#roundthebend

Famine and Maggot! Two little lads with a lot of spunk! Unfortunately, Famine has a high tendency to be sick, so she’s a little scrawny.

Frog and Toad! They are not related.

Catclaw and Pansy, who are related.

Mazegill and Cedar, who’s images I’m pairing together only because they’re both orange.

Gneiss and Morel, because green.

Quince and Aloe. These guys don’t even know each other.

Oh my gosh, concept drawings of the actual thing this blog is named after :000 Took me long enough, haha.

||’Round the Bend|| is an actual project I’m working on, haha. It’s my biggest story, which I plan to make a comic about. I’ve been at it for a few years at this point, but I wouldn’t expect much progress for a while yet as I still have a lot of story work to finish, designs to finalize, and some comic practice to do. Hence, a lot of what I put out on it is snippets and general vague concepts for some things that are technically established FAR, FAR later in the story, but sometimes you’ll get portions of the “First Act”.

Here you get to see some of my caving concepts! Some of the “Second/Third Act” stuff.

Within this period of ||’Round the Bend||, there are (currently) three main packs: Snake’s Bend, Badger’s Burrow, and Cypress Trail. These particular concepts are for by beloved little cave-dwelling gremlins, The Badgers. They make their home beneath the rocky moors and pine forests of the territories, seemingly holding the least useful lands out of all three groups. Mostly unbeknownst to the other packs, though, the land is rich in natural and claw-dug caves and dwellings. Where the moors have little shelter and few changes in scenery, the underground labyrinth holds rivers, crevices, spacious dens, and holes barely large enough to shimmy through. They’ve adapted to create sleeping dens, guarding stations, social quarters, storage rooms, wells, and various types of cooking stations. They’re kings of caving, crafting, cooking, construction, and general hands-on innovations. They’re also the closest of ANY of my story characters to create an OSHA due to the tendency for cave collapses, floods, getting lost, low oxygen/toxic gasses, etc., etc.

A lot can go wrong underground. Although these drakes look huge in stature, towering over most of their neighbors, most of that comes from their excess of fur. They’re huge and unbelievably strong, but hungry and lean. Most can fit through holes as small as their heads, with enough practice. Thick/warm pelts, dark colors, small/well placed/folding horns or spikes, and strong legs are seen as most attractive traits simply due to their fitness in such an environment. Large size isn’t preferred, it’s simply held over from their kin, and is likely a dominant trait. They have a culture of wanting to prioritize an ability to survive (and while this may produce a level of ablism(?), most physical disabilities aren’t discriminated against. It’s more about being able to navigate the caves. Someone missing a leg, sustaining a chronic pain, etc. still might be able to get around or be taught to adapt. Someone who has low night-vision or large imposing horns, on the other hand, could be a daily liability to themselves. The prior is still dangerous, but they wouldn’t be getting themselves lost or jammed somewhere.)

Hence, they have many systems in place! Caves are rated and marked based on many different factors. Are they natural or claw-dug? Have they been fully explored? Are they under construction/renovation? Are they dry (no water) or wet (pools, rivers, slick rocks, etc.)? Is it at risk of flooding if there is a storm? Are the techniques required to navigate novice (wide spaces, easy navigation), intermediate, or expert level (tight squeezes, many passages to get lost in, large falls, misleading air currents, etc.)? Etc. Living-type caves (normally claw-dug) have burnt in walls, bricks, and plenty of supports that are overseen by all members. There is a training system in place for pups, and cave diving is only done by the most experienced cavers for very particular reasons (mostly only ever rescue or recovery).

SO! The two paintings here are of Thistle and Hound doing some natural-cave exploring, and Aster crossing your path because what the hell are you doing down here ™. Then just a fun little natural cave diagram.