Toomai of the Elephants

A few weeks ago I finished the illustration above as a custom gift for a baby nursery. The parents are big Rudyard Kipling fans and the idea was to base the art on The Jungle Book or anything by Kipling. I had never actually read the "real" Jungle Books, so seized on the opportunity.

I had not realized just how deliciously dark the stories are. I thoroughly enjoyed them, but then wondered how I would translate that into a piece for a child. I chose to focus on Toomai of the Elephants because there is a scene of the elephants dancing wildly in the night jungle that was so vivid and magical to me … and this is where it led.