Long ago, raccoon's eyesight was as poor as a man's. Ever curious, he couldn't help but notice and be drawn to the giant moon that appeared in the sky each Night. He would use his claws to try and climb trees, but back then he was about as good at it as an old man. But finally, his perseverance was rewarded. Climbing became second nature, his claws curved and sharp. He climbed every tree in the forest until there was one that, when the moon was at just the right height in the sky, he was able to grab it from the horizon. He prodded the moon; he tapped the moon against the wood; he felt the moon; he dug his claws into the moon's soft body; he tasted the moon. It was upon tasting the moon that the raccoon got a piece of the moon inside him. That is why, when he looks at something bright, his eyes glow brightly like the moon reflecting the sun, able to see everything in the darkness.

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For some reason the above idea popped into my head and so I began working on this image. I wanted to try a few things. I wanted to work on more flat cell shaded colors and I wanted to try some more stylized lighting effects. I'm very happy with the raccoon himself, but I'm not so sure about the light on the tree with the intense moonbeams. I had the outline sketched a few weeks ago but kind of got sucked into Fallout 3 :P

Thanks for looking!