This hunky young stallion is gorgeous and he knows it. Not only will he bare himself at the drop of a hat, he decorates his body as further excuse, underscoring his exhibitionism. The porcupine shown here overseeing some accupuncture is not me, by the way :^) I just thought that'd be a cute thing for a 'pine to do for a living.
This was the first of the nobles that I drew and really helped me set the stage mentally for how to conceive of them. I wanted some uniform theme so they'd all fit together somehow. It's always easier for me to create en mass if there's some unifying theme in my head. I drew this a realized that the fellow looks likes his posing and very much conscious of presenting an image, formal and artificial. It seemed fitting to me that this sort of mild vanity would be common to the aristocracy, posing for portraits and the like, trying to convey something in particular. Also, the dragon motif is here on his fan. I like to think that the use of the dragon as a symbol is a way to evoke his power and favor, sort of like namedropping.
I went to see the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon again (swoon) and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I loved the little tea house fight scene and wanted to do something like that. Of the critters left on my list left to draw, I couldn't think of a better choice than ox. He's a big, full grown, raw knuckle bully. Picking fights he knows he can win (in this case the local feline citizens) and being quite obnoxious about it, knowing his status and family and wealth will prevent any serious consequences from this kind of smashing about. Gotta love a thick rough hooligan.