Not of this World

Phew, did this one take for ever! And there is quite a bit to talk about. I'll try to keep this thing as sensible as possible, so bear with me!

Let's get started with the "dragon" which is the focus of the image. The animal you see before you is called a Tepazepy (whose name originates from the Egyptian God Tep Zepi) or named in Latin Queztalcoatlofilius sapien. This species is not really a native of the continent of Antarctica, with this guy, who I named Columbus, being among the first Tepazepies to make it from Western Australia. But his species actually originates from the Caribbean island Hispaniola, where anoles had such a massive explosion of diversity that once they spread off the island, they began to wreak havoc on the ecosystems of Atlantis. Columbus, like many other species of the same order, has a highly developed form of camouflage, on par with cuttlefish. they can all change the color of their pigmentation in microseconds, to quick for the human eye.

And that is where we focus on Columbus. Columbus was resting on the river bed do to flying all day long on a reconnaissance mission, and had changed his camouflage to match the ground. But the Postodromeus we see to the left spotted him settling down. So she roared at him, woke him up, and in his startled state, he rapidly changes his color to a black in red, in hopes of freaking out the Postodromeus. We just caught him in the act of doing it.

Now the Postodromeus is specifically called Victoria's Postodromeus. This bird was briefly mentioned in the description of" Breakfast on the Beach", but it has now made its official appearance. This is the largest species of Postodromeus, weighing 350 pounds and being close to 13 feet long and 5 feet tall. It is also the most herbivorous of all Postodromeus. The Plain Postodromeus eats solely meat, the Red-capped Postodromeus only occasionally eats fruits if it has to, and the Peppered Postodromeus is solely a scavenger. In other words, Victoria’s Postodromeus occupies just about the same niche as grizzly bears do today.

Next, you can spot across the river a Paladin Tortoise (FIRST NATIVE REPTILE FTW) and it's accompanying diapsids, Tkwaies (named such do to their odd calls). The two animals share a sort of mutual relationship, and the two animals are rarely seen apart. . From what it seems, the heavily armored tortoise (which is about 6 feet tall at the top of the shell) offers protection for the small birds while the birds have excellent eyes that perceive threats for the reptile. But their mutual relationship seems to stem a bit further than that. The turtle seems to actually aid in protection of the birds nest, while the Tkwaies will immediately attack any small creature caught in the act of harassing a hatchling Paladin tortoise.

In the water, you'll also notice a sturgeon swimming up stream (I considered killing them off due to human activity 68 million years ago, but I digress). There is also a well-drawn Cockaroach that's trying to avoid the attention of the two huge diapsids.

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So now onto the art! I personally like this, although I do have some complaints. I did like my shadowing, but I feel like the ground could've had some more complex coloring. I also feel that I sort of messed the perception of this piece, especially at the upper right hand corner of the image. I also got mixed feeling about the water, since it's a bit, well, bland. I'm actually considering buying a better coloring tool, so then my work will look better.

OH YEAH, and I am writing up a little short story of Columbus' journey in a similar style a la Raptor Red. If you guys want to read it, let me know!