Aardvark and the Dandelion, for Monday Artday

Aardvark & the Dandelion Wine, 8.5 x 11, Copics with digital background

Why the Aardvark Has a Long Tongue.

A very, very long time ago, before humans destroyed the delicate balance of the Earth, there were many astounding biological innovations we can only imagine today.  One such innovator was the dandelion flower which grew its own spigot so that all the creatures of the forest could enjoy its spirited liquids. (Also dandelions were way bigger.)

The aardvark, a curious creature with claws made for digging and ears made for hearing, was one of the dandelion’s most ardent admirers. However, due to his oversized claws, he was unable to manipulate the delicate handles of the spigot. So the Earth did what she did best back then (before corporate “persons” bent her to their will and made her into a grotesque parody of herself). She gave the aardvark a long and agile tongue, well able to bypass the spigot mechanism within and enjoy a bounty of dandelion wine. (The aardvark also used his new tongue to hunt in termite mounds. But that came after, of course.)

This one is starting to look a bit glassy-eyed and might pass out soon. Which is good, otherwise he wouldn’t leave any for the next guy! This illustration was created for the “Drunk” topic at Monday Artday.

And now, a slideshow:

[portfolio_slideshow size=large]

Hooray for sticking with one color family! I did do a bit of extra correction in paint.NET, particularly closing the mouth partly and cleaning up a few messy spots. Most of the ink was done with a teeny 0.05 Copic multiliner, though I did go back at the very end and thicken some lines with a 0.2. Apparently I am on a bit of a kick with long-snouted creatures. This will come as no surprise to those folks who visited during my “big nose” phase which, now that I think of it, may not have been a phase at all.

If you get a moment, take a peek at Topsy-Turvy Trees, the illustration blog of Nei Hatsumi. I know there are a million art blogs out there, but she’s really great but little known, so I thought I would share. I think sharing contributes to a great community. :)

Thanks for stopping in!

 

Reference aardvark photo from ARKive. Reference dandelion photo from Paul Franklin.

18 thoughts on “Aardvark and the Dandelion, for Monday Artday”

  1. Val Myburgh

    Hi Cindy, after you left a comment on my blog I went and had a look at your work and I just LOVE what you do! There isn’t one that doesn’t make me smile. Well done, I’m certainly going to come back often. I now need to find out what “Copics” are – we don’t have those here in South Africa – not to my knowledge anyway.
    Thanks again!!
    Val

  4. Beth Parker

    I love the way your brain works, Cindy! Isn’t it fun how a story can develop in your head as you draw or paint. I imagine you get to know each critter very well, because your stories are so creative. I love this!! That sweet little face makes me go aaaaaawwww!

  9. Elizabeth Rose Stanton

    Nice composition and color balance and, as ever, your wonderful use of pattern! As for the critter himself–I hope he doesn’t get this tongue stuck ;) (Btw, I like the “hic” and the bubbles in the prelim. sketch).

  10. Anna Barrett

    Nice job on those petals! I absolutely hate drawing dandelions. I tried it once or twice and gave up each time. You managed to pull it off and made it seem like a piece of cake. And all that in the lovely Cindy-style!
    I like the stripy tap too.
    I have to ask, is that sketch scanned in? Don’t you wish there was a scanner designed specifically for pencil artists -so it wouldn’t pick up every grain of the paper texture along with the pencil lines? That would save me a lot of time.

    1. The Beast Tender Post author

      Thanks!
      Yep every one scanned in on my handy dandy but too small(8.5×11) CanoScan LiDE 700F. But I think I need to clean the glass. Also, in setting scanner to catch even the lightest pencil lines, it definitely picks up more background junk. But then with the color scans I usually dial it back so the color isn’t affected.

  11. Ces

    Hehehe. I enjoyed that. The illustration looks gerat. I have never used copic markers. Wow, it looks so crisp.

  12. Ana

    Beautiful, I love how you mixed your imagination with the real facts of nature.
    The foot with the claws coming out of the picture is a nice touch :)

  13. Gay McKinnon

    Cindy, this is my very favourite of your new works! You nailed it. The colours are out of this world. The aard varrk oh I can’t spell it and the dandelion are so beautifully drawn. Damn you’re good. When will you do a book?

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