#chekirii

[shadedfantasy]

I constantly feel like my King is missing something, decor-wise. I think it’s the difficulty of dressing a primal, honestly. There just aren’t that many clothes I can give him. I’m taking suggestions if anyone’s got any!

[shadedfantasy]

One day, son, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new King

Bedengii has fallen. Chekirii rises.

A tribute piece to my king’s retirement! This is entitled Passing the Colors, and is one of my only pieces that has a name! The quote is from the Lion King - I had that line in my head the whole time I was painting this. This took me so long aaahh. I stayed off Lioden for 11 days to make sure I could post this on the same day Bedengii retired! My time management is so bad... Anyway, here’s my rambles on Lore and my thoughts on the making of the piece.

Lore:

This is my headcanon for how a King’s markings are passed to his heir in-universe. The November shamans summon the spirit of the fallen King, and he passes his pelt to his heir. The glowing incense surrounding them is inspired by a November encounter!

Bedengii was murdered in an argument with his lover Uongo, which devastated his adopted son Chekirii. Chekirii is the product of a lioness’s affair with a Ferus, and also has a Heartless personality. So he never felt like he’d be able to measure up to his adopted dad -  he’s not a naturally kind person, and doesn’t care about other people like Bedengii does. He only tries to be a good person because he wants to please his dad. To be given his father’s pelt is the ultimate confirmation that his father does love him and does believe in him.

My process:

I learned so much making this! I loved doing the background - there’s an entire night sky with hundreds of stars back there! You can only see a tiny snatch of it.

The glowy stuff is incense smoke from the shamans. Bedengii steps out of it when summoned and it follows him around. I decided to try color blocking it out, so I could make sure Bedengii’s white lineart would be easy to see, and I loved the color blocking so much that I decided to keep it!

I enjoyed doing the tears a lot too! I googled some tutorials and I think they turned out really well! Bedengii’s sparkles are nice too.

The transformation line I’m iffy on. I like it but I wanted it to be more glowy.

What I don’t like is the lack of shading. I really wanted to shade them and have the incense casting deep shadows and shining bright lights on them, but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t get it right. I guess I’ll learn it time! Blending modes like Luminosity and Multiply are really hard for me. I thinking I like painting the shading better, but I’m not experienced enough to make it shine. I would love tips!

[shadedfantasy]

I was born the day after my father died. Bedengii had been a good King, a great King, but I never knew him. The King I knew was Chekirii, Bedengii’s adopted son. My brother. In many ways, the only father I ever had. He named me ‘Brother’ - Bira. He was strong and fast and brave and so very, very tall. He was so much bigger and stronger than I was. A Primal Smilus. He was larger than life, in everything he did. He did his best to be good, even though it was hard for him. To be honest, I loved him all the more for it. Being a kind, good King like our father didn’t come naturally to him, but he tried anyway. To me, that made him the greatest King.

But the day came when his powerful legs shook as he walked. When waking in the morning took longer, when his joints ached with the cold so badly he couldn’t leave the den. And when that day came, I took his colors, as he had taken Bedengii’s before me.

Chekirii had always told me that he was no King. That the throne belonged to me, and he was just saving it for when I was ready. I always laughed. How could I take the place of my brother, so big and so strong? But I was now King. And the only thing I had of him was our father’s colors. 

For a time I wandered, seeking answers. How could I honor both the father of my blood and the father of my heart? How could I bring together my two Kings?

And then the ancestors showed me the way.

I am the union of my brother’s strength and my father’s heart. I give tribute to them with every breath I take.

I am Honor. I am Namuus.