Troy's Artwork

[Troy Troodon]

I thought this would be an appropriate spot to share some of my own work on the site.

I'll start with something simple then move on to more detailed works.

 

[Troy Troodon]

I don't want to double post, but It's been ages since I've been here so I thought I may as well showcase some of my more recent art.

 

[Fone Bone]

Both of those pictures are awesome.

 

[Troy Troodon]

Both of those pictures are awesome.

Thanks, here's another piece I did way back when.

 

[Fone Bone]

Excellent.

 

[Troy Troodon]

Excellent.

Thanks again. I just hope more people will come by and see it.

 

[Fone Bone]

Bumped for more exposure. This is great stuff. People should see it.

 

[Troy Troodon]

Thanks.

Anyway I had a rather underwhelming day today (mainly due to traffic and focus week) so I thought I may as well do some superhero fan art and practice drawing characters from Justice League Action; particularly Stargirl and Firestorm, case scenario being Stargirl instructing some kickboxing for Firestorm for training.

Just some simple line work with a wee bit of shading, and yeah I think the legs may be off, particularly with one character kicking the punching bag to the point where you only halfway see it. :/

 

[Fone Bone]

Nice!

 

[Troy Troodon]

Thanks, here's a colored and somewhat edited version.

 

[Troy Troodon]

Just a sneak peak at something I plan on working on. Can you guess what it is?

First who guesses correctly will get a free request.

 

[Fone Bone]

Jack and the Beanstalk sequel?

 

[Troy Troodon]

Jack and the Beanstalk sequel?

Nope

 

[Troy Troodon]

Just some line work for The Beast of Gevaudan, an elusive creature that one stalked the French countryside back in the 18th Century, attacking and killing hundreds of people, mostly women and children, leaving corpses of the victims only partial eaten with their necks torn apart and their entrails wide open.

No one knows for certain what this creature was, descriptions of the creature varied ranging from the size of a large dog or wolf to the size of a cow, with either black, coffee brown, or red fur with a white stripe on it's belly or a black or even hazel stripe on it's back, either usually ending with a tuft of fur on it's tail; some saw it had claws like a man's hand, others say it had cloven hooves like a deer or a pig, some say it had a dog or wolf-like face with pointed ears and all, others say the ears were shorter and round and the snout was more like a pig with boar-like tusks. Some even say the tail itself could have been used as a weapon, strong enough knock grown men off their feet. Some even said it could rear up and even move around on it's hind legs. Because descriptions of La Bete varied, some were lead to believe there would've actually been more than one o these creatures... or maybe the beast in itself was even a more supernatural being, a demonic penance of some sort.

In spite of these varying claims people usually associated the beast with a wolf, since the beast may have been wolf-like to some degree and wolves of course were common in France and the people likely went into conflict with wolves on more than several occasions; and indeed since the beast's reign of terror, dozens or even hundreds of wolves were hunted and killed, ending with hunter Antoin de Beauterne's prize, a large wolf more than six feet long and weighing around 250 lbs. Surely to them that must've been the beast, it had to have been, since after that the killings have stopped... but a couple years later the killings resumed! It only ended when a farmer named Jean Chastel shot Le Bete, and indeed upon dissecting the creature they found human remains, guts and all. But because the beast's corpse was so rotting they either burned it or buried it somewhere, leaving us with no remains of The Beast to solve just what type of beast it exactly was.

But it probably was not a wolf; surely there was conflict between wolves and humans but very rarely do they hunt and kill humans, in fact for the most part the usually try to steer clear of these naked bipedal apes baring sticks that shoot metal. The perhaps it was a dog?! Dogs and wolves are closely related after all, so a feral dog probably could've been seen as a kind of wolf to ordinary bystanders, but there's a problem, wolves and dogs usually hunt in packs, and the predator was (for a lack of a better term) a lone wolf.

