Urgan Nagru Portrait

One of the most interesting, descriptively, of the Redwall Villains, yet he has always confused me a bit. How can a fox wear a wolf’s skull on his head like a hat, as he is often depicted, with the wolf‘s teeth resting on the top of his head? That would imply the wolf was smaller than the fox (unless it was a wolf pup’s skull)? His death made little sense as well, for surely the skull would shatter or the teeth wouldn’t be able to pierce Nargu’s own, larger, skull?

So, this was designed accordingly to answer those questions. Nargu is only wearing a part of the wolf’s original skull, then having a helmet-like ornament built around it so it would fit snugly on its head (the metal ‘teeth’ will also be able to get through Nargu’s skull if it rode up his head during the moment before the impact with the tree, as he was being lifted up.)
Other than that his design was also based on the Grey Fox, even though that is a desert animal…I could have used an artic fox or a silver morph of the Red Fox, but I liked the blend of russet and grey in this animal (besides, I always pictured Nagru’s mate, Silvamord, being a silver Red Fox).
Oh my! All That fur! *feints* haha, only kidding, I find painting fur (with no custom brushes) very relaxing and I really like how it came out in this one.



From Redwall WIKI
“Urgan Nagru the Foxwolf was a male fox who commanded a vast horde against the kingdom of Southsward.
Urgan Nagru's true name is unknown. While he was ruler of the Land of Ice and Snow, he found a dead wolf, whose pelt he took for himself. Fixing iron hooks onto the claws of the pelt, he could strap his hands in the paw area and wield them as deadly weapons. He also took the skull of the wolf and used it as a helmet. With his new attire, he declared himself the Foxwolf and named himself Urgan Nagru. (Urgan being the wolf's name, he spelled it backwards to give the impression he was coming from the front and back.)

Eventually, Nagru and his mate Silvamord grew tired of the frigid land, so they and an army of rats numbering about 500 took three ships and sailed to the warmer southern regions, specifically the country of Southsward. There, Nagru and his mate deceived Gael Squirrelking into thinking they were peaceful creatures, and were permitted entrance to Castle Floret. A few days after entering, Nagru held Gael's son Truffen hostage and threatened to kill him if Gael didn't allow Urgan to take the throne. Gael was forced to accept, and the army of rats took over the countryside.

Urgan, like many vermin rulers, did not appear to actually like his mate. Silvamord continually insulted him and threw projectiles at the Foxwolf, who did not appreciate the attention.
After that, life was pretty easy for the Foxwolf. Being complete ruler of all Southsward, he felt that he had no enemies and was completely safe. However, unbeknownst to him, a loyal otter named Rab Streambattle, the leader of Gael's Otter Guard, planned to free the king and his family from the castle. Rab succeeded in rescuing Gael's wife Squirrelqueen Serena and Truffen, but couldn't get to Gael. Nagru, outraged, chased after the otter, but was held back when the badger nursemaid Muta ran to Rab's aid and stalled them long enough to make their own escape. The Foxwolf ordered that his army find the escaped prisoners and any who aided them and return them to him.

The Foxwolf sent out his dreaded trackers, the Dirgecallers, (horrific, blood crazed, female ermines) to find the escapees, but they were killed by Mariel Gullwhacker, Dandin, and Meldrum Fallowthorn the Magnificient. Nagru consoled his loss by capturing the trio, but was surprised when they escaped the dungeon and joined with Gael and Glokkpod and formed a blockade in the highest tower of the castle. The Foxwolf was furious that his mighty army couldn't even hold on to a small group of woodlanders, who by now had escaped the castle.

Soon enough, Gael reappeared to storm the castle with a mighty group of Southswarders who were willing to fight for their freedom. None of them counted on Nagru's cunning as a general, and soon they were the ones in need of assistance. But then, to the utter dismay of Nagru another army led by Joseph the Bellmaker appeared and started to force the Foxwolf's army back. Left with only his personal guard, Nagru tried to make his way back to his ships, but encountered Finnbarr Galedeep. Nagru tried to wrestle with the otter, but was lifted up by Finnbarr, who rammed Nagru's head into a nearby tree. The curved fangs on Urgan's wolfskin helmet were driven into his own skull, killing the Foxwolf and ending his reign over Southsward.”

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Character from Brian Jacques’ book The Bellmaker
Character Design by Myself.
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Gabool the Wild Portrait

Aaa, Gabool! My second favourite Redwall Villain from my second favourite Redwall book. “Mariel of Redwall” was such an epic book, one of the few that hooked me emotionally and maybe because it links so nicely with my favourite of the series “Redwall” (I wouldn’t be surprised if Brain Jacques decided to make Gabool an ancestor of Cluny, as they share a twisted fate with the Joseph Bell and it could explain Cluny’s sudden impulse for his own kinghood.)

Gabool probably has taken the longest to paint out of all the Redwall Villain Portraits I have done so far, just because he has such in depth physical description (Badrang and Tsarmina had barely any description in their books). I also wanted to have his golden bell in the background which effected the lighting and colour. But, I had a lot of fun with this.


From Redwall WIKI:
"Gabool the Wild was the self-proclaimed king of all searats, his titles included King of Searats, Lord of Terramort Island, Captain of Captains, Warlord of All Rodent Corsairs and Warlord of All Waters.
He wore a red cloak and gold earrings, and his beard was tied with blue and red silken ribbons. He also had gold teeth studded with emeralds.
As a youth, Gabool captained the Ratwake with his second-in-command Greypatch. Later, Gabool ruled from Fort Bladegirt on the island of Terramort. One of his fleet captured Mariel Gullwhacker, her father Joseph, and his bell en route to Salamandastron. Gabool was a ruthless rat, killing off allies he believed to be enemies right and left. This led to the desertion of Greypatch.
Eventually, Gabool's obsession with interpreting symbols on the stolen bell descended into insanity. His dreams were haunted by Rawnblade Widestripe and every night he was awakened by the bell sounding mysteriously on its own. These continued nightmares caused Gabool to become more dangerous than ever. It was then that the escaped oarslaves, Rawnblade, Mariel, Dandin and Durry Quill, launched an attack upon Fort Bladegirt. After pursuing Gabool through Fort Bladegirt, Rawnblade Widestripe fell into a pit with the rat's pet, Skrabblag, but with the help of the spirit of Martin the Warrior he threw the scorpion at Gabool, which proceeded to kill him out of hatred for seasons of imprisonment. The scorpion was then slain by Dandin using The Sword of Martin. "

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Character from Brian Jacques’ book Mariel of Redwall
Character Design by Myself.

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