Buboaves

A domesticate sub-species of the gryphon family, the Buboaves are wingless and nearly unfeathered aside from the layer of down beneath the voluminous mane of thick fur around its neck. Buboaves have owl-like heads with erect, feathery ears; their hearing is as acute as their avian counterparts. Their eyes are hyper-sensitive to light; as a result, their eyes are pushed very far back into the skull, the brow bones shielding the eyes from direct light, creating one of the most striking features of Buboaves: their lonely, “missing” eyes.
The feather pattern and color on their heads vary from region and alignment. The most common pattern is a brown “hood” with an ivory-grey face down to its neck– typically has a black beak. Other variations include solid brown, solid ivory white, charcoal and grey-blue, and many other possibilities arising from breeding.
Buboaves bodies and limbs are lithe and deceptively strong, and the animals are able to utilize their strong legs in both running and leaping with agility. Buboaves have long, non-retractable claws on each digit of their paws; the claws should be trimmed or filed monthly if kept as a domestic pet to avoid scratched floors, furniture and other household members.
Buboaves body fur is thin and smooth, nearly hairless under its belly, around its haunches and its paws. Body fur color ranges from light to dark browns to a tan-white and charcoal grey. Their tails are completely hairless aside from the long, curly tuft of off-white fur sprouting from the end and the coarser, upright fur where the spine branches off into the tail. This same kind of coarse fur is found between its shoulders and on its chest.

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That's the physical description of this creature I like to call Buboaves, or just Bubo for short. I worked on this piece for about a week, and I'm rather proud of it. It's my drawing entry for the Valenth Creature Contest and it goes alongside a rather lengthy description... I really want to win this!