Animal Factoid Mugs

The season for sales is more or less over, and perhaps it is the wrong time to create new mug designs, but I did anyway.

Each mug shows a photograph of an animal, its common name, its Latin name, and a few interesting tidbits about the species.  If that's too geeky for you, I also have several mugs with the names and photo, but no factoids.

In other Zazzle news, the Cuddly Critters series is now available on mugs, mousepads, iPad cases, magnets, and coasters!  Here's the set so far:

Of course, these aren't all of the designs; be sure to check my Zazzle shop for more!

And if you don't see your favorite animal, feel free to request a critter or two or three or nineteen!  Otherwise, you can expect to see at least some of the following in the future:

• Cheetah
• Tiger (Amur or Sumatran... or both)
• Red panda
• Great horned owl
• African wild dog
• Amur leopard
• Northern hawk owl
• Ocelot
• Clouded leopard

Holy Cats! A Human!

Goodness, I've been sketching humans on and off for over a year now, with a great deal of human-sketching recently.  Even some nothing-but-human sketching.  This is the first I've done digitally, but my goal is to be able to draw each individual character consistently, anatomically correct, and distinct from the others without relying on hair styles and clothing.

I still have a long way to go.  Critique and/or redlining would be wonderful.

This character's supposed to be female.  A cyborg and not very feminine, but a female nonetheless.  A loooong way to go.

Species: Long-Necked Deer

The long-necked deer is most commonly found in the forests of Iladus. It is generally not considered a game animal due to its relative lack of meat (and lack of parts that make good trophies), so it shows little fear toward humans.


Both the long-necked buck and the long-necked doe have antlers, but the deer rarely use their antlers to fight. The size of the rack alone determines dominance, since combat could cause serious neck injuries.

Unlike most mammals, long-necked deer have ten neck vertebrae (as opposed to seven), making their necks noticeable more flexible than those of giraffes or okapis.

The long tail serves multiple purposes: it balances the neck, particularly when running, and it keeps the animal warm when it rests. Although the deer tend to live in regions that experience little or no snowfall, their thin legs lose heat quickly. By covering their legs with their tails while sleeping, the deer are more able to maintain their ideal body temperature, even in the cold.


Height: 42"-48" (female), 46"-51" (male)


Photoshop Elements 6
Bamboo Fun Tablet

Landscape Practice

Photoshop Elements 6
Bamboo Fun tablet

Animal Mugs!

The adelie penguin can now be your coffee buddy!  Or perhaps you prefer hot cocoa?  Either way, it'll brighten up your mornings!

I just finished up the rockhopper penguin and (hopefully) I'll be making quite a few more for the holiday gift rush.  Most of the designs will be uncommon animals or unusually species/subspecies specific.

They're currently available on Zazzle and DeviantART.

Meow

Super Sculpey, acrylic paint, and two different varnishes (semi-matte and glossy).
I'm working on a were-coyote right now; he just needs to be painted and varnished.  Halloween pumpkins will be posted as well, and I've got some nifty carving ideas!

For now, I shall leave you with an alternate view of kitty:

Need a Calendar for 2011?

Yes, that's right, I have two full-color, detailed animal photo calendars this year, just for you.

Okay, maybe not just for you.  In fact, they're more for my pocket, but that makes them no less wonderful!  Seriously, how can you resist that cuddly Amur tiger (they're endangered, y'know!) or that funny-looking bee?

You can click on the calendar images to preview the innards of each calendar; you shall not be disappointed!

Went to the Zoo

Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois.

Volunteererateringalingaling

Or rather, what I did earlier today.

I've always been into volunteering(alingaling). It's rather nice to help others, be they people, cats, dogs, guinea pigs, or a legume.

Yes. Legumes.

I helped a legume today.

Granted, it was a rare, native species of woodland legume called violet bush clover. The preserve for which I voluteer had an itty-bitty, teeny-tiny patch of these woodland legumes that were not, in fact, in the woodland. The bush clovers also had ittier-bittier, teenier-tinier seeds on them, which I was told to collect for distribution in, of course, the woodland.

But enough about the legumes. To the point!

I'm not going to lie; volunteering is a very good way to help out the community and is usually incredibly fun, given you find the right group to join. The problem occurs when the very thing you are attempting to help decides to hurt you.

I got attacked by plants today.

And it hurt.

They owe me an apology.

:(

Then I saw a snipe. Which, contrary to oddly popular belief is a real critter. Therfore, you could go "snipe hunting," though it's quite illegal in the United States.

In short, life is good, friends. Life is good.

Something Fuzzy this Way Comes!

Halloween is coming up! Time to get your Halloween cards and Halloween T-shirts and Halloween socks!

Hazel-Lee modeled for a few shots on Wednesday, and we might do a few more Halloween photoshoots soon; I worked hard on that hat, you know. I still have to dig up my plastic cauldron and other holiday goodies. Maybe Jack Skellington will join in on the action as well.

Critter of the Night by soyrwoo

What're They Teaching in School These Days?!

We watched this in my AP US History class:

But really.

The founding fathers were BAMFs.

They were real rebels and their nation, as they founded it, is still alive and kicking. And kicking pretty darn hard.

Take that, Lenin.

We Have to Find the Guardians!

In honor of the upcoming Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie, Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga'Hoole, this post will be dedicated to owls. Owls, owls, of all shapes, sizes, and species.

Just over the weekend, I bought the last book and the first three books in the Ga'Hoole series to complete my set, as well as one of these mugs. The beige one. Isn't it just the cutest mug ever? :D

Yo Ho Ho!

ARR, it be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, mateys!
I'd be a-postin' some piratey art t'day if'n I 'ad any, but I don' so 'ere's a set o' piratey videos.

For those of ye impaired in pirate talk:

'N now fer some sea shanties!

'N summat else entirely...

Happy ITLAP Day!

Not Good Pets...

Hey, kids!
Guess what?

Wild animals don't make good pets.

It's perfectly understandable if you didn't know. It's not like Christian the lion managed to destroy his owners' home before they released him. It's not like magicians are killed by their performing tigers, pet chimpanzees kill their owners, or wolves attack children.

No.

Never.

Exotic pets are never released into the wild, where they can destroy the ecosystem. No, overgrown pythons are not found in the Everglades and they don't eat the local wildlife, especially not alligators. Wild animals are never sent to pet shelters, where they can be euthanized immediately. No, wolfdogs are not put to death the moment they enter a rescue center.

No.

That's preposterous.

It never, ever, EVER happens. Ever.

It's perfectly, completely, entirely understandable if you thought a wild animal might be a good pet.

You're just perfectly, completely, entirely wrong.

Not Good Pets by soyrwoo
Browse more t-shirts designed online at zazzle

The Cutest Bison

Let's go walk,

Let's go walk,

I'm feeling good today!

Walking is my favorite thing,

Come on now, let's go!

So.

This here is my blog.

I might as well introduce myself.
My name is Soyrwoo and I hail from Illinois, land of corn and soybeans. Currently, I'm 16 and attending high school in said land of corn and soybeans, though neither corn nor soybeans make up any notable portion of the curriculum.


I am an amateur photographer, sculptor, plushie-maker, and digital/traditional artist, mostly because I am not a professional. I use a wide range of mediums because I absolutely must try every one I find. That being said, I'm primarily a photographer.
It's quite difficult to procrastinate with photography.



As for this blog, I plan on using it to (hopefully) improve my writing and for art-related whatnot, though it'll probably end up being filled with ponderings, links to YouTube, and, almost definately, rants.




But I assure you: corn and soybeans will be kept to a minimum.