I was re-reading Tolkien (as one must regularly), and one of the things that strikes me about the man's writing is how much he puts into his descriptions of not only landscape and geography, but the details of just being outside--the color of the sky at a given time of day, how the wind smells, the sounds trees make. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were obviously written by someone who loved nature and thought it worth writing about on its own accord, not just as the backdrop for a fantasy adventure. That richness of detail is what really helps bring Middle-earth to life in the imagination--it's not just a place where things happen, but a place that is wonderful and beautiful in itself, a world where you would want to be even if nothing particularly exciting was happening.

The way Tolkien describes the Shire is utterly charming, a loving homage to a rural England of yesteryear, and it serves as a really effective happy place when life gets stressful. I just wanted to doodle Bag End I guess.

 I always thought it was really odd that somehow, just you defeating this guy in a Pokemon battle causes him to drop an extremely important security item that's crucial to navigating the complex, and ultimately leads to Red ousting Team Rocket from Celadon City.

But, y'know, video game logic: if there's an objective to be met, the only way you're getting there is by doing more of what you've been doing the entire game.

Or maybe this guy just hates his job so much that he actually wants Red to go defeat Giovanni.

 I love Carnotaurus, so of course I had to make fun of it. T. rex is notorious for its proportionally small arms, but they look absolutely massive next to abelisaur arms, which were... basically just stumps with fingers. Seriously. 

(It kinda makes them even cuter, though.)

 Yeah, it's not like there were half a dozen people in the Game Corner tipping me off about checking a poster on the back wall.

On a somewhat related note, I'm reaching the end of Pokémon Legends: Z-A (the base game, not the DLC, which I will get ASAP), and I like it more and more on a story level the more I progress. At the beginning of the game, characters and events around Lumiose felt kind of disjointed, but when you reach the higher ranks, they start to gel into a cohesive whole, the significance of reaching rank A in the Z-A Royale makes sense (although I kinda wish AZ would have explained it to me earlier), and the plotline does a lot to follow up on the events of Pokémon XY in ways that are really satisfying for people who have played those games. 

 Every time I play a Pokémon game and see a Masquerain, this pops into my head, so I thought I might as well draw it.

 And that's how you defeat a Team Rocket Grunt.

 Fun fact: The rugose bony structures on the noses of Pachyrhinosaurus are called bosses.

Fun(?) fact: I have a ridiculous sense of humor and this is why I can't be a serious paleoartist.

Fun fact: I want this on a t-shirt.