Santharian Development

I can't seem to find the original thread(s) about it, but I'm sure some of you remember what's it about :)

Here is another crack at it. Warg still needs work...
Comments welcome!

The orc looks pretty cool, Faugar! :) I don't remember anymore what exactly the description was, so I don't know if it matches, but all in all it's a great pose and expression.

As for the warg: Guess I've asked that before, but what has happened to that inital idea with the warg standing on a that lying tree?  The warg back then was way too large, but the idea was pretty spectatcular, so I miss that one.

Hey, Faugar.

I guess you knew I'd be along sometime soon, eh?  ;)

What I like about this image is that it shows an Orc that isn't either (a) about to kill someone, or (b) has just killed someone.
Alysse and I are trying to subtly change the perception that all Orcs are blood-crazed murderers, and this picture is exactly the kind of thing we need.

However...........(you just knew that was coming, right?)

Perhaps his nose could be a bit wider?

I would prefer his boots to be less 'tailored' in appearance. Maybe take them to mid-shin/just below knee height, and made of animal skin with the fur showing at the top of the boot? And tied to the leg with criss-crossing leather/hide thongs or straps?

I like the fur coat. I had thought originally to change it to a fur jerkin over a rough cloth shirt. What do other folk think?

I see him as belonging to the Ashz-oc. The only other extreme northern tribe is the Osther-oc, and they aren't really Warg users. I want to try and suggest rumours that the Ashz-oc have somehow got Elf blood in them, and as such they will either have small tusks, or none at all (see the pic in the Ashz-oc entry. No tusks!). So you could make his tusks slightly shorter.

His hair needs to be coarser and thicker. It looks like he has just left a salon. Could you put in a couple of braids or dreadlocks? And a couple of bead/bone ornaments?

Oh, just noticed. The tip end of his spear doesn't line-up with the rest of it.

Sorry about all that, Faugar. It may seem like I don't appreciate what you have done, but believe me, I am in awe of your skill, and look forward to seeing this finished. We need more Orc pictures! *Gets out banner and parades in front of Faugars studio*

@ Arti. Garrett and I have been looking over that pic recently, trying to decide what needs doing. She has got a link to it, I think.

Is this the one you were looking for Art?

Ummm...
Can we please Dev that?

Oo, I love it!  Get rid of the fur coat, and he'd look like he could be on the Orcish version of the Chippendale calendar--what a hunk!  (Envisons scantily clad orcs lounging about and attempting to look broody and sexy.   Collapses in laughter, rolling about helplessly)

Seriously, he's great.  Make the warg a little bigger and it could be a portrait of Tharoc and Valkyree, even.

But Tharoc does have a point, generally this orc ought to be a little scruffier.  Right now he's just too, too...tidy looking.  Although I like the idea of maybe some basic decorative beading on the clothes or bone/quill/feather/ ornaments in the hair.  

Way to go, Faugar! :clap: :clap:

Alysse

Very well done. :thumbup:

Wonder if it might not just be easier to lose the fangs, make the warg a bit more Icemuttish, and call the whole thing "Remusian on the Hunt".  He is, afterall, goodlooking enough to be one of those swarthy northern men.  Just a thought. :P

With regard to the old Warg picture which people seem to have decided is un-useable:

The surroundings (and the expressions/mood of the people and surroundings) is near exactly what I had envisioned for the Meelaimada of the Falsejungles. They roam around on Giant Animals to navigate the the decaying remains of their once great rainforests- and if you were inspired to finish the sketch as it is (without toning down the size of the creature etc.) than it might make a very interesting tribe picture (and would give me an excuse to write the entry ASAP).

What do you think, Faugar?

Deci

So, Deci, are you suggesting this is a normal Nyblemarian-type warg, or a specifically magically enhanced beast?   I sort of thought that wargs, as riding animals, were like small horses in terms of size (between 14 and 15 hands high, since most orcs are a little shorter than humans)   If you ask me, this gorgeous beastie looks more like it's related to a Cartashian bear than a wolf type animal. But I'm no warg expert and could be wrong.

