Chicken Empathy

I seem to be ahead of myself today and have just finished my illustration for the editorial brief.

We were asked to bring 3 magazine articles to uni and choose one to work with for the brief. The chosen article would then be illustrated using metaphors and placed in a mock up magazine layout.

I found some really interesting articles including "Placebo's", "Chicken's Showing Feelings Of Empathy" and "Data Mining".

I liked all 3 but in the end decided to choose Chicken Empathy as I thought empathy would be a challenge to illustrate....and it would be fun drawing chickens.

The article wrote:- "A new study found that chickens feel empathy. Researchers in the UK ruffled the feathers of chicks by exposing them to puffs of air. The chicks became distressed and the mother hens showed signs of stress including an increased in heart rate, lowered eye temperature, increased levels of alertness, preening and clucking at their chicks." 

An important result for chicken kind! It proves that not just humans can feel empathy and has raised awareness for the welfare of farm and laboratory animals. I doubt it will lessen the amount of battery hens in our world of consumerism, but I hope their welfare will be improved. 

Haha chickens have always freaked me out but now I'm showing signs of empathy towards them.

Anyway below is my final for the brief. I did loads of sketches to begin with including Hamlet chicken, Rambo chicken (freeing battery hens) and a chicken watching a sad film.

I had in mind a chicken that resembled a 1950's housewife with a really theatrical swoon.
I originally had her cradling an egg in her other arm, but then decided It would look better if she was holding the chick out of the way and then decided to have the chick covering it's eyes for extra effect.