Long Description, Please read anyway!

This is my entry for 's contest.

This is my take on her "Fenix", which I lovingly dubb the Fornis; half Horse and half Phoenix.

The points we have to explain are the shapeshifting ability, the colour, gender, and personality.

Shapeshifting Ability: either complete Horse or Phoenix

Colour: the phoenix half is red/orange like fire, with dark roan-red/black spotting like a snowy owl (as if "burnt"). Feet of an eagle, therefore yellow. The horse half is a Roan Red to match. Roans are horses with the white-hair gene making their colour light, blotchy, and "dirty". The markings are of the Medicine-hat Horse: patch over each eye, medicine hat, breast-shield and lower abdomen/above tail streak. Those is dark raon/black as if "burnt".

Gender: Female, as the Phoenix is traditionally assciated with re-birth and with women. Yes. Those are her 2 teets.

Personality: Much of a protector like many Mares are, she is a fierce guardian. As is the nature of the Pheonix to heal with tears, and the ability of the Medicine Hat horse to bring about "miracles", she is also a very caring, nurturing creature to those in need, and to those she protects. With a hint of magic from her Aviary ancestry she is also very mysterious, coupled with her curious nature and playfull equine attitude.

I decided to make the mane into a crest of feathers as it's the Phoenix uniqueness. I also decided that the forelimbs should be the bird-half because horses are renound for their kick which would require horse hindquarters, and because raptors use their talons to hunt, it seemed easier to leave them up front.

For serious now, this took me 3 days; 1.5 to sketch, and 1.5 to colour.
27 layers in Photoshop, the only filter i used was to "speckle" her up. The fire, feather and fur (hilights) all done with the Wacom pen.

Is a Pritty Horsie! Luff da Horsie!