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swift-whippet — welcome to singapore.
Published: 2008-04-01 21:08:01 +0000 UTC; Views: 1874; Favourites: 42; Downloads: 0
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Description
Thought it was about time I unveiled her to dA. My anthro cat pirate character, Lallang. :3 She's a Singapura, obviously. At least, one of the ancestors of the breed. She grew up in a boating tribe on the island before leaving for reasons that I still need to research on and thus flesh out. (If you can tell me exactly where she is in this picture, you get cookies.) Her clothes and dagger were all stolen.I'm attempting to do more pictures with ACTUAL BACKGROUNDS. *gasp* If anybody has any tips and advice about how to improve my backgrounds I would be glad to hear them, I really need help with this.
Lallang is part of a crew with *FireflyStudios 's characters. Currently we are holding a contest for people to design more crewmembers, so if cats and/or history interest you at all then do check it out!
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Comments: 90
Singapuras are awesome. *^*
BUT I might just be a little bit bias here. XD; I'm gonna enter this contest.. Seriously. Time to put that grade A for history to the test. x_x By the way, when are you going to come back to Sunny Singapore? I haven't seen you since forever!
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xD of course! it'd be great to see you enter, I'd love to see what you came up with!
I'VE BEEN BACK FOR A MONTH ALREADY MISSY. 
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Interesting, it's nice to see a pirate character that isn't dolled up like the captain (too many captains out there). The contest seems interesting.
For backgrounds, I think the whole process is easier when there's a story behind it. For example, I see Lallang sitting on a rock, but I'm scratching my head on how she got there in the first place. It's little hard to express what I'm trying to say.
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xD Nah, she's not the leading sort. Silver McSnowpaws [link] is her captain! :3 I'm glad you like her look.
See, there is a reason for that background. The Dragon Teeth Gate were a pair of rocks that stuck up from the water offshore from Singapore. They were very dangerous to ships at that time as they were hard to manoevre around, and were later destroyed when the British colonised in the early 1800s to make way for the new harbour that was built there. So in a way they are a symbol of early Singapore as well as the perils of the sea, both of which are very close to how Lallang 'feels' as a character in my head. It's not so much a 'story' piece as a 'feel' piece. Clearer now?
Aside from that, I'd just like to know if there are any technical crits you'd like to point out about that background?
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Cool, I learned something new today. That's an interesting introduction for a character, like 'the water is calm, but the fangs are still there'.
Hmm. . . Looking up this Dragon Tooth Gate, the replica seems to suggest that the originals were very jagged, so maybe rough scratches for texture and a jagged shape to give the same amount of intimidation.
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That's a very good point. I need to find rock texture tutorials and such, because technique for that seems to elude me! thanks very much for your input.
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holy geez your characters and talent is so awesome i wish i could draw canines and stuff a quarter of the way you do!! i love it!
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hahah, she's an anthro cat, not a canine. xDD also, nonsense, I just stopped by your gallery and you have some very cool work indeed!
thanks for visiting and commenting
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i know she's a cat lol! i just happened to be looking through your whole gallery and all you're canines are what i was referring to lol but yes she is a very cool anthro cat! i love pirates!
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AH. Makes me wanna join the crew, but i suck at photoshop D:
neeways, *fav*
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ART DOESN'T MATTER. lol. We honestly don't care all that much about shiny art. It's a nice bonus but what we'll be judging the entry on is how well thought out and researched the CHARACTER is. You don't have to be a omgfantaztik artist to join this contest, just as long as you enjoy making up stories!
I will be living at the library these holidays, making up her backstory. I have a ton of research to do on the Orang Laut and piracy in the Malacca Straits during the 1700s. >D
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I'm learning that in history now o.O
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Oooh I love her design
I love how you made her looks so natural despite that she's anthro. I've been practising anthro animals a lot lately, trying to find a balance between too cartoony and too human-like
Thanks for drawing this, it really helped me get a better idea of how I want my anthros to look
This whole thing looks very interesting, I'll definately think about that contest!
