Kira's BCC entry

Generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of fantasy models. I like my horses to be horses, thank you very much. That said, I am a big fan of the  BreyerFest Best Customs Contest Fantasy category. This class is a highlight every single year. I am always amazed that so many people can make me like these not-quite-horses. Here's one of this year's standouts, a gorgeous kirin from multiple past BCC winner, Kira Matrejek.

The Making of Kellkindren

by Kira Matrejek

Meet "Kellkindren", the forest kirin! He is a gentle spirit who looks over and protects the woodland realm. He is a friend to all the creatures of the forest, from the tallest of trees to the tiniest mouse. His delicate stripes of light and shadow help him blend into the background of the forest, and the leaves in his twig-like mane and tail rustle as he walks.

He's somewhat inspired by "Loriantha", a 3d sculpture by Mammoth Factory that I saw on Kickstarter two years ago. I liked Loriantha's proud stance and forest-like look, but wanted mine to be more horse-like and elegant. I sketched out the initial idea for Kellkindren last year, and used Procreate to work on the design and do some "virtual" customizing with different molds. In the end I used the Freedom-series Arabian Stallion "Malik", since he didn't require too much customizing to get to the pose I wanted.

His antlers, mane "twigs" and tail are sculpted from Cosclay, a type of polymer clay. It's flexible when cured, so although these look very delicate, they are actually pretty durable! The individual leaves in his mane and tail are a mix... some are sculpted of clay but most are paper. I also sculpted the two tiny cardinals (birds) out of an air-drying clay.

His striped paint-job is inspired by a gorgeous "Mystic Forest" stablemate custom by Viviana Dark. Sadly I missed out on buying that custom, but I loved the stripes and decided that was the perfect look for Kellkindren.

Once again I used Procreate to try out different paint colors. Initially I thought of making him green, but the more I thought about what a beautiful forest looks like, its the golden leaves of autumn:

I even painted some hair details on his muzzle :) 

According to folklore, catching sight of the rare forest kirin is a sign of wisdom and good fortune. If you're in Kentucky this year, keep an eye out and maybe you'll spot him!