Dustmeat, for Megan Giles! I love her prehistoric cats, and had been reading a great book with new theories on prehistoric big cat reconstruction (calling for a longer, more leonine face) so I drew Meg as such in 2002 - but with her tigress colors (I still love the "classic style" smilodons too, though). *sigh* SO many people I want/need to do gift art for, still... Pencil, parchment background, color in Photoshop 7.

Xian Jaguar! Drawn for her birthday in 2002; I absolutely love her work, and she is a wonderfully kind and generous person, too! I went for a more "humanoid" anthro look - i.e. more human proportions, larger eyes, human-like hair, etc. than my usual more-animal-than-human personal stuff. I changed the eye color to green (I had them blue before). Pencil on cardstock, Photoshop coloring.

An overdue thank-you for Chris Sawyer - here's a harpy-type eagle. There was a pic in Zoobooks of a gorgeous blue-eyed eagle that I'd wanted to paint; here's my interpretation (which is not meant to be any particular type of eagle; this is a fantasy creature). The hand is more human-like on purpose, and the feather is because... I need practice with feathers. I tried a flatter, illustrative style and kept the feathers simple so they didn't "clog up" (the piece is small - about 3.6" x 6"). Pencil, gouache on watercolor stock.

The Giant Floating Head of Caerrick! Drawn for the ultra-cool Skorzy's birthday in 2002; the neck-feathers look vaguely scale-like (note: my own interpretation). I tried for a more horse-like head than in my earlier painting of him, but kept it looking predatory, and I tried to make his eye really stand out. Pencil on cardstock, Photoshop coloring.

Ebony... Tigress? The Kitty Queen! Ebony had talked about drawing domestic cats, so I drew her as a tiger-tabby, for fun. I wanted her to look a bit like the smiling, stylized cats you'd see on postcards, etc. years ago. Pencil on cardstock, Photoshop coloring.

Japanese Bobtail: my half of a trade with Starfallz (NOTE: I can't take any new trades now - sorry!). She asked for "something Japanese", and I wanted to try something different, so I went for a very stylized, graphic, almost cut-paper-like look, especially with the clothing - I purposely wanted it to look flat. I wanted a bit of the paper to show through, too. The cleavage wasn't done to be "sexy"; I liked the white space of her chest, but it looked too empty otherwise. Gouache and colored pencil on toned paper, touchups in Photoshop..

DemonDreamer's Kareena: a detail of the mask, which was lots of fun to paint. Gouache on black illustration board.

Kareena, property of the FANTASTIC DemonDreamer here at the VCL (see her archive for a description of this awesome character). She's a brown-hyena-like creature with one glass eye and one real one, and I drew her as more human than my usual (thus, longer fingers & legs, etc.). She is supposed to be browner (less red) than I painted her. Thanks to Nat G. for her image-adjustment tips! Gouache on black illustration board, slightly smaller than 8-1/2" x 11".

Originally a AC 2002 Con sketch for Shyboar, but I didn't want to keep uploading B&W Con sketches, and the sketch he emailed me was big enough to color, so here 'tis. His book's theme was along the lines of "furry feline femmes", and he asked me to draw a tigress; I was very happy to comply. (thank you, Shyboar! I owe you a print!) Pencil, Photoshop 7.

Pantera Atra-U, version 1. For HollyAnn's Con sketchbook, I drew her awesome panther/black leopard character. It was great fun, but I wasn't too happy with the anatomy overall in this one, so I re-did it (see version 2). Mechanical pencil.

Pantera Atra-U, version 2. Once again, I re-do something because I'm not happy with the first version. Here's my second pic in HollyAnn's 'Con sketchbook, of the snarling pantherine mage. It's done, but if I had more time I'd finish it up a bit more. Too bad free time is in short supply lately (as usual). :P

Una Furdancer! HollyAnn is a huge MLP fan (I like them too, but SHE beats all!), so I drew a third pic in her sketchbook of her anthro-unicorn-taur like that (sort of), for fun. I referred to various My Little Pony coloring books for help, but I couldn't find any MLP 'taurs, so I winged it. Sugary-sweet! *teeth fall out* ... but fun. :)

Lyosha the spotted gryphon and Skorzy the lab-rat: two absolutely fantastic people! :D This pic was all Amy/Ly's idea! Pencil, Photoshop 6.

Lor "Les Claypool" Cat! She's one of the biggest Primus fans I know, so for her birthday (8/21) I drew the coyougar up with various Primus elements (pose, glasses, braids, bandanna, clay skeeter wings, etc.). The background is a scan of Primus' "Back in Brown" t-shirt (thanks, Paulie!). The first version had Primus lyrics in the background and a logo on her t-shirt, but I removed them for public viewing to avoid copyright infringement. Pencil, T-shirt, Photoshop.

Six, pic 2: a vignette of the mysterious tiger-man sitting on the bed, wrapped in a comforter, glaring balefully. Concerned with getting the fabric folds right, I had my ever-patient long-suffering fiance pose similarly (thanks! :D). Pencil.

Six: Part of a splash page for a story by Samuel "Uncle Kage" Conway, from Anthrolations Magazine, issue #5 (www.sofawolf.org - check out the gorgeous cover by Tim "Ravenwolf" Johnson!). The tiger-man is supposed to have six digits per hand, hence the name (five fingers, and the thumb is hidden). This was done last November; I'd hope I'd do much better anatomy if I drew it now. Pencil, some Photoshop shading. (PS: StrRedWolf - THANK YOU! :D)

Celtic Lion II. Pencil, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil. As promised, here he is in color. Years back, I painted in this style a lot; but I hadn't painted since 2000's "Caerrick", and I had forgotten how much I LOVE to do it!

