Artist note:

These are development sketches I have done for McClaw’s commission. Now McClaw want the griffin in the MLP-FIM style and I proposed a rather Celtic-style female bard for the project and he is was cool with.

The interesting thing about this commission is that I am doing the work on the cover of sketchbook that McClaw will have artists work so I have been carefully examining the cover to determine what the exact properties of the paper are. The piece will be done in usual mixture of colored pencil, marker, gouache, and technical pen. Needless to say the cover will receive multiple coats of UV protective acrylic spray to help protect it from extensive handling.

Now back to the griffin. Along with Golden Bill (Bass Instincts) I have met many other griffins in my Equestria dreamscape. Another griffin musician who I’ve met but is not associated with Scratch’s entourage is I-lim-ka. Some griffins, especially when interacting with ponies will adopt names that are translations of their clan names into pony common tongue. Golden Bill’s real clan name is apparently almost unpronounceable for most ponies. However I-lim-ka has decided to stick with her native name.

Now I-lim-ka has markings very much like an Osprey and when I was doing research for McClaw’s commission I found that Ospreys inhabit areas like Scotland and Ireland, and since I wanted to do a Celtic themed griffin this seemed perfect for the project. I ran the idea past my client and he was all for it. All total this is about an hour and a half of sketching time.

I hope you like what you see. Please help make more art like this possible by supporting me at Patreon