Eohippus

A pair of small furry creatures forages in a primeval woodland on the pebble strewn shore of a forest pond. Leafy plants carpet the ground between the trunks of thick trees while mists drift through the air. One of the creatures, a darker coated one, grazes on the forest plants. Its lighter furred companion, however, seems to have been alerted by some sound in the woods.

These are Eohippus, or "dawn horse", the earliest known ancestor of the modern horse after the extinction event that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Sometimes they are also called hyracotherium, but that name seems to apply to a different genus now. They were the size of a medium dog and was found in North America.

For this artwork, I had a request for an unspecified Equis. I decided to go with the earliest version I could find. Via, Daz Studio, I used a eurohippus model by Dinoraul that I thought looked more like eohippus and added fur using LookAtMyHair then constructed the rest of the scene in Vue. Post production was done in Gimp and color enhanced using Photomatix.

A disclaimer about my paleoart:

When it comes to paleoart, the images I create favor 'art' more than 'paleo'. While I try my best to depict animals as accurately as possible, I'm make no claim that they 100% scientifically accurate. The same goes for the environment I depict them in. I am primarily interested in creating aesthetically pleasing images and paintings. Scientific accuracy comes second behind artistic expression.

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Pandas in a Bamboo Forest

A pair of panda bears stand in a forest of thick bamboo stalks. One of the pandas searches the ground among a thick carpet of green leaves, while the other looks right at the viewer. A fog drifts through the forest obscuring the distance.

Perhaps one of the most requested animals I get for art is the panda. For this one I created a sort of stylized bamboo with darks and lights echoing the patterns of the pandas' fur.

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Reading About Dragons

It's a warm summer day. A woman sits against a tree reading a thick novel. She is flanked by two small dragons, one green, the other blue. Perhaps the dragons are real or just creatures of her imagination that have leapt from the pages of the book.

The sun shines down brightly upon the trio. They lounge in the shade of a moss covered tree in long grass full of white wildflowers. Puffy white clouds drift lazily in the sky over the gentle tree covered hills in the distance.

The woman has long brown hair woven into braids. She is barefoot but wears a red patterned dress and a white shirt. She looks down intently at the heavy book cradled in her hands. Near her legs the little green dragon looks off into the distance. Meanwhile, the blue dragon lays down in the grass on the other side of her.

School has just recently gotten out here in North Georgia, and I was reminded of when I was young and had summers off. This was the time of year that I would finally have time to tackle the pile up the novels that I had built up over the school year. I've always been partial to sci fi, horror, and fantasy stories. Fantasy, in particular, was the genre of fiction that I read most during the summers. So I guess being reminded of summer reading inspired this particular image. I rather liked the way it turned out. I am particularly partial the tree trunk in this one.

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Howling Wolf

Somewhere in the wilderness of North America, a grey wolf howls in front of a full moon..

My latest wildlife themed artwork.

Thanks for looking,
Daniel

Teepee

An Indian teepee (also spelled tipi and tepee) is pitched near the mountians in the American Wild West. It sits on a hill covered in long golden grass and overlooks a valley full of evergreen trees. A layer of morning fog still clings to the valley floor. Dominating the horizon is a massive snow covered peak under a clear blue sky. This is no ordinary mountain though. It is a dormant volcano with a clearly visible crater. Smoke drifts out of the teepee's top as someone inside cooks breakfast and tries to stay warm.

This is another entry in my Native American series of western themed art. For this one I really wanted to focus on the volcano, but, I felt it needed some evidence of humanity in the foreground. As someone who goes camping quite often, I know the value of a campsite with a great view, I decided to pitch a tent in this scene.

This artwork was created digitally using CGI techniques using the computer application Vue as well as more traditional painting techniques in software called GIMP.

Thanks for looking,
Daniel

Hawk Warrior

An American Indian warrior stands upon a rocky cliff side. On his arm sits his best friend, a red-tailed hawk. The man wears dark brown and red war paint on his face, arms, and bare chest and carries as tomahawk. Both he and the hawk look across the forested valley dominated by an ominous, jagged, snow peaked mountain.

To many Native Americans, hawks are a powerful spiritual symbol, though, the meaning does vary from tribe to tribe. To some, they offer protection from evil spirits and represent the elements of storms, to others the represent speed, dedication, and good vision. The feathers of a Red Tailed hawk are often considered sacred and are used in ceremonies much like eagle feathers. Possession of such feathers is subject to the Eagle Feather law.

This digital artwork was created using CGI techniques as well as some more traditional painting techniques.

Tools used: Poser, Vue, GIMP, Photomatix

Afraid of the Dark

Prints as low as $27

A blindfolded, dark haired woman in a nightgown clutches a teddy bear. Behind her is a foggy forest at night time.

I went for a more stylized look to this one to suggest that this is a more of dream or nightmare rather than reality, that is, a bit more of a psychological work. Sometimes I see part of an older artowrk of mine that would work on it's own. This image actually comes from a horror illustration I did called "Bad Influence" (http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-bad-influence-daniel-eskridge.html)

Incidentally, there are several names for fear of the dark: achluophobia, nyctophobia, lygophobia, and scotophobia.

Tools used: Poser, Vue, GIMP, Photomatix

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge