"Chippy" the JR Ranger

(v1)

I previously alluded to the happy coincidence of the official Acadia National Park newspaper publication being called "The Beaver Log." As it happens, this buck-toothsome critter (minus the commentary) will grace the 2011 season's new issue in a couple spot illustrations. As far as (anonymous) exposure goes, this'll be my biggest non-break ever: the print run is 80k. and the Park tops out around several millions visitors last season. Quite the feather in my pelt.

(Bigger, better beavers below)
Astute readers may recognize the first one posted up top fur bearing for bearing a close resemblance to a certain rodent making an appearance early on in the "Demo Reel." And speaking of Smokey the Polar Bear, all those hours of painstaking reference sketching a ranger hat are sure paying off now.

(v2)

Of course, governmental bureaucracy being what it is, there was concern over any depiction of someone using a branch as a walking stick, as it's frowned upon to pick anything up in the woods and bring it home with you (except maybe Lyme's disease). Nevermind the fact it's obviously a finely crafted, organic navigational aide.

(v2.1)

Along the way it was suggested to maybe include visual reference to the free shuttlebus service offered across Mount Desert Island, provided courtesy of L.L. Bean, and so a sign was dropped in.

(v3)

Last but not least was the dam cutest little bugger yet: only after working on it for a while did it eventually trigger awareness of its subconscious lineage probably reaching back to the original Grateful Dead dancing bear design. Keep on trekkin'...
We'll see this critter again as it'll play a part in my upcoming participation with "JR Ranger Day" as a local artist doing demonstrations on the 30th.