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swift-whippet In reply to maria-mar [2010-01-15 03:15:54 +0000 UTC]

Thanks and thanks <3

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swift-whippet In reply to Maxrunn [2010-01-15 00:35:18 +0000 UTC]

Yay, that makes me happy that you like it so much, and the ideas as well! I'm glad that I had the chance to try doing something with these guys and help you develop more ideas for them. I was having trouble coming up with what exactly to explore, when I saw one of the things you'd mentioned as an example was to design a baby lith, and that made me think of baby cheetahs and their manes -- that was my opening. I wouldn't mind helping you develop the species more in future -- contest or no contest.

Haha yup, I blame the baby cheetahs and their fuzzy cuteness. :3 Tundra and other lithhound subspecies sounds like an awesome idea. I would like to see what you come up with there.

Yeah, I love how younger dogs have these crazy all-over-the-place ears before the cartilage fully settles, it's so cute. My dog when she was younger would sometimes randomly have upright ears for a while until I poked them and they flopped over again. xD I was also thinking in terms of a safety precaution; if left alone, the kips could have adapted things like the ears to make them more attuned and aware of their surroundings and possible danger. As they grew older and their senses got better the ears could then shrink in proportion to make them more streamlined for running.

NO PROBLEM HUN.

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Maxrunn In reply to swift-whippet [2010-01-15 01:20:24 +0000 UTC]

I would love some more help! Hitting a road block isn't fun. haha

and that is a great reason for the big ears and it would make sense. hard to see with those amazing eyes if you are barely off the ground. hearing is better. and since they take longer to become adults, more like humans, it would be a good thing to have big ears!

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Maxrunn In reply to Maxrunn [2010-01-15 00:01:54 +0000 UTC]

oh PS the markings are just fine! more natural then unnatural, not too many colors. wonderful

can't wait to see what else you do with her/him!

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swift-whippet In reply to Hiedidog [2010-01-15 00:22:59 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!
Glad you noticed My own dog has become greyish-brown now that she's old. <3

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swift-whippet In reply to Evilduckie227 [2010-01-14 22:59:51 +0000 UTC]

ty! <3

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swift-whippet In reply to allisongrl [2010-01-14 17:51:59 +0000 UTC]

Thanks love! <3

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swift-whippet In reply to CottonConfection [2010-01-14 17:51:48 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! And that was based on what happens with real dogs (and probably other mammals too); their fur colour grows dull and greyish and their markings fade. Old dogs are beautiful. <3

Yessss, I've always loved how baby cheetahs look! Of course I exaggerated that a bit more here to a full-on ruff. xD

thank you so much! It's good to be arting again.

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CottonConfection In reply to swift-whippet [2010-01-25 04:53:57 +0000 UTC]

Yes they are, those grey muzzles are too cute. And its good to be seeing this arting X3!

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swift-whippet In reply to Psi-Psiana [2010-01-14 17:34:09 +0000 UTC]

Thanks much! <3

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swift-whippet In reply to hypnocampus [2010-01-14 17:30:24 +0000 UTC]

why thank you! <3

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swift-whippet In reply to kandee-cane [2010-01-14 17:24:25 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

This is a fictional species, so I don't really understand the need to say that what I did with the ears is impossible or wrong. xD But let me try to explain my choices artistically.

Physiology-wise, lithhounds are based on sighthounds and cheetahs from what I can gather. Apparently, it is common for non-sighthound people to think that the dogs are unhappy or stressed because the ears are commonly set back in these dogs -- not the case. The ears on greyhounds, whippets and the like are called 'rose ears' and they can be folded back against the neck, so that from the front it almost looks as if the dog has no ears. This makes them more streamlined for the high speed running that they were bred to do. These dogs tend to fold their ears back in a fairly natural position and it does not necessarily mean that they are upset: [link] [link] [link] [link]

Not to mention, looking at pictures that the creator of the species has done, that is just how they are supposed to look, and I think that she took the sighthound ear adaptation into account when she made these guys. Check out some of her own pictures of lithhounds: [link] [link] [link]

As far as the ears standing up on the baby kip, that was also based on my knowledge of sighthounds with rose ears. Ears are not made of muscle all the way through; they are made of cartilage, with muscle only being at the base of the ear. When the dog is still young, before the cartilage has properly formed in the ears, the ears may stand up or flop over every which way: [link] [link]
When the dog is old enough though the cartilage eventually settles into a definite shape -- for whippets and greyhounds that is usually the typical rose-ear shape, but occasionally there will be dogs that end up with permanent prick ears, even with the tip of the ear remaining soft (does that make sense? you probably need to observe the ears in person to see).

Hope that explains things. I've done my studying too, believe me. And don't worry about critiquing, I don't mind and I know you're just trying to help. Thanks for taking the time!