Some believe the animal may in fact have been a lion, which could explain the animal's great endurance and agility, after all King Louis the 15th kept a zoo, which would've included a menagerie of animals from African and Asia, including lions, tigers, and other big cats. Lions, while normally social animals, can also do just fine as solitary hunters, and lions do typically for the the throats of their prey, and of course unlike wolves or dogs, lions have a record of being man-eaters; as are tigers and panthers! (I'm aware of the accounts of man-eating wolves but again it's quite rare, especially compared to accounts of other man-eating animals) However there were no accounts of lions or other big cats having escaped from the private menagerie, and lions were actually fairly recognizable (unless it were a subadult male lion but they can't stay that way for years) and the varying descriptions of Le Bete, usually as something canine, did not match anything feline. Perhaps a bear? Probably not, bears weren't common in France, and while bears are pretty big animals, and can certainly make formidable predators, and of course rear on their back legs, The Beast in itself was described as having a long tail and bears of course barely (bearly, ha) have tails at all. Another theory may be that it could've been a wild boar, hence why The Beast was sometimes described with pig-like features like hooves and tusks, but boars rarely eat meat, and while they are certainly capable of attacking, maiming, and even killing people any pig-related attacks in the wild aren't usually to the same degree as wild carnivore attacks, and besides boars like bears barely have any tails.

Another possibility was that the beast may have been a hyena; hyena were actually pretty popular as pets for the wealthy, and an escaped hyena would've certainly faired fine on it's own as opportunistic carnivore. Hyenas also have a somewhat wolf or dog-like appearance, (even though they are more closely related to cats) and some artistic depictions of the animals do look somewhat like a stripped hyena in particular... again there's a problem; the stripped hyena is a scavenger, only the spotted hyena hunts and The Beast was not usually said to have had spots.

Some cryptozoologists of course think it may be possible that The Beast was a relic, a through back to prehistoric times; something like a sarkastodon, a creodont or hyaenodon, or a prehistoric hoofed carnivore like an andrewsarchus, an entelodont, or mesonychid, since the beast was sometimes said to have had hooves; or more recently a bear-dog like amphicyon or even a dog-bear like hemicyon, the hyena-like pachycocuta, or a borophagine canid like epicyon? All interesting theories except for one problem... all those guys are extinct, literally gone like the dinosaurs, dead as the dodo!

But you wanna know the biggest problem with any of these theories? The Beast's record of killing is not naturally synnonymus with any animal; in fact Le Bete seems to have acted more like a serial killer than any predator, why else would The Beast attack humans and not any other animal, or go directly for their throats or entrails, in fact it's a common survival strategy among carnivores to eat as much of their kill as they can to leave nothing behind for other scavengers as potential competition; (especially wolves and hyenas who can also eat through bone) it could also explain why most of the beast's victims women and children? And who's even to say it was an animal at all?!

Maybe it was a werewolf?! The myth of werewolves was practically as common as the appearance and conflict of real wolves in France, and werwolf hysteria was rampant in some areas... but I doubt that any normal could literally change into a wolf, most likely they were just mentally unstable and they'd just think they were a wolf. So maybe it was a human serial killer, a murderer disguised as some kind of animal, attacking people with artificial claws and fangs, coming and going as they please while also laying low to resume the onslaught (so almost like a werewolf) ...Or perhaps used an actual animal as the murder weapon?!

See there is one theory that perhaps The Beast may have been a hybrid, a wolfdog cross, with the father being a tame wolf, and the mother a large breed of dog like a mastiff, in fact Jean Chastel himself owned a mastiff so it's possible he may have been involved in the killings in some shape way and form, the result would be a large animal with the appearance of a wolf and the trainability of a dog, in tern giving the beast a reasonable size as well as a fair feat of endurance, cunning, and tenacity; and the usual descriptions of La Bete, apply the signature stripe along the back or belly and the bushy end of the animal's tail are usually associated with wolf-dog hybrids. In fact there was even speculation of the animal wearing boar's hide as a kind of bullet prof vest, hence the accounts of bullets usually bouncing off the animal or at least injuring it not but fatally killing it. (that could also explain the exaggeration of it's size and details of pig-like traits)

One likely suspect was Count Jean-Francois-Charles de Moragnies, a wealthy but somewhat sadistic man who also had a beef with French royalty at the time, most notably with The King. What was the motive exactly is uncertain, but if he was involved he probably would have acquired Jean and his son Francois to train The Beast and orchestrate all the killings and eventually The Beast's own shooting. This is a definitely sound theory... but there is yet another problem here...

See Wolfdogs are actually the most dangerous breed of dogs, because of this add mixture of wolf-like tenacity, and dog-like aggression and lack of fear of humans, should The Beast acquire a taste of human flesh or blood, it could go out of control and eventually turn on it's master(s).

