Home > Illustration > Wildlife > Reptiles > Snakes > Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Brazilian Rainbow Boa line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Brazilian Rainbow Boa full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

The line art version of the Brazilian Rainbow Boa was done in 2007 and the digital tinting added later the same year. It was inspired by some of my breeder friend I know from attending the reptile shows in the Bay Area. The trick is trying to show the natural 'rainbow' sheen on the skin of the animal without it looking artificial. When you see one of these serpents in the sunlight, the distinct coloration is especially impressive.

Information about the Brazilian Rainbow Boa:

The Brazilian Rainbow Boa is one of about a dozen subspecies of Rainbow Boa. It is a terrestrial, non-venomous snakes that lives in humid woodland forests and open savannas of Central and South America. These boas are called "rainbow" because of the sheen imparted by microscopic ridges on their scales that act like prisms to refract light into tiny iridescent rainbows. The species is very adept to living in captivity and because of this and the lustrous rainbow shine of their scales they're very popular as pets.