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Description

EDIT 7/23/17: Lightened Arik's colors AGAIN (I'm out of control, please send help) just because I needed to go all the way with the silver tabby look. Go big or go home.

EDIT: Oh look, my grumpy baby got a makeover Arik's original design had been bothering me for some time, and I knew it had to go. So let me explain. The intent of the original was to make a tabby with a simplified design that could be easily replicated from frame to frame in a comic, yet he ended up being my most difficult character to draw. That, plus his colors were so dark in places that they blended together and became hard to see. I played around with several ideas and eventually settled on taking the base color of his original design and adding a little more blue to make it pop. That combined with lightening the other colors and simplifying the markings makes for a much more eye pleasing design, in my opinion. I also tweaked the original lines to make his legs, torso, and tail thinner and less bulky. Here's the original, for comparison sta.sh/027iyve48zp4

It’s alive! It’s aliiiiiive!!! You have NO idea how glad I am to have this done. While this character sheet wasn’t really any more time consuming than most of the refs I work on (which isn’t saying much, considering I spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks working on these accursed things) the character himself has been in the works for a loooooong time. Arik has actually been around longer than Caius, Grim, and Liam, and was first conceived in early 2014, I believe. He probably takes up the most amount of room in my sketchbooks, but I’ve never posted anything featuring him online. To be fair, that’s mostly because I could never nail down a design I liked for him. From the species, to the design, to the way he’s drawn, I was never satisfied with his look. But now he’s finally making his debut on the internet. I’m so proud to finally be able to show other people my precious grumpy baby.

Arik is actually one of the stars of a comic I plan to make in the future. Making a comic has been my ambition since I first joined DA, as web comics were one of the things that first inspired me to become a better artist. I would still like to make Zak’s story into a comic as well, but Arik’s getting priority at this point. It won’t be for awhile, as I still lack the experience needed, but I do want to see it through the end someday.

The fonts I used are IcedEarth and SF Movie Poster, which were both downloaded from Brushez.com. Definitely recommend that site if you're looking for new fonts.

Character Overview

Name: Arik (pronounced are-ick)

Species: Cat

Sex: Male

Age: 20 (this is a fantasy story where they have human-like personalities and a human-like society, so, in turn, they have human lifespans).

Nicknames: Bug/Little Bug (used exclusively by his caregiver, Roland) and Stripes (a name given to him by Skye, used intermediately with his other popular moniker: Ass).

Height: Average height for a male cat.

Build: Lean and tightly muscled. Not at all bulky, but has fairly broad shoulders.

Distinct Features: Hair tuft, angular features, scruffy fur, tall and pointy ears with tufts on tips, longer fur on tail than the rest of his body, and large paws.

Voice Actor: Ian Somerhalder

Personality: The reveal and further development of Arik’s personality is a huge part of the comic’s story, so I can’t give away too much here. I’ll simply reveal the traits he displays when he first appears in the comic, which are largely negative. Arik is, to put it plainly, a pain in the ass. He’s grumpy, sarcastic, pouty, immature, self-centered, and at times extremely hard to get along with. He seems quite resentful and angry at the world, drawing away from almost everyone and using his sharp tongue to make sure they stay away. He can argue and complain over the most trivial matters, and often seems grouchy and generally displeased with whatever’s going on. As much as he likes to act like an independent, take no nonsense badass, Arik is extremely dependent on his caretaker, Roland, and wouldn’t be able to tie his shoes without him (if he wore shoes, that is). He and Roland have a very close relationship, the older cat serving as a father figure to Arik, who has no remaining family of his own. Not to say that Roland is safe from Arik’s temper tantrums. Quite the opposite, as Roland is often the one who ends up in Arik’s line of fire and is most subject to his fierce temper, though ever-optimistic Roland doesn’t seem bothered by it. As off-putting as Arik can be, he is obviously quite clever and astute, talented at seeing the obvious solutions which everyone else overlooks.

Random Facts

Arik is a surprisingly talented climber, able to scale a tall tree or steep roof with ease.

He has an unhealthy addiction to meringues, and can clear a whole platter of them if left unsupervised.

He kind of fails to live up to his cat stereotypes, as he absolutely despises fish and is severely lactose intolerant, so he can’t handle milk. Well…at least he still hates water.

He has serious arachnophobia (fear of spiders). He doesn’t care if it’s the size of a speck of dust or big enough to eat his face, he is equally terrified of all of them. It’s usually Roland’s job to remove any spiders from the premises should Arik stumble upon one.

He’s a very light sleeper and often kept up by Roland’s loud snoring.

No critique desired. Please respect that.

The art and character are copyright © VexVamp, and you are not permitted to steal, trace, copy, reference, or otherwise redistribute them in any way. I also do not want to see this posted on RP sites, Facebook, YouTube, etc. That's still art theft.

