Ok.. so its still premature.. I'd hoped to block out a sketch before I posted, but with my impending trip to China (1 day to go I've run out of time and I thought what the heck, I'll toss the hat and claim my entry before someone else has the same idea... again! So for now I'll post some source stuff I've found for inspiration and I'll take the sketch book to China with me to work on the sketches there.

I liked the look from the animated movie...

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Click to view attachment


But I want mine to look like one of those paintings from Rembrandt or perhaps something from the Hudson River school of painters, something ala Thomas Cole or Frederic Church (my favorite

http://iatwm.com/200507/NatureandtheNationHudsonRiverSchool/

and I'm liking some things from Apocalypto to...

Click to view attachment

I'll post more after China or maybe even during my trip there but no promises.

C

Yeah Colin! Looks like I'm gonna have to cut my trash talk in half!

This will be glorious! Good luck in China buddy!

Lee

Yeah! Colin has entered the ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!

Also, have a wonderful trip to China!

- Michael

Great idea Colin...looking forward to it..

Thanks guys, I'm nervous as heck (not about the competition, thats in the bag ;-) just the China thing.

l8r,

C

yeah... nice idea and good luck in china... i really admire what your doin...

Best of luck with the adoption Colin,hope everything goes well for you and your family.

I think El Dorado is a great concept and i know it's going to be great.

Jay

This one is going to be sweeeeeeeeeeet! Can't wait to see how it goes. Espeacially with all that vegitation mixed with the gold. Should look great.

Great Idea. With the talent in this contest I don't stand a chance of winning. I am just inspired to do my best. I never viewed contests as about winning anyway, more of a way to strive for your personal best.

nice man, can't wait to see it!!! also have a good time in china!!!

Do you plan on making it look a little more ancient(dead)? Those pictures seem like they are still there

Yep ancient and dead... Just got find that "look ancient" button and that "been dead for a while" texture ;-)

seriously.. I am working on it. but the things I'm trying are so mind-numbingly Number crunching.. I'm kinda choking the chicken (AM that is

I've got some leads on how to proceed, so if something works out I'll post my progress.

Having 3 kids, one of whom doesn't speak english, 2 of whom are 3 and 4 and only 8 months apart, is waaaaaaaaaay more time-consuming than the the internet would lead you to believe. So I'm having issues squeezing my free-time out of my "Babba, Daddy, 3d game programmer, IBM pee-on" time. But I'm working on it.

Anybody know what the average tree in Middle and South America is? For example the average tree in the south-east would be the southern pine tree. The average tree in Tahiti might be the some form of Palm tree. I'm wondering what the flora of my jungle should be, aside from vines and creeper.

maybe a Caracol...

Here are some pictures of Belize flora.
http://belizephonecard.com/Belize/pictures...s_of_belize.htm

Here is a list of plants from the Yucatan region:
Plants from the Yucatan peninsular

Particularly of importance to the Maya were the Ceiba tree:
Mayan tree of life,
and the fig tree, which they used for making their books or paper.
Also the copal tree, used by the Maya for rubber, chewing gum and incense.

Average? - A major characteristic of rain forest regions is the incredible diversity of the plants - One can find at least 100 or so of different species of trees in very very small areas - usually some are yet to be classified. Thus the lamentation of their disappearring before we discover them.

Perhaps build your vegetation in layers - undergrowth, middle, and canopy - with lots & lots of variation (hee hee - that oughta keep Colin busy) - with lots of the parasitic & saphophytics sucking & strangling the life forces out (perhaps introduce fantasy killer plants?)

The really tall skinny canopy trees can have incredibly wide buttress type trunks at the bottom.