A Weekend of Getting Stuff Done

I can already tell that there's a high possibility that I won't be able to get my NaMoPaiMo horse done by the end of February this year. I know, don't give up hope...but getting the skeleton to stand correctly is rather daunting. However, I do know that I'll be able to get the organs done before then. And that's a plus, so that I can put full-ish? (ish for the additional projects I am also trying to get done) attention on the skeleton. It'll be a miracle if I can get it done in time.

The nice thing about NaMoPaiMo is that the whole process is a journey. And for me - it really has been one due to the complications of not just the model, but also finding real examples of the equine's inner organs. I was able to find examples of most of the organs, but there were also some that I had to rely on my mom's nursing background and basic anatomy common sense. In this case, I couldn't find a picture anywhere of the equine kidneys or the pancreas. 

 There were a few days when we had nothing but snow in the forecast. Thankfully, this past week I was able to move out of the garage and into the wide-open backyard due to nice, sunny weather.

Got the brain done last week. No, I'm not kidding! It really is that color and that size! 

 Starting with Friday and ending on Sunday, I was able to get the kidneys,

the throat/tongue/esophagus/trachea, 

 the lungs, and the diaphragm finished. (Looks like some Velociraptor Dinosaur gone weird).

 Here's the outside of the heart. Crazily realistic with only acrylic paints, pastels, and colored pencils. The creamish color is the "skin" that goes over the heart (I can't remember the name offhand). But, it's a real thing. The only thing I have left to do on the heart is the inside.

I kind of knew that the intestine/colon/uterus/bladder section would be last. It is the most disgusting part on my opinion - my family says the whole project is disgusting! The intestine/colon alone is quite a mixture of colors. It is not just a pinky color (and this base might be too dark), but also has a touch of orange, purple, yellow, and maybe one more color other than white. I have tried doing pastels on it, though I think I need to try acrylic washes for better detail. I'm going to work on that tomorrow.