This cute little cat girl was very strongly inspired by a drawing done by Antarctic Press comic book artist Ben Dunn, who drew a cat girl similar to this in his article, "The Feline Manga Staple Kat Girl," which was featured in Antarctic Press's How to Draw Manga #13. In the article Ben Dunn showed his method of drawing cat girls, gave pointers on how to draw him, and illustrated many cat color patterns that you could use to develop your characters. I instantly fell in love with the "Black and White" pattern and started formulating ideas on how to create a black and white kitty girl character for myself. Usually I can't stand the idea of basing a drawing so heavily off of an idea that wasn't my own. I could bear it this time however, because I was completely in love with the pattern and it was from a "How to Draw Manga" book so it was meant to be used by other artists anyway.
I usually don't draw cat girls with domestic cat color patterns. I do have three previous characters of my own who are based off of domestic cats-- Faline, Rebecca, and Nikita. Two of them are based off of white Angoras, while the last one was based off of a Russian Blue, which are all solid color coats. I have never before based a cat girl of of a complex domestic cat pattern such as black and white, calico, or tabby tiger stripe. When it came to complex patterns I had always used those of the big cats- cheetahs, tigers, snow leopards, etc. I don't know why it worked out this way, but it always has. Benn Dunn's black and white pattern was just way too cute to pass up!
Unfortunately, Amity turned out a little too much like Benn Dunn's How to Draw Manga example drawing. Not only did I use his fur coat pattern, but her hair style is similar to the one featured in his article as well. I was very conscious of this while I was drawing her, but the Amity drawing you see here wasn't my first attempt. Originally, I didn't want to have a character that looked to similar to Ben Dunn's example drawing. I made a black and white cat girl that had more wild hair and a scruffier more fluffy coat, and looked completely different-- and then decided that I HATED IT! It looked too "cutesie" instead of the original sexy seductive character I had envisioned. So I tossed that drawing aside and started over from scratch-- this time drawing what I WANTED TO DRAW instead of worrying how similar it was to what had been done before. I WANTED the black and white pattern, and I WANTED the sexy look of the long banged hairstyle. Yes, it looks similar to Ben's drawing, but I draw what I envision, and this time the character I envisioned just happened to be similar to his.
Despite the similarities between Amity and the Benn Dunn example drawing that it was based from, there are also some differences as well. First of all, Amity is drawn in my personal style, which is very different from Dunn's. Secondly, the hair style has similar long bangs, but I added hair drooping over her forehead and long hair over her shoulder. The long bangs are actually a common anime/manga hair style- dozens of female characters in manga and anime have a hair style very similar to this, so Dunn isn't the only one who has used it either. I also added my own props to my drawing, and my character has a distinct and different personality from Dunn's, which was a drawing book example drawing and as a result probably has no personality. So as a result I think this character is different enough to be considered an original character.
Now that I am done explaining away all of my little insecurities I will explain the drawing's subject. I have often dreamed of someday having an easier way of finding a female companion then the horrible and painful process of dating (or just trying to get a date!). It often seems that nice girls just don't exist and that the situation is hopeless (no offense). Wouldn't it be great if Science, along with solving the world energy crisis and curing cancer could find a way to solve your loneliness problems as well? I mean genetic engineering and cloning must be able to do something cooler than making higher-yield soy beans, right? Think of it-- no more getting rejected, no more dealing with the embarrassment of not going to your Senior Prom, and no more nights being depressed because you live alone in a single-room apartment or dorm. Imagine a companion, through genetic engineering, being tailored to exactly fit your personality and needs-- no one would suffer being alone again! And what could be more sensuous than a cat or fox girl? Nothing but Science Fiction you say? For now. A possible "Island of Dr. Moreau" scenario you say? Maybe. But it's definitely a great idea for a fiction story!
Amity is the result of this fantasy. The name "Amity" means "friend," and that is exactually what she is supposed to be: a endlessly devoted friend. She has an extremely friendly disposition, it's almost impossible to make her cross, and she is very patient, intelligent, and understanding. As I stated before she is very devoted, and is she also tries to be very helpful and is very protective of her friends. She also can become very affectionate. This disposition, which could best be described as a strong type 2 (Helper) on the personality Enneagram, would make her a good companion to anybody who is lonely and wanting friends. If only it was as easy as just going down to the Humane Society to find a friend like this!
I had several problems while creating this drawing. First of all, my dear pet cat Tiggerman died only the day before, so I was still recovering from the unfortunate event. After finally getting a rough design that I liked down on paper a disaster happened while inking it. I have had nothing but bad luck with Pigma Micron 05 pens with them running dry only minutes after I have started using them-- one didn't even make 30cm worth of lines before it went dead. After having three bad Microns in a row I decided to try a 05 Nestler Tech-Liner. This seemed to work better, but it too ran out of pigment before I was done tracing this outline of Amity. Completely furious, I smashed the Tech-Liner and was left with one busted 05 pen and three dry ones- so I couldn't finish the drawing. Needless to say, I was very frustrated! Eventually I pulled out my trusty ZiG Millennium 08 pen and went over the 05 lines with it and finished the drawing. If I could I would buy only ZiG Millennium pens that seem to work great for me, but all of the art supply stores by ISU and my house have stopped carrying them, leaving me struggling with horrible Micron pens. I am planning on writing the Sakura company to demand a refund on my Microns and to start buying ZiG Millennium pens off of the Internet so I can finally have stress-free inking.
The pencil work was done on 80lb. Strathmore meduim-surface drawing paper with a Sanford Non-Photo blue pencil. I then inked it with a combination of several pigment ink pens. It was than cleaned up and darkened in Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7.02. I then printed it out on standard Georgia-Pacific FAX/Copy paper and colored it with Crayola Sanford Prismacolor colored pencils. The lettering and gradient was done with Paint Shop Pro 7.02.
All text and original multimedia is © 2002 Daniel Keller. All other information is copyrighted by their respective owners.