Zingela

Okay, I'm officially on a drawing spree.
I mean, wha? That many drawings in such a short time? Whaaa??? What the Hell's happenin....
I'm not complaining of course, I'm feeling quite happy about it. Artspaaaam :3


Okay, joking aside. Here's another portrait for a friend that I had in mind for a little while. Meet Zingela Nyang'au, the Brown Hyena. Hell, I didn't even know this species before I met her. I'm glad I do now, however.
There's a lot of things that I could say.... but I guess what really matters to be said is this. Cheryl, the past months have been difficult for me, and even though we only met not long ago, you've been there for me, to listen and to voice your sincere support. This always meant a great deal to me. I remember you once asked me if we are friends. It was only shortly after we had met and I didn't have a very definite answer to that back then. I do now. I most definitely see you as a friend now, and one I truly value. You should know that even if we only speak from time to time here, you've really helped me through my woes. And since I am often clumsy with expressing my gratitude, this is my way to do it.

Now.... this is my first time drawing a brown hyena, and as a matter of fact the first time drawing any hyena at all.... that is, aside from The Lion King ones I used to draw as a kid. I still think I managed fairly. What I'm not sure about is whether the markings are correct. I tried, of course, in my typical manner, to go for realism so I kinda tried to follow both the original portrait of Zingela and the hyena reference photo I had picked, simultaneously. I might have carried away a bit with the photo. On the other hand, I very much like her expression, and I'm rather satisfied with the fur and mane, as well. As for the scars.... my first time for that too. I've never drawn such scars before and before I started the drawing that actually intimidated me a little. But I must say, I find a rugged beauty about this scarred face, it tells a history of hardships she has overcome and vanquished, and thus it shows her character and inner strength. I don't pretend to know you well, my friend, but I've always sensed this calm yet formidable strength in you, as well as a youth of spirit that time and scars are powerless to quell. That's what I tried to put into this portrait. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed drawing it.

Oh, one last thing. I wasn't sure if those on the string behind the left ear are cowries. I also had no idea what these things are called, but well, I know they are snail shells so I managed to find them - and yay!, learn a brand new word in English! But yeah, they looked like it and so I went for that. I hope that was a right guess XD Oh, and I nearly forgot the whiskers XD I'm so keen on whiskers, dammit X3

Anyway. I really hope you like it


Reference - mostly this one: c1.staticflickr.com/6/5499/127…
And of course her own portrait:


2B - 8B pencils, polychromos color pencils.
20 x 30 cm paper, about 4 hours.


Zingela belongs to