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pallanoph — The Woodland Guard

Published: 2012-03-02 04:31:13 +0000 UTC; Views: 11693; Favourites: 755; Downloads: 134
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Description Finally, a colored pencil piece my scanner agreed with, and... *gasp!* A simple background that almost makes sense! It's almost too much!

This is a commission for *Kotorigaro of her magnificent character, Vaal! So all credit on his awesomeness should go to her.

I loved drawing him, I really did... though I must confess bits of my equine anatomy are rather rusty. Also, figuring out the way the light should bounce on that beautiful coat color was maybe a little tricky as well, but quite satisfying once I got the general idea. I absolutely adore that fuzzy lion mane of his.

I nearly beat myself up trying to decide on a simple background, as I couldn't just leave him alone, floating in a beige void. For once, my silly background seems to have served its purpose.

This was done almost entirely in Derwent colored pencils with touches of Caran d'Ache here and there. The paper is Canson Mi-Teintes.

I hope he looks alright, *Kotorigaro Thanks for giving me the excuse to draw him!

Character © *Kotorigaro
Art © April Schumacher
All rights reserved.
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Comments: 67

AshleyInspirations [2013-06-26 11:25:10 +0000 UTC]

pretty

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CriminalSpirit [2013-02-01 04:01:52 +0000 UTC]

How gorgeous! I really like the shades in his coat and the details!

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valerv [2012-08-21 19:53:28 +0000 UTC]

OMG its beautiful!!! and your right the backround is perfect!! you've done a perfect job on the mane color, i love it

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Astralseed [2012-08-01 13:22:54 +0000 UTC]

This piece has been featured here [link]

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SuperCJ [2012-05-12 22:29:16 +0000 UTC]

Wonderful! This is how I imagine unicorns would look, dark and rather prehistoric, like a przewalskis horse

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Hareguizer [2012-04-28 07:26:36 +0000 UTC]

Lovely! The light-touch background really works for me.

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Itarox [2012-03-31 19:42:00 +0000 UTC]

really cool ; )

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trigun666 [2012-03-22 14:44:39 +0000 UTC]

epic...looks like an instant classic..
belongs as an illustration for a fine leather bound book..

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angiedrag [2012-03-10 21:41:14 +0000 UTC]

nice work. love it

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kalmanen [2012-03-08 16:57:45 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely beautiful work once again <3 The pose is just wonderful, and I love the simple background

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ClusterFack [2012-03-06 10:54:14 +0000 UTC]

I love that you put so much in your Artists Comment-box, helps people udnerstand the picture better somehow and get to know the artist a little bit more :3
Anyway, splendid work with the fur. You did a great contrast betwene the short and the thicker, longer fur. And the colours are way beound cool too. Well done!

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Caudex289 [2012-03-04 17:40:24 +0000 UTC]

I, I.. I'm speechless!
Amazing piece! Truly is!
I just love everything about it, I can't find a single minor piece of criticism !
Amazing, keep it up!

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Snaphance93 [2012-03-04 17:13:14 +0000 UTC]

I don't comment enough at your stuff, but let me assure you that I love it all. Like this--the fur looks so real, and I love the transitions from brown to black. His coat is gorgeous as well, and the light play looks good.

I just realised while typing this comment that I've got a scaringly similar species of unicorns, haha xD It's really interesting to see how others've gone about combining horses and lions.

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pallanoph In reply to Snaphance93 [2012-03-13 03:06:19 +0000 UTC]

I'm not too practiced on highlights found on smooth coats, so it's good to hear you like it. I suppose it helped that I had plenty of good references!

I've come across plenty of coincidences like that on dA, that's for sure. And some coincidences are more common than others!

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AmandaDrage [2012-03-04 17:09:36 +0000 UTC]

I love Vaal, happy to see you've drawn him Gorgeous work, love the mane!!

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pallanoph In reply to AmandaDrage [2012-03-13 02:13:27 +0000 UTC]

He is quite the handsome character! And I had a blast, being given a proper excuse to draw him. I'm so slow when I want to do random gift art...

Thanks, Amanda!

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AmandaDrage In reply to pallanoph [2012-03-13 13:52:37 +0000 UTC]

Ha, me too. I have had a list of giftarts on my desktop since about four years ago. XD Some of those people have left dA...

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wheresmytea [2012-03-03 19:10:38 +0000 UTC]

Oooh I really like how you handled the subtlties of colour in his coat, especially on his flank and shoulders where the dark blends into the lighter tone but there's a bit of backlighting too. Its complicated but so smoooooth looking

Like his playful bow too :3

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pallanoph In reply to wheresmytea [2012-03-13 02:12:38 +0000 UTC]

This was one of my more favorite challenging subjects so far: He's deceptively simple looking, design wise, but as I went I found he's far from simple. Also, I really love that color!

Thank you!

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Bueshang [2012-03-03 07:53:12 +0000 UTC]

Beautifully done

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Psyartista9 [2012-03-03 02:12:42 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful rendering. I love how you've just made those muscles stand out with those highlights and shadows. Those pale streaks against the darker fur of his back is a really nice touch, too; and that mist in the background definitely makes him seem all the more fantastical.

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pallanoph In reply to Psyartista9 [2012-03-13 02:11:24 +0000 UTC]

I haven't been able to do smooth shading for a glossy coat in a long time... Highlights are tricky business! Thankfully *Kotorigaro has done some lovely art of this character, which was a real help in capturing those wonderful shades in his coat.

