"Creatures of the woods" is a series of animal portraits, the ones you could find in the Appennini mountains and hills, in Italy.
Since it was required from the client as a gift for a newborn, I attempt to infuse each illustration with a sense of mistery and wonder, and tried not to focus too much on realistic outcomings.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/e77914c2-775c-40a0-83f4-bf4fb3a44160_rw_1920.jpeg?h=cd723325b17065dff281416bf656639d)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/e113180e-3c0d-4674-a753-b52fcf5d26bc_rw_1920.jpeg?h=0deb14b45f8c8ace91cd1ee61a08a5f5)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/c95ea8d4-3121-4d87-b2b5-bfd4e7fa52ea_rw_1920.jpeg?h=7a21a98160e7410aa20001f5913d6807)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/4593b472-1c32-40e3-aceb-6f3eabb871eb_rw_1920.jpeg?h=1a494f5b52e755c05f0a467a4265d892)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/f65d93e7-5126-4544-a0f8-c5ba8ee08da9_rw_1920.jpeg?h=6ac6109c582dd94da03a9c0cb68f6e6c)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/8acb2acd-27e9-4141-ac19-b17ca71bf4f8_rw_1920.jpeg?h=1ffb47132870415e7cd61d5c4884409b)
Here you can see the process behind the first illustration, the fox. It was the only one I drew without making a sketch first, and you can see I started with a very different shape for the subject, and realized later on that it looked more like a wolf and changed it.
The next two illustrations were more planned, and I'm not entirely sure it was a good thing. It helped speed the process, yes, but I think sometimes you just have to go with the flow ( I like the fox better, I think it's a more spontaneous artwork). Here are the sketches of the deer and the boar cub:
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/f89ff26e-406f-4558-b6da-59f6f9e6f715_rw_1920.jpeg?h=8b3b39025fcdefcfa9840b330ddeff31)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/e58d6191-a3e8-4617-8251-ec8fe6455dcd/a0593e16-8e5a-458b-90c6-aeb917330e82_rw_1920.jpeg?h=1e3e3c1aa44340fb7ac6076cea8459e2)