"The Honored One" (jaguar). Pencil. I continued the theme of big-cat heads with him; his adornment is a mixture of Aztec, Olmec and Mayan influences, based on sculpture and artwork from those cultures.

His hat doesn't sit quite right on his head, though I stayed true to the depictions I'd seen. I wonder how the ancient Mesoamerican people made their hats stay on - glue? string? Whatever - the Mesoamerican people had some really beautiful and powerful art, which I think is often overlooked.

"The Messenger (Cheetah)". Colored pencil, Micron pen. One of two images on papyrus with Egyptian themes. The original is much brighter. This was a companion piece to "Beloved",and I like to think he had an interesting history as a messenger; I imagine that would be a suitable occupation for a creature as swift as a cheetah.

"Beloved (The Leopard Wife)". Colored pencil, Micron pen. One of two images on papyrus with Egyptian themes. The original is much brighter. I've loved Egyptian art ever since I was very young, and I'd always wanted to do a series of big cats in Egyptian finery, but never had the time. I finally sat down and did two pieces; I hope to add more to the series. I tried to imagine this leopard woman (and the cheetah of "Messenger") had interesting backstories; perhaps she had her portrait done as a present from her loving husband (yes, I'm a closet romantic). Papyrus was a lot of fun to work with!

Naryu! Though she's a kitsune, I was researching Tibetan art at the time and dressed her accordingly, for fun. Other decorations are Nar's own, or simply fantasy elements. Here I drew her a bit like an arctic fox (thus the tiny ears) but I had trouble making the fuzzy arctic-fox-face look suitably "foxy". I wasn't happy with this so I re-did it (which is why I'm so behind - I'm never satisfied and re-do things a lot :P). The subdued, pastel palette is unusual for me, but that's what the pic "called for". Pencil & Photoshop (mouse-colored, as always).

Naryu II! The day I finished Naryu I, I got my copy of Neil Gaiman's Sandman book "The Dream Hunters" in the mail, which tells of a kitsune and her love for a monk. Dissatified with my Naryu I pic anyway, I was inspired to try a much freer, stylized version (more "me"). She looks less like an arctic fox (but still has the tiny ears), but a little more typically "kitsune". Pattern thanks to Dover Books! Pencil & Photoshop.

SInce I did this, Naryu has gained a third tail! I need to do an updated version someday.

Arabian-Style Horse with Norwegian Fijord Markings: One of two commissions for Magnoona. I wasn't happy with the Arabian Oryx in the original version of this picture so it's not shown. Border inspired by Dover Books' wonderful Royalty-free publications. I scanned the border, Streamlined it, and fixed it up and colored it in Illustrator before dropping it into Photoshop.

PLEASE NOTE, horse experts: The horse is per description; it's not EXACTLY an Arabian (the commissioner did not want an extremely dished-profile head), and the markings are only based on those of the Fijords (this is a Spirit, after all). Still, I haven't drawn a "non-unicorn" equine in a long time, and this was a challenge; obviously, I need more practice, though! :D

Parapadescha v.1. A lion/cheetah mix with tiger/leopard-like markings. All anatomy, markings, proportions, etc. per detailed description. I had a hard time getting the relatively bulky lion body to look right with the lithe cheetah form (though her creator did a GREAt job with that!!!), and I wasn't happy with this outcome. Thus, version 2.

Parapadescha, v.2. The lion/cheetah/tiger/leopard/sabretooth-cat, intellectual property of the very kind and talented Britt Carlson. Jewelry inspired by design elements from India; I had lots of fun with this version! Pencils/Photoshop. (BTW: still playing catch-up w/art & email :(... and with less free time than ever, I can't take any new requests etc. at the moment)

Jarraka! For the character at the Silver Throne RPG (no, not mine). My very first pine marten (need more practice, I know :/). I especially enjoyed drawing the branch... Pencils/Photoshop

Chilly Mouse! Simply because she ROCKS! - and I do not. Further proof I'm not a cartoonist myself, though I DO really respect anyone who can draw cartoons - it's hard work! Pencil, mouse-colored (of course!) in Photoshop.

"Selfish": Not a nightmare this time, but a strange dreamscape; something I did after a weird dream. It's NOT aimed at, nor does it depict anyone in particular, though I suppose the red creature could represent me, in some strange, odd little part of my psyche. The left calf of the red creature needs work, as does the background, though I was trying for a hazy, dreamlike quality. It had text, but I edited it off lest it be misinterpreted. Pencils, Photoshop.

Did you ever dream you were something else? And did that influence your art? A quick pic from a dream, though I think the B&W original looks more like what I "was". I was more interested in capturing a feeling than in technical accuracy here... yes, errors abound. (BTW: this 'cat is snarling, not roaring; when roaring a big cat's lips are slack, and upper teeth usually do not show. Hey, did you know lots of big cat snarls/growls/roars used in movies are actually elephant, cougar, or lynx sound effects?)

Seraphine! Property of S. Oltersdorf of the VCL. I wanted to try something different (and I loved the hat he drew for her) so I just went with it. More muted, flat colors than my usual. I wanted it to look sort of like a sci-fi or fantasy book cover, with shades of Möbius or the Dillons (though it falls far short of either). Still, it was very different from my usual, and refreshingly fun! Thanks, Sven! :D