Jungle Book Series (6/?) (Patreon)

Doc said I needed to spend more time for myself, so I've been spending my first moments of the mornings fleshing out some soon-to-be-paintings. Been stuck on this series of Jungle Book moments with the pack. Not necessarily from the books/movies, but those that know the story know that Mowgli's life with the wolves gets skimmed over in just about every iteration, so I thought I'd explore that a bit.

-First we have Grey Brother trying to imitate his brother Mowgli, as best as he can. Having thumbs is a distinct advantage to using tools. At least he tried.

-Next we've got Grey and Mowgli romping around. Grey obviously gets bigger than his brother very quickly, so while Mowgli can't physically outmatch him yet, he can certainly climb a lot better.

-The third piece is a quieter moment in the pack, Mowgli sleeping away what remains of the night with his mother and father, Raksha and Rama. (Yes, I realize Rama doesn't have a name in the book, but it's one of only 2 names he's ever given in all the iterations of the story I've seen, and it's more recognizable than Vihaan). 

-Then we've got Bagheera returning Mowgli to Raksha after a long day of lessons. It's always difficult for the Man-cub to keep up with the teachings for wolves, so it's a bright day to receive praise from his teacher. 

-On the flip side of the coin, mucking around with the Bandar-Log is a sure way to get one in trouble. I like to think Rama's carrying Mowgli home in a fury after being told his son's been visiting the monkeys to build and do other 'tricks' with the primates. While Rama's discipline may seem harsh and humiliating, hell hath no fury like Raksha, the Demon.

-And finally the water truce comes about on a number of occasions, which inevitably leads to sharing the water with Shere Khan now and then. While the tiger respects the law, and never attacks during these times, it does nothing to dissuade Shere Khan from tossing the idle threat their way now and then. Rama's one to keep a close watch on Mowgli, should the time ever come that the feline decides to break the law of the jungle.

-The '67 cartoon and Kipling's book were big inspirations for me to get into drawing, hence the theme. I'll be painting a few of these in the future, which may eventually be sold. But for now, enjoy the sketches!