I think Lallang (btw, awesome name) should be on the right side of the picture, and that all of that space you put to the right should be on the left side...so, less rocks and more sea. Because this way we can't see what Lallang is looking at, and that kind of makes me wanna go in there and take a look for myself...
Also, you could use more tones and more contrast in the background. And a cast-shadow would be a nice touch. The sun is in the left top corner right? So the rock Lallang is sitting on should be shaded differently -because you painted in a shadow on the rock on the side that should be sunny.
I also noticed a little light on the edge of her red shirt. So by the way you shaded the rock,her shirt and tail, the sun should be on the right, but the shadows on her arms and legs suggest it's on the left.
Hope this helped at least a bit
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Fwee Mirta, that'd be awesome if you joined! And thanks, that 'balance' is what I am trying to get with my anthro anatomy. It's a pretty fun challenge and like I said, I loved anthro Mirta!
I didn't notice that before, but actually now that you've told me this, I like the idea that you can't see what she's seeing, you just see her face and her expression. I kind of like that it makes you feel like you want to go into the picture and see, honestly. xD
Somebody's already mentioned the tones, thank you. Apparently I have contrast problems. >.>
Honestly, the shadow cast there on the rock was meant to be the shadow that Lallang is casting on the face of the stone. o.o I was thinking less about light sources more about mood. But you definitely have a point about the stone face, thank you Mirta!
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Ah! At last we see her! And she's lovely! 
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Hee, yes, I told you I wanted to wait until I'd done a decent picture of her! The others were just... ew. xD That you like my background means a great deal because I enjoy the way you incorporate your characters into your own backgrounds. :3 The rocks on the horizon are actually islands, by the by.
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The Lallang in your avatar looks good, though! What drawing is she from? Oh dear-- rocks, islands...! *head spins* Sorry! The islands. The islands are beautiful. ^__^
Ohh yeah! Wow, ~rhyfe2002 is clever. I didn't know about this little landmark. Too bad it doesn't exist anymore.
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That was one of the first drawings I did of her, but all it was was a headshot to figure out her colours and I didn't think it was quite good enough to post. Makes a nice icon, though. :3
Well really he's Singaporean too, one of my old schoolfriends in fact. So he probably heard about it in school like me. :3 (Yes I am mean about easter eggs like that, heh.) Oh those silly colonists, blowing up our landmarks.
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*After seeing your Pirate Meme* Okay, just a stab in the dark, but is she at Lion Island?? XDD
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The dragon teeth gate, huh... (Something like that, I think)
Sounds interesting... I'm mildly interested,but I'm not really a domesticated cat anthro person XD (oddly enough, wildcat anthros and normal cats are fine lol) We'll see... do I really need to pick a local domesticated race, though? ;_;
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Nonono, I meant that I like normal cats, as in ordinary, four-legged ones, but not cat anthros. XD
We'll see, since there's already your character as a singapura ._. (plus you'd have to wait for me to be actually free to do the stuff.)
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YES. AHAHAH. I knew somebody would get it sooner or later.
'Normal cat' is different from 'domesticated cat' how? o_o Anyway we're more interested in the historical component and story than anything else. Read the contest rules, all the info is there. Link is in the desc.
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I always like your backgrounds
I can totally imagine sitting there, breeze in my hair, hearing the seagulls scream :3 It's a lovely picture and I even like Lallang, when I'm actually not so fond of anthro's!
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Yeah I am not a huge fan of the 'traditional' anthro design, where it's just an animal head stuck on a human body. Those can be fun but I like to up the animal quotient a bit more. :3 Hence why she still has hands and a larger head.
thanks, Whirl!
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Yeah I like the more animal like anthro's better then the humans with animal heads too
You're welcome
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Yes you should draw more backgrounds! This one looks gorgeous! ^^
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Awr, thanks. Yes I do need to do that, I need the practice and discipline. I'm a lazy bum. xD
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From one lazy bum to another, I concur.
