Apex Predator

The deer had not a chance against its killer. One minute, the old buck was munching languidly on summer grass so lush that its juices dribbled out of his mouth as he ate. The sun's rays beamed down through the treetops, warming the forest floor to the perfect temperature--it was a perfect day. Until a twig behind him snapped. From downwind emerged a dark mass of fury and teeth and before the buck could even take flight, its legs buckled under the impact of almost two hundred pounds brought to bear onto his back. Dark hands grasped his muzzle and an antler. And with a twist, the old male just past the zenith of his life reached its inevitable conclusion.

The killer was nothing less than a werewolf, dark brown in color. He growled in satisfaction as he got off the fresh carcass and stood. From the nearby foliage emerged a smaller werewolf, black with white speckles here and there. The larger werewolf hunched down and flattened his ears in respectful submission...( Read more )


Contest entry for Story Illustration Contest '13After two successful, exciting, and fun years for my Illustration Contest, I might as well keep with the momentum! Usually I start it a few months later in the year, but this time I figure why wait? The third annual Story Illustration Contest is now officially underway!
The Rules
To enter, +fave this journal and +watch me so you can get updates for the contest. If you don't dig me, you can always un-watch once we're done.
Draw an illustration depicting a character, characters, or a scene from the selection of stories below.
You may enter as many times as you like!
Entries will be judged by faithfulness to the source material and complexity of the image.
In the description under your entry, include a link to the original story and this contest article.
Send your entries to me in a note so I can add them to this folder.
No bases! Entries must be completely made by you.
The C

edit: Won first place!

I chose to draw this scene to illustrate the duality in Samson Pheonix's character. He is in fact much larger than his alpha(the black wolf), however he is far happier being a subordinate. Size sure isn't everything when it comes to leading others.

Story and characters belong to Go read his stories!!
Artwork (c) Vanessa Hughes 2013