November Original Character Contest

[Esoteric]

Oh dear, the questions are stacking up and LQ isn't here. Hmm, let me see if I can answer them.

In regards to Aka-chan's question, as long as it meets the rider/thing ridden scenario, it should be okay.

As to anonymous's questions. Yes, there can be other characters involved, (including another rider) so long as there is a primary character for the biography to revolve around. As for multiple entries...that I don't know. No rule has been established regarding it.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

In the nick of time!
Here's my entry. Not all that great in the colouring department. But I love the idea. Please don't copy it (as it's another for my novel).

This is one of Florbalt's barbarians. They commonly wear blue jump suits and brown pants with studded boots for grip (and to double as weaponary). They are all pale as ghosts and can not hear because their ears are sliced off and their ear canals surgically plugged.
This barbarian rides a giant anteater-like creature from the deep deserts in the South. They are hardy, fast and aggressive creatures and feed on desert ants. Their claws can tear a man apart with ease. The barbarian tribes use them to trek across the desert quickly, to pillage villages and scout ahead.

[Jingo Jaden]

Woah, great entery there warrior

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Cheers Bro! Well, I'm off to sleep. Goodnight!

[soul alive]

As long as you get it in before November, Hunny, I think you should be fine. I'm going to be getting mine in around that time as well... ^^;;; Good luck, and welcome to CAA!

Nice entry W4J. I like the sketchy outline of the anteater, and how you used the ants to write your copyright/sig.

:edit: DECEMBER - I mean December, not November.

[Photosoph]

Er, December I think you mean.

Wow; I didn't notice the ant copyright/sig thing. I'll have to look closer... *looks back at pic* Ah yes, now I see. ^_^ Very cool. I'm afraid I just saw the ants making up your copyright message as dots, though. ^_^" I wasn't as observant as SA. ^^

Man, that's such a cool entry, W4J! (yes, I'm finally getting onto actually commenting on your entry after all the chatter). So original with the giant anteaters; and even the giant anteaters that exist have really dangerous claws, right? I think I saw/heard that on a documentary somewhere.
I love the idea of riding an anteater; like I said, it's original, but it's also really cool. Love the furry texture and how well you've drawn its physique. It's such a different sort of mount, but it works so well with your character. And the description you wrote is really interesting; especially the part about the barbarians' hearing.
Causes me to ask: how's your novel going?

Btw, quickly just want to say that I like the royal-ish colour scheme and style of the saddle. ^^

[soul alive]

Augh. Thanks Photosoph. December.

[soul alive]

Ahhh. Sorry for the double-post, and sorry I'm late. I hope you'll still accept my entry. I was doing homework, and completely forgot to finish this up until a half an hour before midnight... I'll submit it anyway, and leave it to Jaden to decide whether to accept my entry or not. ^^;;; *forehead smack*

I had a lot of fun doing this, I've been wanting to draw Old West cowboy clothing for a while. I didn't finish the art to the extent I wanted to, I colored it in 1/2 an hour. I'll probably finish it later.

---

My entry:


Character:
Name - Semuel Running Cloud
Age - late teens or early 20's
Personality - Level headed in almost any situation, but can be very sarcastic at times
Mount - Blaze, a Quarter Horse gelding

Background:
As he traveled from town to town playing poker and fighting gunfights, Samuel 'the Rattler' Renne met people of all sorts, but the Indian maiden White Cloud was different. She ignored him completely. So Samuel made it his purpose in life to capture her devotion, which after weeks of trying, he did. Three months later, their whirlwind romance was over, and Samuel moved on. When White Cloud gave birth to a baby boy seven months later, she was shunned by her tribe, and eventually took refuge with an elderly hermit who lived a few miles from the tribe.

The hermit was hard of hearing, and White Cloud's English poor, so when they named the baby, taking from both of his parent's names, it was Semuel Running Cloud. Semuel, or Sem as they called him, grew up with an adoring, but vengeful mother, who catered to his every whim. He learned to hunt and ride horses from an uncle in the tribe, as White Cloud had eventually been forgiven. Sem was a natural with the shotgun and could hit any target, while on foot or on horse-back. And the kindly hermit made sure Sem learned his three R's.

