Guarding the Nest

May 2008. Pencil.

Guarding the Nest is a pencil drawing from May of 2008. It was one of my early works experimenting with smooth shading and erasing for highlights. I had no references whatsoever.

The drawing features a griffon with owl or lynx like ear tufts and the beak and talons of an eagle. The behind is that of a lion. The creature guards its nest on a rock cliff high in the mountains.

Because I had no references, my drawing is not very realistic. The coniferous tree is flat looking, the moss or grass looks as though it were merely cracks on the ground, and the rocky cliff's shading makes no sense. The clouds also have an unnatural outline. Don't let me get started on that griffin.

This drawing isn't realistic, and its composition isn't fantastic. But it is one step in the right direction for the evolution of  my young self.

(c) Maranda L. Scott