I do love the picture though.  Hey, perhaps it could be a (tame) Blood bear or Thar's bear, with those huge clawed paws, blunt muzzle and heavily muscled build? Or a Nyblemarian bear from the Falsejungles, used as a Meelaimadian steed, as Deci suggests?  Just a thought.

Well the Meelaimada usually go around on Giant Playtpuses, but I have in my notes mentioned that the sentries use Giant Bear-like animals!

*mutters something incoherent about giant platipi*

And people think I'M the Nybelmarian with the crazy ideas...

Well aren't you? :P

Well, we're both pretty crazy....

Decipher has the crazy ideas, im just crazy in general. The real fun starts when i take one of Deci's good ideas and Mirafy them a bit...

ehm. back on topic :) Thanks for comments and suggestions all!

I found the original thread. It's supposed to be a Rhom-oc orc tribe. So not the Ashz-oc (sorry Tharoc).
Thank you for valuable comments though. Changing the clothing and face like suggested is no problem. Can't remember what ornaments/jewelry the orc should have, I'll have to look up the entry. Unless anyone has a good suggestion (keeping the tribe in question in mind)?

As for the original picture (with the huge warg and the tree): The problem is that of a scale and perspective. I the tree is supposed to be normal sized, I can't place too much behind it, because it will obstruct the view. I'm thinking of placing the orc in the front, beside the tree (to the right), and changing the warg so it will be climbing over the tree, or standing on it with his front paws, sniffing/looking to the left, while the orc will be looking to the right, both of them hunting. Would that be appropriate? We'd loose the female and the kid of course. I'll try to make a sketch of it asap, to make myself more clear.

Whatever the choice, I want to finish the orc tribe pic first, and then we can see what to do with the other one (how to change it to suit another description perhaps).

On that tree thingy: Well, the tree doesn't need to be "normal sized" as you put it, Faugar... If you imagine that an orc child sits on it, and it is placed next to a full grown orc, it could as well work and get a cool effect across ;)

Hey Faugar. I've found a few things in the Rhom-oc entry which may be of use to you.

The Rhom-Oc are smaller than other known orc tribes and appear weaker in stature.
(Your chap seems to be anything but weak in stature!)

Most Rhom-Oc wear decoration made of bones and teeth from their prey. Their long hair is worn open or in long braids over their shoulders to give some protection from the cold.

The Rhom-Oc clothe in leather and fur. Most of them wear sturdy leather trousers and leather shirts for riding and fur jackets or vests to protect from the cold. In winter another wide fur coat is wrapped around the body. The warrior use straps of wolf, bear or warg fur attached to their clothing to mark their alignment to these particular beasts.
(I like the idea of a belt made from the tails of reindeer. Any good?)

The Rhom-Oc's feet stand in high fur boots that are fixed to the leg with leather straps to connect smoothly with the trousers and prevent the wind from blowing into the clothes.

Rhom-Oc also wear all kinds of talismans, amulets or necklaces made of bones or teeth for spiritual protection or help.

Apart from that, the only other snippet I could see being of interest to you for this image is that the extreme northern boundary of their territory is the Galthorn Mountains. This could explain the snowy looking background.

Thanks a lot Tharoc, useful info!

Ok, here are 2 version of a sketch, using the fallen tree. What do you think?

Oh, that's good - that's very good. Maybe just bring in the jaw a little bit, firm up those paws, and give the Orc some kind of bow/javelin. Other then that, I like it :)

Note- I prefer the second version.

I prefer the second one as well.. assuming the second one has his right hand on his thigh.

I like that the other orc pic is of a Rhom-oc.  It gives me a better picture of whom the Remusians are constantly er... interacting with.

And Tharoc, I still woul;d like to hash out some general notes for our two cultures history together.  When you have time, of course. :)

I completely love it!  (number two, the one titled 'copy')

The composition is classically Faugarian, with strong, solid lines leading the eye.    A great stance from the hunter, and the warg is somehow both powerful and endearing. 

