Illustration commissioned by Bruma of his Southern Ethiopian Wolf character!

About the scene here: During his travels, Bruma was ambushed and knocked unconscious by a group of marauding slave-traders. When he later awoke, he found himself in the barracks of what seemed to be a prison. He had been stripped of his gear, his neck shaved and collared, and he was wearing nothing more than a simple leather loincloth. However, he quickly discovered it was worse than he had thought: he was now a battle slave for the entertainment of nobility. Shortly after, he was given a hearty but basic meal, a set of heavily worn leather armor, and a sword. When they evaluated him, they determined he was already a seasoned warrior, so he was quicky thrust into the fighting ring as the newest addition to a Leonine minister's gladiatorial team. (Being clearly admired for his (to them) exotic species of wolf.) Shown here is the start of the battle in a noble’s private courtyard, where Bruma has taken a defensive stance while sizing up his opponent.
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I quite enjoyed working on this one, the theme and setting is a perfect fit for what I love to draw! The background is inspired by Roman architecture, and kind of similar to my Taria setting. The armor is pretty close to references provided to me by Bruma, but similar to ones I have drawn in the past ^^ I’m always a fan of more simple but detailed armor, and worn leather armor is always fun :D

I think drawing an Ethiopian Wolf is a first for me, but he was one of my favorite canine species to work on so far! Their head shape is similar to coyotes, which are the canine species I am most familiar with drawing. The fur pattern is also pretty easy to manage, kind of caracal-like, and I really like the fur color :) Goes quite well with my shading technique!

And drawing lightly-clothed and strong warrior anthros never gets old :P
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