#zhuards

[thebridgebeyond]

Horse-y looks? Check.

A bit of an illusion maker? Check.

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(Meme template isn't mine, but the zhu is, of course. My excuse for scribbling some art - doing two memes in one).

[thebridgebeyond]

Edit 6/21: minor anatomy tweaks, 8/21: Jer got an update (standard breed)

In and out of taking a break from certain things. Art is slowly coming along. An updated version of the Zhuard foundation breeds--another end of the year ref! Self explanatory.

More about each individual breed in the link below! 

https://www.deviantart.com/thebridgebeyond/art/Zhuards-Foundation-Breed-Morphology-864738766?ga_submit_new=10%3A1608588494

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Art and References (c) Thebridgebeyond/SNW

[thebridgebeyond]

We've been getting a lot of rain lately with a bit of thunder,lightning and hail...this image was clear in my mind of Allen watching the dried, small streambed with curious apprehension. Here, Allen waits to see if her newfound powers are successful enough for some rain after a short drought. Allendria and the power of her element resides in thunderstorms. However, it's mistaken a lot--she's not that powerful to command storms like soldiers unless she's drawing on a source of strong domruku energy. So no creating a thunderstorm in the middle of broad daylight. At default, What she can do is influence atmospheric humidity and pressure, thus making it more likely to storm. The more influence she can get over those variables, the more violent a storm can be. Lightning and hailstorms are separate elemental powers so that's out of her reach. There is great variability when a zhuard connects to their elemental power versus other species of the Issuhiro. This might be because of their late connection to the dimension. Zhuards will always feel much more comfortable energy-wise in the Spiral Expanse- their original home.  

[thebridgebeyond]

Fighting off the tail end of a fever and decided I haven't done anything concerning color in a while. I have enough energy to at least get this done. This started off as a color test for Jericho and still is to an extent.

This may be too jarring for the overview ref since that's mostly line work, but I'll see what works.. Or maybe it won't be as jarring as the profile outline- zhuard musculature is not as crazy stark as that would have one believe (also, fur softens things a bit. I just normally draw harsh lines), but it is still prominent enough for visibility.

I may have to desaturate it and have the colored version separate.

[thebridgebeyond]

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'Snow Zhuard- Clef'

Her clan name is actually Cleo, but everyone calls her Clef. She's peak happy here and especially with a bit of snow (zhus can offload excess DomEn1 energy by 'snow-angeling' in debris. They can't perform a full axial roll due to shoulder spurs. Sometimes, they just power down' like Clef here, and go still).

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I knew from the start that I wanted this to be a mixed media piece. Clef was sketched out with a standard 0.7mm mechanical pencil.

[thebridgebeyond]

{ many of the updates are from 6.11.2025, some in November 2025. I added a color model of Jer as of 5.2026!}Did some anatomy touch ups [read: damn near overhauls] on the current zhuard overview reference!

The overview maintains its design as intended, (which most likely will not be the case for the other refs..). In any event, keeping up with my own changes, I’ve started putting the date near the signature (which for art versus references, that ‘watermark’ will also be changing, but will stay the standard paw for refs)! Truth be told I should be putting the date on my art anyway. Added a much needed gradient of some sort (a custom brush). This will more or less be a thing going forward. It's actually very similar to what I do with my traditional art backgrounds!

The ref is large and text heavy, as it always was. The text is not going to show up the best here, so I will provide the DA link as well (whenever the website-or my internet- feels like complying!). There's a full edit list there of everything that has been done since this was first posted.

Zhuard Basic Overview Terrestrial Form- 2025 by TheBridgeBeyond on DeviantArt

Zhuard Basic Overview Terrestrial Form- 2025 — artwork by TheBridgeBeyond on DeviantArt. LIST OF ADDITIONS AND EDITS:  8/2021--Major changes

Zhuard Species (c)SNW/Thebridgebeyond

[thebridgebeyond]

A bit of a detailed sketch done last week as I figured 'gee, haven't drawn any young zhus in a very long time!' As it turns out, they are not as cute as I would have originally imagined from years ago. In fact, Allen here looks to be past the adorable 'out the womb' phase and more in the terrible gremlin child phase. She's also probably the size of a two year old Percheron, which isn't saying much considering how large zhuards get, but it's an amusing image. At this stage, she most likely is not versed at all with any 'form changing' abilities. A greater affinity for that comes a little later.

[thebridgebeyond]

12-2025 update: I finally corrected that damn medial muscle in the neck. Also, Shiro always bothered me in the older drawing so I wanted to correct that too. I think it was his neck and eyes for one reason or another.

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This mini ref/infographic was sitting for a little bit, but done now. Wanted to focus a zhuard's chonky neck because I swear wrote something to the effect of 'I want to do a ref to demonstrate 'x'... not here but scrawled out in a journal somewhere recently.

The A/J hinge is what makes shiro able to look in such a direction. The muscles flex to accommodate.. the only example of this flexion I can think of on earth is an owl. Obviously owls are much more proficient and less hindered than a zhuard concerning a head swivel. The coronet band would allow it, but the other muscles would not. Also, we don't need any zhuards doing exorcist head spins, do we?

I have to say, mane-less zhus are Interesting to look at, but still recognizable. In any case, this info sheet is more for my knowledge than anything., but I had gotten some questions on a zhuard's neck mobility in the past since it is set up quite differently than what we know in mammals, particularly that bottom convex part which can boggle some minds. Not surprisingly, the downwards motion of the neck is limited!

I suppose it helps to have hand-like paws to bring food and drink to your face when you can't bend your neck down without stretching it out first (that would get old, wouldn't it). Their creators created shortcuts which is why zhus look the way they look (fortunately or unfortunately depending who you ask)!

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Info sheet and species (c)SNW/TheBridgeBeyond