 Might I suggest that just the hint of a small cowering animal hiding in the hollow end of the tree would give the picture a great deal of humour?   The proud orc and the suspiciously alert warg, oblivious to humble 'prey'...   perhaps that third element would pull the triangle out more strongly and add to the characterization.  Just my two sans!

Thaniks!

Nsiki - when you say "bring in the jaw" - what do you mean? I'm not sure about javelins or bows.. seem like a coward's weapons to me ;)

Altario - THIS is supposed to be a Rhom-oc orc as well, not sure if that's what you ment?

Judy - the idea with a small creature hiding in the tree was originally planned (that's why it's hollow). Great minnds think alike, eh? :)

Impressive... very nicely come together. I think we'll be hearing some squeaks of delight (albeit very manly ones) from Tharoc when he sees these.

:)

Well, I'M squeaking with delight! (but not particularly in a manly way, I'm afraid  :D)

I love this picture, and the idea of a little leveret or greycat huddled in the log is great! (not to mention usable in another entry, perhaps, as neither of those have a picture yet)

I have to agree with Nsiki, that the jaw is a bit too heavy.  He looks rather like a Neanderthal "Missing Link".  But if you just bring it back a bit, and make the chin smaller, it should work fine.  The second pose is really good, I like it too.  :thumbup: :thumbup:

Alysse

squeek, squeek.......Ahemmm........HUmmmmm......SQUUEEK SQUUEEK.

Tharoc like Faugar drawin's. A lot. Tharoc hug Faugar..........where he go?

I'm going to be awkward here, and say that I like the Warg in the second pic, and the Orc's pose in the first pic. It looks like he has been hunting all day, and is getting slightly weary.

I agree about the chin thing as well. A bit to 'Don Corleone' at the moment, methinks ;)

I also agree that a small prey animal inside the log would be an ideal and amusing way of extending the triangle. For extra amusement, perhaps make it just a pair of worried eyes peering out of the darkness?

Right, I'm off to the bar to buy Faugar a large beer for adding so magnificently to our Orc pics collection.
(Just thought. This could be out of Tharoc's holiday album, labelled "Cousin Trog, posing as usual!") :grin:

Yeah, I like it as well! That tree just gives the whole thing a new perspective which is quite unique - and the poses of warg and orc fit perfectly :D - The first warg is a bit small, the second one is pretty fine as far as I'm concerned. But of course you need to listen to our orcish experts mainly, but this looks really good to me!  :thumbup:

Oh, and add to that a smaller animal that's hiding from orc and warg, a bit of an epic scenary in the background and it will look perfect! :clap:

all right! now we need to decide which version of the orc (everybody voted for the second Warg). I must admit that I'm having a hard time myself. I'm not sure which pose would suit the character of the tribe better.

What about the background/scenery and folliage? what kind of plants can I put in there?

I al soooo tempted to 'shop Arts head into the end of that log right now :evil:

Well, Alysse and Tharoc said it better then I did, so listen to them ;)
The first pose seems more natural, the second stronger, so it really dpends on what you want to accomplish.

My vote is for the first Orc. And I'm the Orc guy, so I win by default! :P

Well...I do like the second pose--but Nsiki has a point that the first one looks more natural.  The second one gives the impression that he's actually posing for the picture (which is why it has a slightly more dramatic flair and why people like it, I guess)

As to background--well, the Wilderon heaths are bordered by mountains on several sides, so mountains are fine.  I'm assuming the orc is closer to the southern side near the forested areas (the tree is a clue) so some other trees, such as the tulmine, the wolf willow and the arvins cedar, might be likely.  Other plants that would grow here would be types such as juk'lan, mutliweed, poeritt, blackmoss, lythien moss, rockmoss, koeken fungus (maybe on the tree itself) and so on.  I think most of these, except for the last one, don't have pictures for their entry yet.  I hope this is helpful and saves you some research time.

Alysse

edit:  BTW, I gave you an aura point for the picture because I like it so much.  And thought I'd mention it here to remind other people that you deserve it.

very helpful Alysse! Many thanks :)

And an Aura boost from me as well, Faugar. Just for being so damn talented!

