Nesting Ground

Plungergirl was also a winner from the 'evolution' contest I hosted in our forums, and for her prize she asked me to draw out some gryphons. Without further ado, this is it -- a mother gryphon and her three fledges, the youngest of which is only about a year old.

Do I know landscapes? No, but as the old joke goes, hum a few bars and I'll fake it. I think one of the reasons why I tend towards character drawings than full scenes like this is not because a full scene simply requires more planning, but because it sorta limits how large I can make the subjects -- and I don't like drawing small. Planning out the scene took a little while, although sketching it was quick and straightforward, while coloring it in, despite being long and arduous, was fairly simple as well.

So then, that leaves only one question -- would gryphons such as these be called birds or mammals?

Medium: Colored & ebony pencil
Duration: About 5 hours (mostly coloring)
Scale (full size): 60px/in