Description

EDIT 7/23/17: Lightened Arik's colors AGAIN (I'm out of control, please send help) just because I needed to go all the way with the silver tabby look. Go big or go home.

EDIT: Oh look, my grumpy baby got a makeover Arik's original design had been bothering me for some time, and I knew it had to go. So let me explain. The intent of the original was to make a tabby with a simplified design that could be easily replicated from frame to frame in a comic, yet he ended up being my most difficult character to draw. That, plus his colors were so dark in places that they blended together and became hard to see. I played around with several ideas and eventually settled on taking the base color of his original design and adding a little more blue to make it pop. That combined with lightening the other colors and simplifying the markings makes for a much more eye pleasing design, in my opinion. I also tweaked the original lines to make his legs, torso, and tail thinner and less bulky. Here's the original, for comparison sta.sh/027iyve48zp4

It’s alive! It’s aliiiiiive!!! You have NO idea how glad I am to have this done. While this character sheet wasn’t really any more time consuming than most of the refs I work on (which isn’t saying much, considering I spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks working on these accursed things) the character himself has been in the works for a loooooong time. Arik has actually been around longer than Caius, Grim, and Liam, and was first conceived in early 2014, I believe. He probably takes up the most amount of room in my sketchbooks, but I’ve never posted anything featuring him online. To be fair, that’s mostly because I could never nail down a design I liked for him. From the species, to the design, to the way he’s drawn, I was never satisfied with his look. But now he’s finally making his debut on the internet. I’m so proud to finally be able to show other people my precious grumpy baby.

Arik is actually one of the stars of a comic I plan to make in the future. Making a comic has been my ambition since I first joined DA, as web comics were one of the things that first inspired me to become a better artist. I would still like to make Zak’s story into a comic as well, but Arik’s getting priority at this point. It won’t be for awhile, as I still lack the experience needed, but I do want to see it through the end someday.

The fonts I used are IcedEarth and SF Movie Poster, which were both downloaded from Brushez.com. Definitely recommend that site if you're looking for new fonts.

Character Overview

Name: Arik (pronounced are-ick)

Species: Cat

Sex: Male

Age: 20 (this is a fantasy story where they have human-like personalities and a human-like society, so, in turn, they have human lifespans).

Nicknames: Bug/Little Bug (used exclusively by his caregiver, Roland) and Stripes (a name given to him by Skye, used intermediately with his other popular moniker: Ass).

Height: Average height for a male cat.

Build: Lean and tightly muscled. Not at all bulky, but has fairly broad shoulders.

Distinct Features: Hair tuft, angular features, scruffy fur, tall and pointy ears with tufts on tips, longer fur on tail than the rest of his body, and large paws.

Voice Actor: Ian Somerhalder

Personality: The reveal and further development of Arik’s personality is a huge part of the comic’s story, so I can’t give away too much here. I’ll simply reveal the traits he displays when he first appears in the comic, which are largely negative. Arik is, to put it plainly, a pain in the ass. He’s grumpy, sarcastic, pouty, immature, self-centered, and at times extremely hard to get along with. He seems quite resentful and angry at the world, drawing away from almost everyone and using his sharp tongue to make sure they stay away. He can argue and complain over the most trivial matters, and often seems grouchy and generally displeased with whatever’s going on. As much as he likes to act like an independent, take no nonsense badass, Arik is extremely dependent on his caretaker, Roland, and wouldn’t be able to tie his shoes without him (if he wore shoes, that is). He and Roland have a very close relationship, the older cat serving as a father figure to Arik, who has no remaining family of his own. Not to say that Roland is safe from Arik’s temper tantrums. Quite the opposite, as Roland is often the one who ends up in Arik’s line of fire and is most subject to his fierce temper, though ever-optimistic Roland doesn’t seem bothered by it. As off-putting as Arik can be, he is obviously quite clever and astute, talented at seeing the obvious solutions which everyone else overlooks.

Random Facts

Arik is a surprisingly talented climber, able to scale a tall tree or steep roof with ease.

He has an unhealthy addiction to meringues, and can clear a whole platter of them if left unsupervised.

He kind of fails to live up to his cat stereotypes, as he absolutely despises fish and is severely lactose intolerant, so he can’t handle milk. Well…at least he still hates water.

He has serious arachnophobia (fear of spiders). He doesn’t care if it’s the size of a speck of dust or big enough to eat his face, he is equally terrified of all of them. It’s usually Roland’s job to remove any spiders from the premises should Arik stumble upon one.

He’s a very light sleeper and often kept up by Roland’s loud snoring.

No critique desired. Please respect that.

The art and character are copyright © VexVamp, and you are not permitted to steal, trace, copy, reference, or otherwise redistribute them in any way. I also do not want to see this posted on RP sites, Facebook, YouTube, etc. That's still art theft.