Back from the dead.... here comes another incarnation of the orc image!
I tried Artrage on it, a very nice application I must add. Hence the "painterly" look.
Still not finished, but I'm working on it again. Any comments are most welcome and appreciated!

The colours, the composition, the shadows, the gestures, the skill with which they are all executed... I am lost in admiration...

An aura boost!

I love it

Aura +1

This... this is awesome!  :grin:

Wow.  Another wonderful pic, Fauger.  Very much reminds me of Charlie Russel in the way you have composed it here.  Well done.

Ooh ... I like it ... a lot ... well done!

Keep piling those aura points on, folks - Santharia's most loyal and talented masterartist is seriously underrepresented there.

The whole atmosphere is indeed painterly, soft yet rough at the same time.  To me it expresses that Northern wilderness (far more effectively than a more 'polished' style in which all surfaces are meticulously glossy and photorealistic) and that 'stripped-for-action' sense around Orc and Warg....

Love that composition - less dramatic and yet more authentic at the same time!

Wow, Faugar. It has been so long since we have seen your masterpieces around these parts, and by golly, have you delivered yet again!

Absolutely stunning! I love the "painting" effect you gave it. It feels authentic.

K'han'uck's breeches! Th'as done us proud wi' this 'un Faugar, an' no mistake!

*Rummages in the deepest recesses of his pocket* 'Ere, 'ave this aura point thingy as a token ov mi happresheashun.

*Returns to Tharian for the hard of understanding...*

Just one teeny question. How is it that we can see into both ends of the log? Unless, of course, it's a very bent log?  ;)

For the sake of rationalizing, it could simply be that one side of the log is a little bit more busted up than the other on that end, allowing us to see the other side, without actually seeing inside.

Thank you all! There are a few things I want to change, and the log is one of them (Valan got it right, but it does look odd). If there are any comments about the clothing, now's the time to share them :)

I like the log.  Wood doesn't always rot at the same rate, and the near side of the log could have just rotted a bit quicker at each end.  Kind of like taking a sausage and cutting it on the diagonal at both ends so the one side is shorter than the other.

It has been such a long time since you posted your last picture that I already forgot what was originally intended, Faugar... Especially as it takes so long between two versions and they're always different.  :shocked: From the artistical point of view it looks already pretty good - if the size is reduced a bit the brush strokes are also not that visible as in the enlarged version. Also the log, although the two hole thingy still could be fixed a bit, looks pretty good. Didn't we plan a little critter in there somewhere?

Anyway, back to the main issue: From what I gather this one should be a Rhom-Oc, isn't it? And from what I read they are meant to be considerably smaller than other orcs. I guess this isn't the case here. He looks pretty tall to me. Also, he appears to be strongly on the human side, and I guess we've already got a picture of an orc tribe that is closer to humans, which you did, Faugar. So while I'm not an expert I'd suggest to try to bring out the orc in him much better, and even more so: Get down to the Rhom-Oc specifics.

This would mean: Reduce his size, change at least parts of the hair to braids (could be rough ones as well, at least this is an orc), bones and pieces of prey are used for decoration, so maybe put some sort of bone chain around his neck, a small skull in the middle or something. Or an additional necklace with teeth, all meant to give the character more depth, as he's still - aside from the face - pretty basic as far as clothes are concerned And work a bit more towards the orcish feel, like hunched shoulders, maybe longer fingernails, something a bit uncivilized.

But nice to see you around again, Faugar. And no more LOST watching until you got this one done! :D

This is beautiful, and so Northern-looking!


The one possible quibble I would have with this picture is that the warg's legs look too short for it to be a riding beast.  If that big orc were riding it, his feet would be dragging on the ground.  Other than that,  I love the slightly Impressionistic style and think it suits the picture in both subject  and background.  Although I do have to agree with Art that this orc looks very human, I still like him. (Yes, I mean the orc; but I like Art too.  What?  Okay, so I have eclectic tastes... :P)


Two thumbs up! And one aura point!