We may never know exactly what The Beast of Gevaudan was, but what we do know was that based on all the records of the descriptions and the killings and the actual people involved, that whatever beast Le Bete was... it was definitely real... and it may not have been the only beast after all. There was The Beast of Indre, which had very similar descriptions the Le Bete du Gevaudan; in fact it may have been the same creature hence why the killings in the Gevaudan region was on a hiatus, (which would also mean the beast may have actually attacked and killed even more people) and outside of France, in Switzerland in fact, as recently as 1946 there was The Beast of Valais, which was probably a large wolf, and back in France in the 19th Century there was The Beast of Cevennes, or The Beast of The Gard and The Beast of Vivarais, both of which behaved very similar to The Gevaudan Beast.

Now that raises yet more questions, just how many Beasts are there in or around France? What were they exactly? How many people did they kill? And if The Count and The Chastels were responsible for The Gevaudan killings... who was responsible for all the others?!

For my take on the beast I decided to mix up the different descriptions, I gave this one a somewhat wolf or dog-like appearance with a pig-like snout and tusks, claws on it's front paws like a bear and hooves on the back, a mane like a lion, and a long tail which ends with a furry tassel, which exactly covers half of the tail which is formed like a stiff club-like rod similar to how the tails of ankylosaurid dinosaurs had evolved. (minus the actual club itself)

Anyway, what do you think the beast was and why do you think so? I'd be delighted to hear your thoughts!

 

[Troy Troodon]

Some old concept for a boxing themed superhero. Her name is “Roundhouser,” she wears protective headgear, shorts, boots, and a vest that can withstand most injuries and enhances her endurance and durability; she also wears shoulder pads and bands around her biceps and triceps that enhances her strength level, as well as a pair of boxing gloves that also enhances her strength and can deliver powerful punches depending on the weight she adjusts. She usually fights monsters, robots, aliens, and even some lovecraftian beings and even demons, as well as other superpowered characters. Despite her tough and stern appearance she’s actually a sweet hearted individual and even somewhat of a goofball, but never the less she is definitely a hard hitter, and one of the physically strongest heroes I’ve come up with.(edited)

She is mostly inspired by Hawkgirl, Daredevil, Wildcat, (Ted Grant) Hellcat (Patsy Walker), The Thing (Ben Grimm) Little Mac, and an Image comic character named Knockout, from The Invincible Universe, but she’s also partly inspired by MegSquats. I may ditch the boxing gloves and just make her a standard yet flexible hard hitting fighter.

 

[Fone Bone]

I like it.

 

[Gatordragon]

Nice form and poses with the character, Troy.

I know you didn't mention this in your inspirations for her, but Roundhouser kinda reminds me of T.J. Combo from Killer Instinct. With those big, beefy arms, I bet she could pull off some crazy high Killer Instinct-level uppercuts.

 

[Fone Bone]

Nice form and poses with the character, Troy.

I know you didn't mention this in your inspirations for her, but Roundhouser kinda reminds me of T.J. Combo from Killer Instinct. With those big, beefy arms, I bet she could pull off some crazy high Killer Instinct-level uppercuts.

You're critique was way better than mine. I am unfamiliar with this specific genre, so I can only lamely (but truthfully) say I like it.

Okay, there IS something I can comment on. I like the fact that it's an original character rather than fanart. We need more of that specific thing on this board. And the backstory you've developed sounds interesting too.

 

[Troy Troodon]

"A boy was digging at the edge of the garden when he saw a big toe. He tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to something. So he gave it a good hard jerk, and it came off in his hand. Then he heard something groan and scamper away."

Okay, since no one really answered the correct guess as to what I was working on in an earlier piece, I think I may as well come out and say it, the secret project I intend on working on is my own illustrated work based on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. So, no free request for anyone I'm afraid

I should also come out and say I'm not very happy with the last two drawings, and looking at it now, especially compared to Stephen Gammell's illustrations, my drawing style seem too cartoonish and not exactly creepy let alone scary. I really ought to try another character style. :/

 

[Gatordragon]

Ooh, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. One of my teachers used to read it to me back in elementary school.

If you feel that your art style is not creepy enough, you could take inspiration from other, creepier art styles. Like the art styles for Darkest Dungeon, Little Nightmares, and Don't Starve. Those games are pretty creepy and their art styles reflected that.

Spoiler: Art Style Examples