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Right... I don't have the slightest idea where she is. Somewhere to the south of the island? Must... brush up... on... geography... of... homeisland. >_<
8D That's the advantage of living on Singapore. HOMEISLAND. >D
Very nice picture though. ^^ I love how you do your shading and her eye looks awesome. My crits would be that there seems to be a lack of shading on her pawpads, and her left forepaw. Also, when you look at her whiskers, they seem to be positioned at a very odd angle, as if pointing 'straight out' from the nose.
Backgrounds I'm not too good at, but my suggestion would be try go to right down to details- start big, and then work smaller and smaller and get the finer details done. Also, references are good.
I've found this to be a pretty good tutorial-
[link]
Nice picture, still. ^^
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[link] (so really, Harbourfront. xD)
HAHAH look at me forget to shade things in all my excitement. I actually noticed that and went back and shaded but didn't get round to re-uploading. x.x Also as for the whiskers, that is honestly just the way I draw them, since cat whiskers do point a bit forward from the face. In this case it is a stylistic thing for me.
Oh that IS a good tutorial, thank you so much for links and advice!
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That's so cool. 8D
Okay then. ^^
You're welcome.
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Very nifty idea! I totally recognized the location from social studies lessons in primary school or somethin'. Er.
My only background-advice (which I need to tell myself, actually, many times over) is lots of references and practice ._.
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xD You're probably right! [link]
Hee, that's the advice I give people when they ask me how I draw things, so sounds good to me! thank you.
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I remember heeeer!
This is such a pretty picture; you did a great job with the background.
(I got the awesomest book evar from B&N today for five bucks (down from 20 XD). I am wondering if it is usable for pirates but I'm not too sure...)
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heeeee. you got to see the only decent headshot I'd ever done of her up to that point. Now I need to do more. xD
omg BOOKS. and I still want to know about your character!!
(HEY I should also tell you. Human characters are allowed to be RPed on MG as long as they have a pet of some kind. How about, to get you some kind of start, I RP the dog and you can be the human? xD We can talk about this.)
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hee I'm so speciaaaaal. XDD
Yes BOOKS. I love Barnes & Noble.
(It's called "The Sailor's Lexicon" if you ever happen across it and it is basically a sailor's dictionary. I have very eclectic taste apparently. x) )
(OH awesomes! That sounds like fun; we shall talk. xD)
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That's a really neat idea! Unfortunately, I'm not that great at drawing cats (although I have been atempting.)
My best regards though.
I really love how you shaded in this picture for some reason. It looks.. kind of different. Just slightly though. It has depth, but it's all smooth and it looks.. watercolory? lol, I can't explain! |D
Ahh.. Nice job with the background.
I adore her face. =^.^=
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Honestly you don't have to be a fantastic artist to enter the contest. The prizes will go to the people that have the best and most well thought-out characters, not necessarily the shiniest art!
Yeah, I don't know how different the shading technique really is but I know I zoomed in and really tried to get it all to look smooth. Thankyoo Arsanii. <3
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Hmm, I'll see. If I have time, and come up with a good enough design, I'll enter.
No problem.
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Design is secondary to character's story.
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xDD, Thanks for the headsup.
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sweeet, I like her! If I get time I may just have to enter that contest.
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oooh kickass. I'd love to see what you came up with!
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I already have an anthro cat pirate! Unfortunately, I don't know if she'd qualify as a crewmember as she's no particular race and with no historical background... just a cat pirate! She's right here: [link]
Enough about me; more about your awesome pic! I love how you got the Singapura breed spot-on, and her hair-do is perfect for a pirate; it looks very sea-blasted. She's got such a beautifully pensive look on her face, too. Good stuff
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Ooh, I like her. She is very pretty! 
Anyways even if you don't enter the contest she and Lallang can still hang out for fun, OOC. xD That makes me happy what you say about her though since all were things I was going for. <3 thanks Pristine!
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