Oh, the airwhales…
You may wonder where they come from. I was first introduced to them through MTV who ran the animated series of The Maxx, created by Sam Kieth. I got sucked right into that.
In the “real world” of The Maxx, an airwhale is in fact an advertising balloon, flown over commercial establishments so customers will find them. Once he slips over into the Outback, they turn into airwhales. His contact at Social Services, ms. Julie Winters is also transformed into The Jungle Queen. It’s all very absurd and dark while weirdly entertaining.
Other uses of the term refers to military barrage balloons meant to defend ground assets from low flying attackers.
I made this image all the way back in 2000, using tools like Poser, Bryce, Spiralizer and Corel PhotoPaint. Render times were horrific, even for a small frame like this.