Look what the Sonoran wind just blew in!

[Jephyr]

It's cool that you decided to finish something started way back. I have some stuff like that on my computer where I had an idea for something, but ran into a point where my skills weren't really enough to follow through on it so there it sits.

I like the squad. is the bear a companion or like a slave that carries their stuff? The bounty proclamation i think would work better if you didn't have to zoom waaaay in to read it. Like if it were on a post or a wall nearby and it had a drawing of a giant's head and the word 'bounty' legible that would probably be a little more effective. But yeah it's hard to really make text beyond one or two big words work in paintings imo.

Thanks JC — I kinda figured that a graveyard full of half finished WIP was common among us art peeps. 

Like you — I found my skills had improved a LOT between those old 2016 files and the way I work now. 

Fortunately, when I moved the psd image file over to Krita, it preserved all the curves, levels, color balance layers etc — and I found if I deleted those filter/efx layers it didn't alter anything (they were no longer useful anyway). 

But almost EVERYTHING had some kind of filter or efx on it.  < hangs head in shame. 

I'm def glad you like Leif and the gang.  I'll explain a bit about the bear below.

First — I LOVED your suggestion.  Wow sometimes you get so myopic as you work on something a great solution like that escapes yer brain matter.

So here are a coupla versions keeping it as a poster/scroll on the ground.  I'm going back and forth about which one I prefer (leaning now towards the second one).  Does anyone else have a preference?




And one with text




Thanks again JC!

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So a bit a bout the bear (and this story will be a bit long so I understand if you just want to move on to p'chures).

Anywho, From what I've been able to piece together from various conversations I've had with members of the group —  (that's another story in itself!) the bear had been following them for weeks and raiding their precious supplies if they were left unguarded.

The bear was a little younger and smaller then and so they set about to either capture or kill it.  Remember in 732 AD — high in the mountains — there aren't any markets and so it's a matter of life and death if supplies disappear.

So they set a trap and when the bear sprung it they all jumped into action — and a ferocious fight began.  Leif was badly wounded and still has the scars on his chest and belly as evidence of that fight — AND he ultimately lost his leg below the knee after it became infected from a deep gash. 

The 'girl' (as they call her) still has a beautiful scar on her face as a reminder of that day.




During the battle the bear ended up tumbling down a rocky ravine and they found him in a heap in some boulders.  Unfortunately, he sustained some brain-damage and so Leif and the gang took him in and he's he's slowly been regaining his full bear 'brain-power' since then.

Later as winter approached the bear's natural instinct to hibernate kicked in and so the group reluctantly let him go.

The next season he was no where to be seen — and so they figured they'd seen the last of him.  Then the next spring they came across each other again and the bear lumbered over to them and they had a joyous reunion — and they've been able to reconnect every year since then.

One time, he had a full pack loaded down with supplies and wandered off the trail and they lost sight of him — and it took the group a better part of a day to find him — so he's kept leashed to keep him from wandering away and he seems perfectly agreeable with that arrangement.

It's important to add, he's definitely more than just a 'pack animal' though — and is especially protective of the others — and has been a valuable asset in numerous battles.

--------------------

A bit about the rabbit.  He has the intellect of any human and is able to converse fluently in what we might call the 'old tongue' — that they all (excluding the bear) speak.

The rabbit is quite willing to talk about his experience with an angel of God who visited him, spoke over him, and gave him what he calls a 'human mind and abilities' — and a greater size than most mountain rabbits.

Once you get him started — He'll talk endlessly about that experience — but I'll save the re-telling of that that for another time.....



It must be said that he is a capable fighter and a VERY valuable asset to the group as well.

The end —