http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/ balaa's gallery of images en-us 120 http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/477573

She lost her world this night and as the lotus withered within her hand as did her hope. Her children deceased, her lover unable to return her to her wolf form once more..all the world before her was lost as she sat nude within a bed of grass, his warmth pressing against her..one last time.
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This piece won't be appearing in many places as it is a published piece, however, I do feel it pertinent to place it in my CGtalk portfolio.

This was my FIRST attempt in painting any human digitally. I have always shyed from painting people because well it's certainly not something I wholeheartedly enjoy. This piece proved to be a nice challenge for many various reasons. ! I don't tend to paint people so I have zero experience painting skintones. 2. I did not have any pictures to base this girl off so it was mostly...trial and error. 3. I don't really paint wolves much either. So all in all if anything was accomplished, this proved to be a BIG learning experience for me.

I do have to say I actually enjoyed what I learned, so I may well venture to try my hand at people again .
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Image copyright myself and http://www.renardsmenagerie.com/]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2007 08:08:19 +0000 http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/469730

I tend to lean on using brighter colors, usually direct sunlight etc..but I have been studying the works of some rather prominent wildlife artists who use more muted tones in their work and decided to give that a go. I think I rather enjoy the coolness this picture gives off, the colors leave a touch of mystery about the figure resting in his habitat. You can't quite tell what he will do next..and I personally like that.

Introducing Zhed, a black snow leopard. His name roughly translates to 'fear' in tibetan and the reason behind the name is simple: 'That which is rare or misunderstood is often feared'. The reason I chose to go with a black snow leopard is because I figured, even in the wild genetic melatonin flaws occur, producing animals with pelt colors uncharacteristic of their species. Well I've read a little about tigers born with reversed stripes, and obviously there are leopards born with 'black' pelt..so it wouldn't be so far fetched to see a black snow leopard. I will leave the interpretation of the title and his name to each person who chooses to view this picture.

Now for those that 'hate'/'dislike'/'insert synonym here' anthro work, I believe anthromorphic art can be beautiful. To me an anthromorphized animal represents a closer link of humanity to the natural world, it is our inner wish to be primal and wild and live within the natural world instead of outside of it. With my anthros I strive to make them look natural, a part of and not apart from their world. It is fantasy art just as are dragons and elves and anything else. I have seen a lot of anthro art flamed in various communities so I feel it necessary to stick a disclaimer here. You don't have to like it, I'm not asking anyone too..I am merely sharing my vision with the world.

No reference..no special texture brushes used for this image. All standard ps brushes used.


]]> Fri, 02 Mar 2007 23:16:25 +0000 http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/467608

Finally plucked up the courage to post something here in the hopes that it will push me to improve on areas I know are lacking.

A commission piece that I also used as an experimental piece to learn new things and expand my horizons in painting. The tiger on the buttom is meant to be a dark grey with red eyes, as per the character design.

I tend to paint a lot of animals and lately anthromorphic work, which I haven't seen horribly many of here on CGTalk, but hopefully it is welcome.

There are things I am unhappy with, mostly the grass in the foreground, but I hope by joining CGTalk I will learn all sorts of ways to approach various elements.
]]> Sun, 25 Feb 2007 21:55:56 +0000 http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/468955

Done last year for an upcoming Tarot-like card deck.

The only thing I wish I had done a bit diff was plan the piece a bit more before jumping into painting, but live and learn! Needless to say I enjoyed painting this as I have an obvious love for big cats, and prehistoric big cats have found their way into my heart as well.]]> Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:39:40 +0000 http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/468599

Another older piece(late 2005), and looking back I can of course see more mistakes and ways I could have approached different things with a better yield in results. But that aside, it is a piece I do treasure for the things I learned in the process of painting it.


I have always loved moth species and one day I was googling reference material for one project or other and came across a Polyphemus moth, and the first thought that struct me was how much the eyelets on their wings and their overall color scheme reminded me of lions. Since both lions and moths are nocturnal, it seemed a match made in heaven.

]]> Wed, 28 Feb 2007 02:38:28 +0000 http://balaa.cgsociety.org/gallery/468045

As you will notice, I love big cats! This is and older piece, my second attempt at hyper realism with a toony twist. But with all the mistakes I see now, looking back at it over 2 years later, it is still one of my favorites.

There is something warm there, despite the cool colors..and I think above all I really like the simplicity of this piece. I am known as a detail oriented person, but sometimes less can be SO much more..and that's a lesson I have yet to really drive home.

This was a gift picture for a person whose character design I always liked, despite the unnatural to snow leopard markings, there was something about the character that just made me want to paint her. So I preseent you Tani Da Real, the blooming snow lily.

The gradiations in the background bother me but I can't seem to dig out the original unmerged file..so unfortunately I'm afraid this is the best version I have at the moment.

On a sidenote, I wanted to thank you all for the extremely warm welcome I have received at CGTalk. I still feel completely out of my league here, but that feeling is eased with the encouragement I have already received!]]> Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:06:24 +0000