The earl bird catches the... crustaceans
Did you know it is the carotenoid levels in the algae and crustaceans that flamingos eat that gives their feathers that pink colour? The flamingos digestive system extracts the pigment from the food, this is also why they vary in shade, dependent on what beta-carotene rich foods their diet contains. Flamingo chicks actually have white and grey feathers, not pink!
Today, I have been doodling again over one of my old drawing board doodles. The focus for this doodle makeover is this pink flamingo. Going by the rich colour of his feathers I think it probably has a lot of shrimp to eat.
I have a stack of drawing boards sat next to my drawing desk, they provide a firm base for my paper when I'm drawing or painting, and it means I can easily move unfinished work. Out of the dozens of boards I have there are a few boards that are my favourites to use, they have been doodled on over the years and so provide a constantly developing source of inspiration for my artwork. Every now and then I skip the paper and draw straight onto the drawing board
I played about with the drawing by adding yellow and black lines, my attention was then drawn to a shape in the middle of the wing that reminded me of an eye. A few pen lines later and a strange hybrid creature was born!