Hmmm... Are you comparing me with an orc here, Alysse? :lol:

All right, no LOST this time (fortunately season 5 has ended ;) ).
Thank you for the suggestions, I'll tr to incorporate the orcish look. As to size -  I can make the warg bigger, so the orc will look smaller in comparison. There is no other object of reference (apart from the tree and the plants).
Or do you think I should keep the warg as is and scale the orc ?

The guy still has pretty huge hands, hasn't he? And the upper body looks more like the one of a taller person methinks. So even if you make the warg a bit bigger I guess the guy still would need to be at least a bit adjusted methinks.

Oh, I don't know. I think the big hands thing could be a tribal trait?

I agree about the braided hair and some bone 'accoutrements' though. I did think of that myself, but was so taken with the pic as a whole that it went out of my head.

Maybe some kind of animal tail hanging from the spear shaft just below the pointy end would look good?

I changed the warg and the orc as well. His head is now bigger (relative to his body) suggesting a smaller overall build, his hands smaller as well.

I tried the tail, but it looked like a dead fish :( so I made it into some trophy hair. Added some bird skulls and bones. Made the fur/leather a bit more patchy.

What do you think about it now?

You've only gone a cracked it! Absolutely spot-on for me, Faugar. I really like the 'painted' look to this picture. Brilliant.

I've been looking at what Alysse said about the warg's legs being too short. With the position it is stood in, it's 'knees' would be bent quite far back, so I imagine there is as much leg hidden behind the orc's leg as there is visible. This would add enough length to make it a suitable mount, n'est pas?

 :rolling:

Perhaps it was a particularly nasty fish, and the battle which ensued betwixt the two is legion amongst the coast-dwelling orcs?

EDIT: On second thoughts, there wouldn't be that much leg hidden. I still think it's tall enough to be a suitable riding animal though. The orc could always lift his feet up, or cross his feet under it's belly?

I just noticed the wargs right paw (nearest the orc). Perhaps a touch more shadow underneath it? It looks almost as if it is floating just above the log as it is.

:)
Well, the warg in the new version is very sketchy at the moment, I just painted it a lot bigger, with slightly longer paws too, so didn't have time to refine him yet.

Ooooh!    This is indeed superior - I particularly like the face, which has a craggy character and individuality to it that so many fantasy artists would ignore.    'Generic' orcs, generic barbarians, generic semi-clad warriorettes (no one is looking at the face anyway rationale) all really annoy me, and I love that you put a unique personality into all your people.  Er, humanoids.  Um, sentient beings?   

And yes, the larger head on the warg is much more effective - I look at the first draft and immediately see the contrast - number one looks positively wimpy compared to this guy, whose jaws could crush a deer's skull without effort.

Hi Faugar!  Nice to see you here. :)

You know, I love your style and talent, so my praise is short: Great pic, I like especially the jacket of the orc, and the boots, and his face, and the light on the speartip, and , oh well ;)


To the warg, it is better now, big as it is, but something with the leg seems wrong to me, anatomically, but I don't know what - and it looks so well-behaved with the legs like this.

The paws could be even a bit bigger.

What type of warg is it meant to be?  :grin: Or rather what orc tribe? It's probably in this thead somewhere and I just skipped over it ...

The orc should be a Rhom-Oc...

... Hate being difficult, but if that's the case, I just got the apperance section of the warg for the Rhom-oc a bit before I left for Seekers picture of with the warg. Rhom Warg (http://www.santharia.com/dev/index.php/topic,13562.msg168177.html#msg168177).

Is that's the one we have now at Seeker's Gouran pic? Maybe this warg here could be used for another beast and we get the final version trimmed a bit in the direction of the description?

What do you mean? Do you want me to change the warg according to the new description, or...?

That would be necessary, yes, as we're depicting a Rhom-Oc here, so the warg would need to be a Rhom-Oc. We could still use the current warg to depict another kind, though.

all right! here is a new warg, shaved ears, short stubby (for a warg) nose, and a more dynamic and involved pose. whatcha think?

I may not know art... or wargs... or orcs... but I know what I like.  I like this. :D

Looks great, I love the style, and the orc's face is really excellant. Looks a little Navajo, actually. Anyways, one thing: perhap[s have him interacting with his warg: it looks almost as if the warg's snarling at something, so perhaps have the orc looking at the Warg, or in the direction the warg is snarling?

