Have you, dear readers, ever read the wonderful story of Ferdinand the Bull? For those who have not, here is a quick synopsis of the story taken from http://www.hvpuppets.org/shows/ferdinandsynopsis.htm:
Ferdinand is a bull growing up in the Spanish countryside. When the other bulls run and fight with each other, he prefers to sit in the shade of a cork tree and the smell of the flowers. His mother tries to persuade him to run and play, but nothing can convince him to fight with the other bulls.
Ferdinand grows up to be a big, strong bull nonetheless, and in time the men from the city come to the countryside to pick the strongest, meanest bull for the bullfight in Madrid. Just then, Ferdinand sits on a bumblebee and the men from the city see an amazing display of furious jumping and kicking by the astonished bull. Ferdinand is taken in a wagon to the bullfight.
In the city, the people are preparing for the bullfight with a big festival of dancing and singing. Ferdinand finds himself in the center of a huge ring of people shouting and clapping with flowers strewn about everywhere. The Matador arrives, proud and severe, but try as he might, he could not get Ferdinand to fight. Ferdinand, as usual, preferred to just sit and smell the flowers.
Since I loved this story growing up, and since a few of my teachers recommended that I do an illustration from a book that's already been written (since publishers like to see that kind of thing), I decided to illustrate the cover for this book, using my clay/digital technique. I started the model tonight...and will hopefully finish it this weekend. I'm not sure if I want him sitting or standing.
Original sketches (sorry for the blurriness!)
ENJOY!
