I don’t normally draw characters from my stories because it shatters my faith as an artist, but I really wanted to do something with these two. They hold a special place in my black, shriveled little heart. :) These are the main characters from the second furry story I’ve finished (the first was sort of a gift and I haven’t asked permission to post it, probably never will…). It’s sort of long with many chapters, but check it out if you wanna. It’s called Pandaemonium: Hearts Lost in Chaos. It’s got swords, and magic, and furries, and sex! And that, my friends, is what we call a plug… ;)
The human is Darwin and the polar bear is Malthus. Darwin is a mage who dabbles in swordplay, while Malthus is a knight and Paladin of the Order of Virtue who can use a little magic in addition to his sword and shield. I drew these two as they would look in the later part of the story, which means the following details –
Darwin has a scar on his cheek from an injury sustained while fighting the pair’s archnemesis.
Malthus does not have his breast plate or open helm. At this point he has rejected the Order of Virtue because of the way they’ve betrayed him and Darwin and thus discarded all the equipment bearing their mark (that weird geometric thing above them on the left). He has only his chain mail, plate gloves, and plate boots.
Malthus still has his buckler, although you can just barely see it in the picture. It’s damaged as all the shields he acquires throughout the tale eventually wind up. He should probably have a kite shield by the timeline, but since the angle hides most of it anyway I decided I didn’t care. :P
Malthus has a claymore on his back, given to him by a good friend and fellow paladin just before that man died. You can only see the handle, but it’s still there, like a cross he must bear until his journey is done.
My intent was to have the two half-assed back to back on the left, looking determined and stoic. I think Malthus looks more so than Darwin, but that makes sense since he’s about four years older and has spent most of his adult life slaying demons. He’s supposed to have a softer edge, though. I think I made him look a little too fierce... Does he still look kinda cute and approachable even though he’s tough?
On the right, they’re both supposed to look happy with big smiles. A best friends headshot sort of thing. I think Darwin looks more devious than happy. I also think he kinda looks like one of the Organization XIII people from Kingdom Hearts 2, or the kid from Shaman King, or a brave from Disney’s Pocohontas with a little more anime style. Must be the hair… I really REALLY wanted to do an open mouthed smile instead of a grin with the bear, but for some reason I find that damn-near impossible! Plus, I was having trouble with the muzzle lines because he’s a polar bear. I usually draw bears as if their muzzle fur is a different color, or as if they have more skin on that part than fur, allowing me to cheat and use the color delineation as the lines of the muzzle too. But you can’t do that with the white ursine! They’re all white so no shortcut cheating lines! I think Malthus could look happier and cuter, but I guess he looks okay.
What I like:
Malthus’ broadsword. I used my recollection of Link’s sword from Twilight Princess as an inspiration (the first one, not the Master Sword). Turned out good. The claymore doesn’t look ½ bad either.
Darwin’s clothes. I have boots like that and I love their look! His robe turned out better than I’d hoped, which isn’t saying much. Still say it makes him look all Organization XIII. Malthus’ plate boots aren’t bad either, even though part of one didn’t scan too great. I could blame the scanner, but it’s really my fault. I didn’t draw the lines dark enough…
Malthus’ face on the left. Even though he might not be as attractive as I’d like, he does look strong and rugged like a warrior should. I especially like his mouth. With a little chin scruff, a thick lower lip sticking out a bit, and the tooth poking out, I can’t decide if it’s intimidating or endearing, but I just love it. *blushing* It kinda makes me wanna give him a kiss. How weird is that?
The stupid little details. Like the Order symbol even though it’s far from geometrically perfect, and the goofy heart. It’s cuz they’s in luuuuvvvvv… Yeah. It’s perverted, but it’s all good.
What I don’t like:
The armor. I HATE the armor. Chainmail looks righteously cool if you can draw it right. The problem is, it takes half a lifetime to draw it right. I took a quarter lifetime instead and it looks like total shit. Thus why I tried to break it up with hems and belts and leather shoulder thingies. Lesson learned, NEVER draw chainmail EVER again…
Darwin’s dagger and sword. OMG, that dagger was the worst. It’s supposed to be a kris (go play Diablo 2 if you don’t know that that is. You know what, just play Diablo 2 period, ya heathen! It’s good for ya!). Instead it looks like a turd, or a wavy dildo. Sure, you could use either as a weapon, but that wasn’t exactly what I was shooting for. And the scimitar is just barely acceptable. I’m not even sure if I got the blade design right. My knowledge of middle-eastern swords is sketchy at best. Falchion? Scimitar? Tulwar? I know they’re different, I just don’t know how. They’re all curvy one edged and sort of pirate-swordish, right? RIGHT?!
Final notes – Yeah, that’s my handwriting and my cursive. I haven’t written in cursive since… grade school? I’m surprised I still remember how. And yes, that’s about as neat as either get. :( I had intended to put a shot of their hands touching where the text is but I botched it so many times I said f*** it and put words instead. I chose to write it out myself because I got tired of Photoshopping in text and was curious to see how it would turn out.