japanese River Otter(s) (Lutra nippon and Lutra lutra whiteleyi)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
First recorded during the Edo Period (1603-1868), Japanese river otters were once found along the Japanese archipelago. Starting in the Meji Period (1868-1912), pelts became more valuable, and otters were among many species widely hunted. Their population made slight comeback after hunting regulations were established, but increasing pollution had a fatal impact, with the last confirmed sighting of a Japanese river otter in 1979. All Japanese river otters were originally classified as subspecies of closely-related Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra whiteleyi; otters from Honshu and Shikoku were recently determined to be a distinct species, Lutra nippon. Hokkaido otters are still classified as L. l. whiteleyi.
Haunted Carousel 4 of 8: The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
Thylacines first disappeared from Australian mainland in early 1800s, possibly due to the expansion of the dingo and resulting competition for prey. Despite its inability to take down prey larger than 60lbs, it was assumed a threat to livestock and the Tasmanian government offered a bounty of £1 (roughly $130 USD today) per head. The last confirmed Thylacine seen in the wild was shot in 1930. Protection for the species was only instilled in 1936, 59 days before the last captive specimen, rumored to have been nicknamed “Benjamin”, died from neglect in the Hobart Zoo, Australia.
Haunted Carousel 3 of 8: The Quagga (Equus quagga quagga)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
Like other zebras, quaggas were not horses but wild asses, more closely related to donkeys. They were hunted for skins and meat, and possibly shot as competition with livestock for grazing, succumbing to extinction in the wild by 1878. The last captive specimen died in the Amsterdam Zoo 1883. Only one Quagga was ever photographed alive, and only 23 skins exist today. An endeavor known as “The Quagga Project” is trying to recreate the phenotype (appearance) of the Quagga’s hair coat pattern and related characteristics by selectively breeding closely-related Burchell's zebras, but these are not genetically true Quaggas.
Haunted Carousel 2 of 8: The Bluebuck (Hippotagus leucophaeus)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
Once common on the Cape of Africa, Bluebucks were highly sought after by trophy hunters and were driven to extinction before any were illustrated or photographed from life. All images of the Bluebuck have been referenced from only four existing skins, all of which have been badly faded, the unique “blue” coloring no longer visible, though it is thought to have been an illusion caused by blended black and yellow hairs in the animals’ coat.
Haunted Carousel 1 of 8: The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)
Carousels, for me, represent nostalgia; beautiful things recalling memories from a time since passed of joy that can never truly be revisited. This association is what led me to marry the concept to a subject that is at once both past and urgently present - the extinction of animal species.
The Dodo was a flightless relative of the pigeon, native to Mauritus Island off the coast of Madagascar. First recorded in 1598, habitat loss and introduced species drove it to extinction less than 100 years later. No skins survive, and there is only one known image painted of a living Dodo to give us clues as to its appearance.
Genshin Impact wildlife, but realistic
2020, amirite? i’ve been working on personal stuff almost exclusively to keep myself sane but now i’m even artblocked on that so i decided to go back to what i know best - drawing animals. this is a study of an American Museum of Natural History diorama (sadly i haven’t been there myself; i got a screenshot from a youtube video).
bird sketches, feat. Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, Black-cowled Oriole, Tropical Parula, White-eyed Vireo, Orchard Oriole, and Magnolia Warbler.