While the last set of sketches was a little more moody, here's a more positive tonal shift. Top center is a color thumbnail I worked out for a trade with Luthien Nightwolf, whose work has brought me a huge amount of joy over the years. I ended up creating this piece with watercolor and Copic markers, which are a fun combo but the results were never quite as cohesive and I wished they could be. And if I’m gonna be totally candid, I don’t love my wolf faces from this period -- they're a little too generic and not nearly lupine enough, but a video course from Aaron Blaise went a long way toward fixing that. Anyway, if I somehow make it to Tails and Tornadoes this September maybe I’ll finally get some facetime with the fae-wuff herself.
Then there’s a little sequence of studies that evolved into a scene where a fox guy accidentally gives himself a pawjob while attempting to conceal an erection. Tale as old as time. This ended up getting finished as it’s own piece where he fails (kind of spectacularly) to keep cool in front of his hot bartender. Even if it’s not supposed to actually be Kalahari (just a generic fox guy), everyone assumed it was him, and at this point it might as well be. This is one of those scenes that sticks in my brain as worth coming back to doing a little bit better.
Brandy the porcupine also shows up here! She's working the morning shift at one of those coffee stands you’d expect to find in the Pacific Northwest. That’s my story for her anyway. I kinda love the idea of her navigating such a small hut with her quills brushing against everything as she turns side to side, brewing drinks and handing them out. Another character worth exploring more.