"Musk Ox Collision Course" Illustration

I have always been inspired by these beasts. Great hulking, hairy tanks of muscle with solid curving horns and a willingness to butt heads at full sprinting speed. They are perhaps not as large as they look but I recommend watching video of them charging across the tundra at each other then coming to a shuddering halt as they collide with a thump only to slowly back away and repeat it. As tough as tundra.

My final task when I make one of these illustrations is to play around with the colour. I always start with what seems like sensible colours that fit the subject but sometimes this looks a little dull and unimaginative so I start mixing things around fairly randomly until something fresh turns up then try to fine-tune it.

In this case I ended up with about a dozen that I liked. I usually just want to keep a single version but here I had real trouble deciding which was my favourite. I kept trying to walk from it then come back later with fresh eyes only to find I was still reluctant to say no to any of them. In the end I picked the one above which I find quite striking with its unexpected colouring and good contrast. Most importantly I don't think the colours detract from the subject.

This one was a close second and similar to the colour I started with. I particularly like how the green of the landscape has seeped into the animals themselves.

Number three is clear and bright and has retained something like the right colours for the land, sky and oxen but perhaps lacks any surprises to make it stand out.

The last three all have a different feel with the final one where the musk oxen seem to be made of snow and ice a strong outsider for my overall favourite.