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mooing-duckerberry — Flight of the Owlephant
Published: 2011-06-13 20:23:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 1648; Favourites: 19; Downloads: 13
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Description
I can't decide whether I'm proud of this, or ashamed that it actually took up a chunk of my life.A roommate asked me to draw a creature that was part elephant and part owl. The truth is, there is no graceful way to combine the two creatures. Every concept was a mixture of the grotesque, and the impractical. For instance, how is this thing supposed to eat? The tusks obscure its beak, and the feathers obscure any usefully prehensile trunks. It's unfortunate, but I can find no way to justify an owlephant. Poor creature.
Prismacolor colored pencils
Diluted acrylic paints (tons of fun. I highly recommend the technique)
Masking tape (in place of masking fluid)
Salt
Arches watercolor paper (approx. 2'x3')
Detail found here: [link]
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Comments: 24
You are amazing, do you know that? OwO
The colours and lines look really good. And the way you merged the two animals is really original. Who cares if it's not prectical and might starve to death? Most people wouldn't have the slightest idea how to put those two together.
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Right! It's OK to die, so long as it looks good. 
Thank you.
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It makes no sense, but... it looks like it could exist, you drew it so well.
The wings are my favorite part of the owlephant. The way you drew the feathers is stunning on its own, but I love the way the elephant feet work into the top of the wings. The feet too. They actually look like they could work on an owl's body.
How did you do the background? It's fascinating.
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Thank you.
The background is all kinds of entertaining! irst, you wet the paper down, and do a thin wash of color. You don't have to worry about it being even, or looking good, (messy is what makes it look good later). Wait for it to dry, then go back over it with a much darker wash. The second coat picks up all the texture from the first, and adds to it. You can sprinkle salt down while it's wet to get more texture. The only part that isn't fun is waiting for the first coat to dry completely. If you don't wait, it doesn't ome out nearly as well.
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Sure thing.
Salt wash with diluted acrylic paints... Wow. I have got to try that.
And you can mix multiple colors in the washes?
On a seemingly unrelated note, what's your favorite animal? I suddenly realized I have no idea what it is.
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You can do as much with color as you like... sometimes, the salt isn't even necessary.
For a while, I've been calling barn owls my favorite animals, but I dunno. Mustangs have rather stolen my heart recently. Turtles are always adorable. I'd really love a big dog right now... 
What is YOUR favorite animal?
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Awesome. I already have a bunch of project ideas to try this out with.
All good ones. Turtles will always be awesome, though owls do have that certain... something in how they look. I just got back from a trip and can't stop cuddling my dog.
Um... I like turtles.
I don't really know either. I guess I'd have to say sea turtle, if I really needed to choose.
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Smog is disgusting! Gah!
I don't know that I've ever had the chance to look a rhino in the eye. 
I think barn owls are some of the most beautiful creatures in the world.. the lightly pigmented ones especially. When they have the perferctly white face with the big black eyes, and they're just dusted over with shades of gold. Such lovely creatures! And then they speak, and the effect is ruined, but hey, they need personality in there somewhere.
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Smog is gross.
You described barn owls perfectly, there. 
Owls bring back good memories-- I always liked owls since I was little. When I was really little, my dad's job was a few hours away from where we lived, so I didn't see him much; one of the only clear memories I have of doing something with my dad before we moved to where we live now is sitting in the hammock in the yard with him and my little sister stargazing. And this one time, we were looking for a constellation when this enormous great-horned owl swooped about half a foot over our heads and vanished. It was kind of awesome.
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That sounds amazing!!! and terrifying, both. When I was in elementary school, they used to have a falconer come talk to us, and it was always incredible to see how huge some of those birds were, especially their wings and feet. You never really get a grasp of that in the photos. He had a great horned owl that he used to let fly around, but then I guess it mistook someone's pony tail for a rodent, so by the time he got to our school, he wasn't allowed to do that anymore. My first impression of great-horned owls was always fear of having one close to my head, so I've got some mixed emotions toward your story.
Are there lots of owls in your area of the country. I think I've seen one or two, but never up close. Usually they only come through southern Nevada on roundabout migration paths.
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Understandable.
I love seeing bird rehabilitators and such when they're in town. I love seeing the birds that close.
Uh... yes? You don't see them all that often (I've only seen the one up close), but the college where my dad works actually used to do this thing called the Owl Prowl where people would meet up at the college camp out in the woods around midnight, and then people would do wander around the woods doing owl calls and the owls would call back. Not all the time, but probably 30% of the time. Particularly Great Horned Owls, Saw-Whet Owls, Barn Owls, and Barred Owls (?).
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Awwwww, barn owlssss!
Owl Prowls sound amazing. I wonder what the Utah equivalent would be...
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It really is.
I wonder... I bet it'd be awesome.
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Maybe awesome... I don't know that there's much by way of interesting nocturnal life here though. There are skunks! I saw one of those for the first time recently. It was cute, but I don't know that I would want to be off stumbling across them in the middle of the night.
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We have skunks around here too. Not something I want to run across, no matter what time of day or how cute (though they are pretty cute).
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this is awesome. Even if it's impractical, it's beautifully done.
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Impractical or not, it's a beautiful piece of art. 
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Thank you! You always have the nicest comments, and I know you're pretty busy on this site, so it means a lot.
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Thank you. 
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