When Sem turned 18, he set out to find his good-for-nothing father, intending to take revenge for leaving him and his mother. He went to the nearest town and purchased some 'white man's clothes,' several boxes of shotgun shells, and supplies. Sem took off on his best friend and steed, Blaze, in the last direction that Samuel had been seen heading - the Nevada desert. He had no idea that the search would take years.

[Photosoph]

Very nice pic! Lotsa detail, good poses, good form. ^_^ Nice descrip, too.
Wahoo! Another excellent entry -and from the one and only SA!

I'm really impressed by the horse, Blaze. I find horses hard to draw, so I admire people who can get them so anatomically correct. ^_^ And in difficult poses too! Same with Sem; humans are another hard-to-draw factor for me. Love the cowboy outfit. ^^

[soul alive]

XD Thanks Photosoph. I've been obsessing about drawing cowboy clothes for months after watching 'The Quick and the Dead.'

I grew up on a ranch, and was riding horses before I could walk, so I'd really hope that I'd be able to draw them well. I did use a reference photo for his pose. I've heard that horses are harder to draw, because unlike most other animals, they have a very rigid bone structure. Sem's pose was a pain - the arms were hard to get right, and the shotgun muzzel is messed up in perspective.

[Photosoph]

Well I think you did really well with Sem's post despite that. ^_^ And yup, horses have a very distinct shape. It's hard getting all the details right; especially with the joints in their legs.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Is this going to be announced soon? The December Contest will be cut short otherwise.

Great art Soul Alive! I'm not into the whole western scene but you've done very well. The bum of the horse looks a bit like a tumor but drawing horses is very difficult.
Good stuff mate.

Hi Photosoph, good to hear from you mate! I hope your health is improving. The king of Procrastination hasn't done much more on his novel, but has a lot more notes and ideas. Got to discipline myself more! (lol)

[Jingo Jaden]

Alright, don't have too much time to give a full indept decription, but I will give the winners a shout and the rest a huge thanks

Design goes to - Photosoph - Awwww, its soooo kawaiiiiii ^o^
Creative background goes to - Esoteric - Like the nicely composed design ^^
Technical design goes to - Photosoph - Very well drawn there ^^
Bio/personality/history - Soul Alive ^^ Nicked it past W4J just barely ^^ I like the western type of story you made there

Photosoph is the winner here, I will give her launch persmisson shortly ^^

Thank you who have been participating in this one

[soul alive]

The bum of the horse looks a bit like a tumor but drawing horses is very difficult.

I about spit lemonade at my computer screen when I read that. I was a bit heavy with the lines of the horse's musculature, since I was rushing, but it does come off a bit odd. lol It'd probably look better with shading. *shrug*

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Sorry, it wasn't meant as a harsh comment but hopefully a helpful bit of critiscism. I did word it a bit oddly. (lol)

Congratulations to all! Especially Photosoph!

[CreatureArt]

Yeah I have to admit that I laughed out loud (in the disturbingly quiet atmosphere of my work's office, too) when I read your description, W4J! A _tumor_ It must be the writer in you coming out, being good at original descriptions, metaphors... all those fancy words I was supposed to know 4 years ago in high school.....

Congratulations, everybody! It was great to see all the entries -- they were all amazing and I loved reading the character stories, too. (Absolutely loved your anteater-like mount, W4J! Very original).

[Photosoph]

Hi Photosoph, good to hear from you mate! I hope your health is improving. The king of Procrastination hasn't done much more on his novel, but has a lot more notes and ideas. Got to discipline myself more! (lol)

Lol; well, keep working on it. ^_^ I'm sure it'll be cool, what with all the snippets I've seen on CAA from it (drawings, mentions, etc).

Wha? *blinks* Oh man, thanks everybody! ^_^ That's really cool; I had so much fun doing the drawing too, so I'm glad you guys liked it! There were such cool entries this month, too. ^_^ Congrats, everyone; it was cool to see all your pics and read the backstories of your characters. =P

I hope I see you guys next month! Well... this month.

[soul alive]

Congrats Photosoph! Can't wait to see what character prompt you come up with.

W4J - I just thought it was funny, I didn't find it harsh. XD