I REALLY like that warg!  It looks more like a character and not quite so generic "monster" beast.

Two thumbs up from me... :thumbup:  :thumbup: ...and an aura point!


Alysse

I like the poses immensely - it looks as if the warg has just sensed something and begun to growl or twitch and the orc is about to switch his gaze down to react to that!     And yes, that is a beast with a lot of personality - I know we're lavishing the aura points around today, but honestly, that deserves it.

Wish I was that quick to get back with changes (and patient about it)...

The warg look pretty cool - let's see what Garret has to say on it :) - Two things still bother me:

First, our orc is still pretty lean, while these guys are meant to not exceed the height of 1.6 (and we have to go for the typical Rhom-Oc here). Moving the upper body somewhat down and making the hand a bit smallee/thicker could do the trick!

Secondly, Nsiki pointed that interaction thingy out. Well, yes, it indeed looks a bit strange: The orc looks ahead in his direction, to the right, while the warg seems to look straight at the viewer. If you look at it for a while that doesn't really fit, although both on their own are very well done. Maybe if you let the orc's eyes move a bit in the direction of the warg, so that he actually looks at it, this would work better for the composition. But I don't know if that can be effectively done without changing the head part more seriously. Hope you get the idea what I'm trying to say.

Looks great, but a couple things to point out. Hopefully not too difficult to work with.

1. The muzzle still look a bit long-ish.
2. The front set of longer teeth should be two to three times the length of the second set.
3. The forelegs look a little too grey and the fur a little too clean cut. Should be a little shaggier around the paws at least.

@Garret: thanks for the comments! I'll shorten the muzzle and will add some more darker fur onto the legs. about the fangs though - do I make the front fangs longer, rear ones shorter, or both?

@Nsikigan: It was not my intention to depict a snarl/growl, merely an open mouth, but it's not important. The rhom-oc orcs were clearly inpired by the native americans the way I read the description, so I'm glad you noticed my effort.
The thing about interaction though: it's about a mutual hunt, about a late moment during that hunt, where they stopped to rest for a moment and look around and think a bit. I wanted to depict a scene where the orc is staring ahead of him, pondering the deeper meaning of a failed hunting party, and the warg is doing his own thing - searching for prey perhaps, or just being a warg - not worrying about stuff. maybe he looked in the direction his orc friend was looking, and found nothing of interest there (because there isn't anything the orc is looking at!), and went back to looking and sniffing around. That moment is depicted here. That's why they are not looking at the same thing, at each other, or doing any other form of "interaction", apart from being close to each other - the warg might be sensing the orc's darker mood, and wants to keep him company thus giving him the comfort it can provide, and maybe shooting an occasional gaze at him as well.

@Artimidor: I already made the warg almost twice the size of the originally (seemingly) accepted one, to indicate the size relationship between the two. I made the orc's head slightly bigger, his shoulders smaller, his hands smaller. making them any smaller will make them unproportionally small. making them thicker will make the orc look more stubby/fat, which is not what I want to depict, not the way I see him. He might be small, but he's lean. He's not a dwarf, just a smallish humanoid. There isn't anything else I could do to make it more clear that I can think of, apart from including things that of a certain size known to you that would help you see the relative size of the orc. It's a natural setting, so any man made things are out of the question. I included the bird skull for that purpose, but it obviously didn't do the trick.

So unless anyone has any brilliant ideas about fixing this problem, there is nothing I can do about it.

Hey, I thought that orc looks into the distance - or has just an inner picture in his mind, not really seeing anything from his surroundings! Now, are you so good in depicting it or I so cute in seeing it ;) 

Keep it as it is, it is very fine this way (my opinion! )

I don't think this needs anything other than the little details about the warg. 

  Speaking as a dauber in virtual paint myself, I know just how frustrating, and sometimes how difficult, it can be to make changes that others see as both essential and easy.  For me, it's often simply beyond my still-developing abilities to make the alterations requested - though sometimes what seems a little change can be an entire redraw from scratch, because non-artists don't understand how a picture is built up, layer by layer and stroke by stroke.   Digital doesn't mean easy.