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kandee-cane In reply to swift-whippet [2010-01-14 18:49:53 +0000 UTC]

Oh cool. That helps me out alot more actually.

I don't know /too/ much about sighthounds. I was just reading what she had written about her species (Remembering they're only based off cheetahs and sighthounds and aren't a direct mix.)

And I think I understand what you mean about the permanent prick.. Even though they randomly bend over.. Probably because the cartilage set that way or is a little thicker (like in our noses) in some sighthounds... If I'm correct a Rhodesian Ridgeback is a sighthound? And my Uncle had one.. He was awesome till he died. Couldn't see anymore the poor thing. But yeah.. He had erect ears 99.99% of the time but you'd see them randomly flop and be held flopped at the tip coz of the cartilage holding it that way.. I always imagined it to be rather uncomfortable so I'd "unhook" it and it'd spring up again. Lol.

I hope I didn't sound like I was trying to know more about those species than you do. Heh. I know for a fact how well you know your sighthounds *avid lurking watcher*

I can see many ways in which it's like a sighthound but not as many ways as it is a cheetah. x3 Maybe it's coz sighthounds and cheetahs may be rather similar in build and the like? Though I'm thinking the "thicker" look of the neck and muscles and shoulders may be something to do with cheetahs?

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swift-whippet In reply to kandee-cane [2010-01-14 19:01:33 +0000 UTC]

Was there anything she had written that contradicted anything that I previously said? If so then I'd like to know about it, sometimes I miss details like that if there's a lot of info to process at once. In any case, even if they're not a direct mix, I can still take elements of sighthounds and use those to come up with ideas. I was under the impression that this contest was supposed to be for us to help enrich the species by adding our own ideas to the mix.

Yes, a Ridgeback is considered a sighthound, but they don't have rose ears like greyhounds and whippets do -- they have drop ears, which don't fold back the same way that rose ears do. Saluki also have drop ears.

I don't think you came across like that at all! The way I saw it, you just had doubts about how I drew certain things, and I hope I did a good enough job in explaining to you why I did those things.

I think I just know more about sighthounds than cheetahs, and so the way I draw lithhounds reflects that. xD

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kandee-cane In reply to swift-whippet [2010-01-14 19:41:04 +0000 UTC]

In the original ref page on DA for her Lithhounds she stated that the ears will always have a bend in the tip.. But that'd be only coz there's no muscle.

And uh *cough* I hadn't read the contest. I had only read the species sheet. xD

And yeah. Cheetahs are sorta.. One of those things that noone seems to know a hell of a lot about. xD

I just tried drawing one and failed epicly. I am just gonna give up on drawing dogs/cats/whatever animals. xD

OH. But could I ask for a redline or critique from you at all? I never thought of it.. But it might come handy one day.

I have drawn some sort of sighthound.. Can't remember which anymore.. For Judge-mental... And I wasn't happy with it really. xD

[link]

All this makes me want to make a sighthound/saluki/ridgeback char. xD

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swift-whippet In reply to kandee-cane [2010-03-13 07:38:06 +0000 UTC]

Sorry the redline took so long: [link] Hope it's helpful!

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kandee-cane In reply to swift-whippet [2010-05-07 14:21:42 +0000 UTC]

Sorry my reply took so long!!! It's great! Thank you so much!

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swift-whippet In reply to kandee-cane [2010-05-08 16:39:23 +0000 UTC]

No probs -- happy to be of help!

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swift-whippet In reply to malawai [2010-01-14 17:37:18 +0000 UTC]

You're right about that, and I think there's definitely something to it! As an animator-artist I've come across that theory before in regards to cartoon characters -- big foreheads, big eyes, and other baby-like features tend to make people think of a character as cute and appealing. Then again, I think snakes and certain bugs among other things are cuter than human babies. >.>;

Thanks muchly, I enjoy drawing babythings! And lithhounds are based on sighthounds and cheetahs, how couls I resist? xD

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malawai In reply to swift-whippet [2010-01-30 09:38:24 +0000 UTC]

Hehe you've reminded me of the tiger snake I saw the other day whilst on holidays. Although they're venomous I thought he had cute eyes XD

I think its cool how that kind of 'cute' theory is incorporated into your work.

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swift-whippet In reply to Falcolf [2010-01-14 17:39:22 +0000 UTC]

<3 thank you missy! The creator of the species has a reference and all their info up: [link]

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Falcolf In reply to swift-whippet [2010-01-16 00:40:01 +0000 UTC]

Thankies!

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swift-whippet In reply to SombraStudio [2010-01-14 17:40:03 +0000 UTC]

I love drawing big ears on things really, I need to do it more. xD
Thank you Sombs!

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