Ooh, I should do some photo referenced studies just to get back into some things, maybe when I find time again...

(Oh, and I haven't forgotten about your note. I'll be getting to it soon!)

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Kumotogi [2012-03-03 00:54:10 +0000 UTC]

tight!

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ladyburrfoot [2012-03-02 22:23:00 +0000 UTC]

stunning!

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redman1997 [2012-03-02 20:12:34 +0000 UTC]

I like the colours you used, makes it look very woody.

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Sanglamore [2012-03-02 15:26:41 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely gorgeous

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pallanoph In reply to Sanglamore [2012-03-03 01:25:24 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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Carryn [2012-03-02 13:51:40 +0000 UTC]

This is gorgeous! I love how the colors make him look real.

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pallanoph In reply to Carryn [2012-03-03 01:25:07 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Carryn In reply to pallanoph [2012-03-03 06:55:41 +0000 UTC]

You are welcome.

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dwuff [2012-03-02 13:14:31 +0000 UTC]

Have have HAVE to get a commission done by you sometime. The problem is just deciding on what exactly.

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pallanoph In reply to dwuff [2012-03-03 01:24:32 +0000 UTC]

Hehehe... I still have quite a list on my hands, though I am working on it. I suppose that might be enough time for you to decide?

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dwuff In reply to pallanoph [2012-03-03 09:53:48 +0000 UTC]

I assumed as much! Yes, perhaps.

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weremoon [2012-03-02 12:40:31 +0000 UTC]

You did a great job on him. Beautiful character.

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pallanoph In reply to weremoon [2012-03-03 01:22:55 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, dear!

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Kotorigaro [2012-03-02 10:41:05 +0000 UTC]

AAAAAH
AAAAAH
AAAAAAAH

This is so gorgeous Pallanoph! Love the background; a simple concept that nonetheless balances and grounds the whole picture perfectly. So jealous, I hate backgrounds for the exact reason that mine never do that for me.
And his colour is spot on, much kudos for that! He's a tricky one but he's looking beau~tiful!
And that pose is wonderful- dynamic and interesting but still in keeping with his character. Well done dear!
I'll be honest. His butt has never looked so fine.

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pallanoph In reply to Kotorigaro [2012-03-03 01:22:33 +0000 UTC]

I know we never discussed a background, but since I took a fair amount of time to get around to this, I decided I couldn't just leave him floating there.

I adore his color... and I can't recall ever trying to capture that coat color before. Thank goodness you've got some lovely solid paintings and references for me to refer to!

! Excellent, hehe!

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Eeconyn [2012-03-02 08:32:23 +0000 UTC]

Wow you have really done Vaal credit here! His colours are just perfect, and you're right - the background really tops it off. I'm sure Koto will be thrilled

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pallanoph In reply to Eeconyn [2012-03-03 01:05:48 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much! I love his color, so I was determined to get it right.

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kirocontoy [2012-03-02 06:36:36 +0000 UTC]

It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

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Soul-Cake [2012-03-02 06:21:31 +0000 UTC]

Besides the spectacular fact that you are a (kickass) TRADITIONAL artist, I love the fact that you use toothy paper
There will be a picture of yours hanging in my room someday...

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pallanoph In reply to Soul-Cake [2012-03-03 01:03:16 +0000 UTC]

Toothy paper is where it's at! If I'm not using this heavier tooth for my colored pencils, I'm using at least a vellum finish. Smooth is absolute crap when it comes to me working on it and trying to layer color!

And thank you! I'm flattered! (Also, your icon is all sorts of cute. )

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Soul-Cake In reply to pallanoph [2012-03-03 17:11:06 +0000 UTC]

I love paper with texture when it comes to colored pencils. I guess I'm spoiled, though, because the only time I use smooth paper is when I color on Bristol. It's the best quality smooth paper out there, I think

And thanks! Fat rainbow unicorns are all sorts of majesty lol.

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ShaleseSands [2012-03-02 05:53:28 +0000 UTC]

Really great work here! I've enjoyed seeing other artists renditions of such a beautiful character. The color paper you chose for this piece really works nicely. Also, as you say, the background fits perfectly and I enjoy the atmosphere you achieved in this. And I believe your equine anatomy is just peachy for being rusty.

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pallanoph In reply to ShaleseSands [2012-03-03 00:58:51 +0000 UTC]

Hehe, thank you kindly! I agonized over the paper color for almost a week, and was torn between at least 5 different shades.

It's been a long time since I've done in-depth studies of horses from photo reference. I guess I need to get some more practice in! Glad to hear it pases inspection.

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ShaleseSands In reply to pallanoph [2012-03-03 01:09:02 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome!

Lol, I wouldn't object to more horses from you.

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Seaff [2012-03-02 05:43:43 +0000 UTC]

Wow! That's beyond amazing, I love it!
The harmonious colours look so appealing, and your posing and anatomy is top notch! I think the faded background to it adds so much as well.
Kotorigaro's character is awesome too. I love that mane and the light markings along his back.

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pallanoph In reply to Seaff [2012-03-03 00:49:56 +0000 UTC]

Neutral colors like me, thankfully, and I like them! I wish I could say the same for anything more vibrant, but... nope!

Vaal is wonderful... so good to have an excuse to draw him.

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KaxantheDragon [2012-03-02 05:16:12 +0000 UTC]

You never cease to amaze me. One day I want one of your pieces...

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pallanoph In reply to KaxantheDragon [2012-03-03 00:39:11 +0000 UTC]

Why thank you!

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