A little of both now that you mention it. The rear teeth should be just a little bit shorter and the front ones 2-3 times the length of the back ones.

:lol: Yeah, I absolutely agree that it isn't easy to change around something in a certain direction that would look just a tad more appropriate. In many cases this is not worth the effort to change an entire picture just for something minor. That's perfectly fine with me as well - plus, Faugar made such an elaborate explanation of who looks where and why, that the rest of the landscape already forms in your head reading this. And if our dear friend the warg looks a bit longer it might spot that rabbit hopping around there somewhere! ;)

"Inner picture in his mind..." An Austrian (German?) might say he's looking into the "Narrenkastl" which translates to English as "fool's box"... :lol: Which is when you look nowehere in particular, entirely absent-minded somehow. Though I think the orc 's quite focused on something. Yet I wonder whether there's an English equivalent to that "fool's box"...  :cool:

Ok, I'd say, just get to Garret's suggestions concerning the warg, that should deal with it!  :thumbup:

What a fascinating word!    I don't know if there is an equivalent, but now that you've intrigued me I'll have to think of one.

The Dreamtime?

The wild blue yonder?

off into space?

castles in the air?

....

I've looked a bit around in the internet and it's definitely an Austrian expression. Germans build castles in the air, Austrians look into the fool's box :)

Didn't find any origin yet, though. Origins of initially medieval words are pretty cool and funny BTW. Guess I've mentioned that already somewhere, but an Austrian radio station explains sayings you use every day and have no idea what they mean each morning in a very funny way. And it's really fascinating, sometime irritating, funny, outrageous or whatever where something actually derives from. I really have to hunt down a book on these things, it's very enlightening if you know what a saying that exists for a hundreds or even a thousand years is based on!

Interesting ... in the musical Les Mis, little Cosette sings a song ... called 'Castle in the Clouds', as I'm sure at least some of you know ... basically a make believe place where she can escape to when things get too much for her in her real life. Which is somewhat akin to that expression, I suppose.

But anyway, I shouldn't be hijacking this thread with that ... so that I can say something constructive about the picture, I've liked each of the ones you have done ... I view people who can paint with skill in the same was as I view people who can play sport ... with a great deal of awe.

Faugar

I just wanted to say I admire your work here on this site.  I love the ability you have to create expression with seemingly minimal stokes of the brush.  This Orc looks great. and I really like the log as well.  So cool.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know I am a fan. :D

Thanks all for the comments and support!
Here is the new updated version:

The orcs will now get far more sympathy (hopefully they deserve it ;) ) and everyone on the RPG-Board will want such a cute worg.
Looks great, though the worg does look a bit as if somebody took care of his fur... what, orc do comb through their hair??

Incredible... love the little creature hiding  :D

Cool stuff, Faugar! :) Also that little fellow has finally made it in there! And it looks now pretty much according to the given comments. - Hope Garret is also happy with the adjustments dealing with the warg - I like it, aura +1 for sticking with it and completing this fantastic version!  :thumbup:

+1 from me too :)

I like the paws, looks like a Newfie ;)
Nice little creature in their too, based of a devved Santh thing?

All fine with this one for you as well, Garret?

Looks great Faugar. :)

Sorry for the delayed reply. My computer was being stupid and wouldn;t load the larger picture.

it's ok, I forgot to scale it down somewhat. I wanted to tweak the background a bit, and then I think it will be ready :)

here is a modified background. I hope it's changed for the better...

Background looks better now, yup, with the mountains accentuated better and the trees leading up to them. So I'd say we take this one as the final version then :)

 :thumbup: All right!

Faugar, with which tool did you do this painting? Painter?

the sketch was done in Painter, byt the rest (most of it) was done with Artrage 2.5 - a great program for painting and drawing (their pencil simulation is fantastic). It also costs just 30 euro! I would certainly recommend it. The basic version is free, and for sketching it's certainly sufficient, but the features of the full program are certainly worth the money.