The Bleps On Holiday

I might have written about the fact that I wanted to do an illustration project next semester that comments on wild places and the respect of tourism. It would reflect an environmentally concious statement about conservation and well... human interaction with nature, which also involves our impact on the wild.

I've been playing around with some Fimo clay recently (we made some Christmas ornaments for our tree) but I also made some other things and sort of ended up creating another world.

This world consists of several creatures that are not unlike the wild beasts that exist in our own world. These particular ones live in a very fragile environment. They feed exclusively on bioluminescent mushrooms (made of 'glow in the dark' fimo clay) which give them their glowing features and allows them to survive in the otherwise unforgivable conditions provided by these landscapes. Imagine seasonal dust storms so long and severe that you would need to rely on self generated light to find your way around and survive.

Coexisting in this world, are bleps, who once a calm and peaceful species, have taken advantage of every resource and built a network that has finally allowed them to travel outside their native lands, to far away and remote places where they would have never otherwise existed. It might sound familiar...

Unfortunately, when all is going well in these far away places, they are open to tourists who come along for commercial led 'experiences'. Little do these ignorant and careless bleps know what impact they have on this world.

The Bleps

Billy: 'Look Dad! A wild Snort!'
Dad: 'Oh my gravy! I GOTTA get a pic of this'
Mom: 'Billy don't get too close, they could be dangerous!'

A Snort and a Croak feeding on the Bioluminescent Mushrooms

The Blrblblbl is an inherently curious creature

Dad Blep on the 'Arctic Experience' with a Meh.

More related illustrations and things may come out of this if I feel like its worth my time, so I'm interested to know what your opinions are!