KitttyKat! (and her golden mouse) Katherine Barber's very lovely creation. I've not had much practice drawing anthro-females lately, and this put me to the test! Check out KitttyKat (a fellow Tori fan :D) here at the VCL!

Kyrie (The Faedh Fiada or The Cry of the Deer): 1995, pen on parchment. This pic of a stylized elk was for Rafeki, who liked my earlier thesis-pic of Cernunnos (and framed it beautifully for me). On his antlers are a stylized Cernunnos in his humanoid form, the head of Rafeki-raccoon, a fox, a side view of a pantherine Syn's head, and a ram-headed serpent, among other things. The quote translates as something like "He lets out a cry...", and the lines are a name in Ogham. Three dots in a triangle mean "sacred".

Lionhead: 1993, Photoshop. One of my first attempts at coloring on Photoshop - heh heh, on version 2.0, before the "layers" option was available, so I had to color OVER the inked lines rather than UNDER them. He's stylized kind of like a doorknocker, I think. I painted him on a denim jacket eventually.

Lion Pirate: 1993, Photoshop v.2.0. Another early attempt; this was done before Photoshop had layers, so I had to color OVER the inked lines rather than UNDER them, as I do now. Part of a birthday gift for Ddarcfyre; he's toasting with a root beer. There's some alcoholic drink with a pirate-guy logo/character who looks similar, I think (Captain Morgan...?), but when I created this I didn't have anything particular intentionally in mind. However, this probably would have been a lot better if 1. I drew it at home instead of my lunch break, and 2. if I used references (back then we artists didn't have corbis.com or webshots.com online - we had to go to the LIBRARY).

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.

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.

"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.

MistyK! (I found out too late that he was called MistyK, not MistyC) Property of the very kind Cesarin the White DraGoN, a wonderful artist here at the VCL. His appearance & armor, etc. are based off a lovely picture by Draco that Cesarin supplied me 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.

NeoGeen! Kim Kopskamp's very unique character (and copyright to her!) Here she is as a quadruped (based off of her pic neo3.jpg). I did this a while ago, but forgot to upload it here... maybe someday I'll color it, too...

Luathry! A character study for Natalie Goodridge of her Pronambi character. Yeah, I know the pose is kinda stiff, but I was trying to work out how his coat-pattern wrapped around his anatomy. *laughs* Yeah, I ALSO know that his legs shouldn't be bent that much at the knee...

Coragule (were-form)! The Hammsanrrah herself, creation of Natalie Goodridge. According to Natalie's background info, as "Village Chief" Coragule wouldn't shift - but Cora looked so cool in a pic she did that I wanted to try one too. Pronambi coat-patterns are a (fun) challenge to draw! (sorry about any image artifacts)

Luathry (were-form)! Here's Nat Goodridge's awesome Luathry in his were-form (I encourage you to visit her site - http://hasuvrah.critter.net/) I TRIED for a more interesting pose... note the vaguely handlike paws with thumbs, and more-animal-than-humanoid body (shoulders to the side, etc.) - pretty typical of the way I draw were-creatures.

More-Than-A-Fox: 1992, oil. I did this in a few hours as a test for myself, and to try out some new techniques. The hand-paw is at an odd angle, and it's not an entirely-true portrait of a fox (note the pinkish nose, etc.) on purpose, to represent that it's more than just a mere fox - it's a creature of magic, of fantasy. Though realism is cool, it's fun to bend the rules.

Abe the Icon! (AKA PAF! AKA chris goodwin) Another artist I "look up to". I'm sorry I missed you at Anthrocon...

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

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)

For Parakeet Goddess! Character belongs to Kaitlyn McKay; she's a leopardlike (I took liberties with spots, etc.) feline with green eyes, a nose ring & horns per specific description - gotta love those horned cats - let's see more of 'em! :D She's slightly anthro (slightly handlike paws with thumbs, sturdy hind legs that enable her to stand and walk upright for short periods of time, etc.) so she can hold her weapon of choice, a wooden staff (not pictured). For those interested, Synnabar has the same overall build when in pantherine form - their anatomy is my own design, and shouldn't be taken for "real" cat anatomy. Pencil & Photoshop 6.

Caracal-type Woman: 1994, pen. This was a quick drawing that ended up "being something", though if she's a caracal she's missing the ear-tufts.

Ring of Fire: 1996, pen & gold ink on parchment. The assignment was to take a figure from a classical
anatomy study and incorporate it (with your own variations) into a promotional piece (which I have
edited here). "Per Aspera Ad Astra" = "Aspire to the stars". I liked the original pencil sketch better.

Rusti! Art trade with Anita Palmisano. She's based off of Anita's pic at http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/p/a/palmisano/wolf2.jpg.html . Check out the rest of her gallery there as well! Rusti is supposed to be in top shape, so I looked at fitness magazines before starting this one. Looking back, I think I might make her look more wolf-like in regards to her face and tail; at the time I did this I wasn't sure if her proportions should be more "furry" or "werewolfy".

Sabertooth Tiger (Smilodon, sorta): 1997, pencil. Though certainly out of step with current prehistoric-bic-cat-reconstruction theories, this was still fun, and that's that. (Yes, I didn't draw pupils.)

"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.

While I'm trying to finish things, here's some posts in response to requests to see some of my old and/or "real media" stuff. Yes, point and laugh! This was from '92, when I tried (and had time) to experiment with underwater lighting - it's a sentient shark, from a species I made up. It's gouache. Whoooopeee!

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

SilverMane/Maverick! An EZboard pic for a good online friend of mine. A wise, battle-scarred white lion, with a black-furred right arm. The armor was adapted from another person's depiction of the character, per request. (BTW: I love blade-weapons!) Your place by the fire is safe, Silvermane! :D (Boy, I just noticed all the BLUE in my recent posts... ergh... sorry!)

Silvermane/Maverick: an anthro white lion (done for his birthday present). He's stylized to be a bit iconic, like a lion statue or doorknocker (obviously not a "real" lion), with a mix of human and leonine features. The two scars on his muzzle symbolize some things he's been through recently. I purposely tried to work a lot of color in there; the only "true" black is in the pupils - the rest are mixes of colors. Mechanical pencil, Prismacolor and Design colored pencils, some use of a colorless blender, on toned cardstock.