#honestly is it really that different from a realistic fursuit?

[nattikay]

2017 --> 2019 The most recent version here is not quite a perfect redo as it was done using a very different technique than the first two, but I think it's pretty interesting to see how my art style has evolved since my "furry renaissance" in 2017. I've had a fursona since I was about 11-12 years old but I definitely had a period around high school where I moved away from "furry" type art in fears that bright colorful animal characters were too "immature" and that dull "realistic" colors and human characters were the grown-up way to go. I can't say I entirely regret this phase, as it was definitely a good thing for me to branch out from what I'd been doing and learn to draw The Humanz™, I just wish it hadn't come with that mindset of being ashamed of all the old "cringy", "inherently amateur" stuff I'd done before. I am glad, though, that I was able to experiment with style and am now confident in drawing both animals and humans; I now draw both and will continue to draw both. I do think I am still more confident with animals when it comes to pushing shapes and character design; it just comes a little more intuitively to me, and probably always will. But it's nice to be able to switch between animal/human/somewhere-in-the-middle whenever I want, and to not be afraid to attempt a character simply because of its species. But anyways, with that said, in 2017 I discovered YouTube fursuiters; as someone who had already dabbled a little in cosplay it piqued my interest and with that I formally began to dip my toes back into "furry". And honestly, despite the bad rap furries get on the internet, I think it's been a really good experience for me! I've been to a couple of cons now and each has been a blast, as well as learned new skills by making my own fursuits. Not to mention making some amazing friends who've really been a great support network (shoutout to the LDS Furs group in particular, esp. Talon and the FFWRS ladies; it's so hard for me to find people who share both my interests and a lot of my worldview so y'all have honestly been a miracle! Thanks for being awesome!!). So I revamped my fursona for the first time in however-many-years, but at first I was a little out-of-practice and the results looked a bit clunky (ugh those chipmunk cheeks, kill it with fire). But I think I've gotten back into my groove and have really come a long way since then, resulting in a much more appealing and lively style. I've also been a bit frustrated for a while because I didn't feel like I was improving much, but looking at these definitely makes me feel a lot more confident that my art is indeed still moving forward. So I guess I'll just keep on keepin' on. Thanks to everyone who supports me and my art! : )

#fursona #furry #furry fandom #my art #improvement

[lovetheangelshadow]

N'Pressions: Lion King 2019

So before I begin the review I wanted to briefly touch on my history with the Lion King. The Lion King was one of the biggest movies of my life. I still have almost all of my toys and I was obsessed with that film for years. It was basically my Frozen and not to brag but I personally think Lion King is a better film than Frozen for reasons other than nostalgia. Even as an adult and aware of the whole Kimba controversy and being aware of the flaws in the film it’s still one of my favorite movies of all time. There is a LOT the movie does right  even from just a former animation student’s perspective: use of color, character design, and sound all to convey a story that still holds up to this day. So yeah it would make sense that Disney would put it in their remake list. Except, this film did not take any risks. Say what you will about Maleficent, or Aladdin, or even the Alice movies at least they tried something new even if it did not always work. Heck even with Aladdin they had Jafar be a former street rat who had ambition and clawed and killed his way to the top and even taunts that in front of Aladdin. You could essentially had Jafar be a dark reflection of Aladdin showing the dangers of ambition without restraint and could have spun something around that instead of the less than intimidating and sometimes whiny sorcerer we got. Then again you could argue the Aladdin TV series had already gave us that with Mozenrath. Even the broadway version gave you more than just the cliffnotes from the film. Such as a scene showing Timon in danger from falling off a waterfall and Simba being actual PTSD about the gorge incident which leads to the song Endless Night. Or the Madness of King Scar with Scar trying to talk himself up into denial of his own misery…and hitting on a teen lioness. Yeah I know she was technically an adult but it was still creepy. And sure Disney has constantly messed with the timeline of this story with Simba’s Pride, 1 & ½, and Lion Guard but they were for the most part pretty decent spin offs. More on that later.

            The animation is stellar with the CGI looking almost exactly like real animals and the environments feeling real and part of the world the characters inhabit them in. The problem is that they stay too far on that end and it hurts the film. Even for the original movie they were aware of the natural color palettes and even admitted that they had to cheat a little here and there to make characters stand out or give the setting a wider range of hues to work with. Zebra stripes might be a little more blue, antelopes a bit more red, or giraffes more closer to golden tones. And I was not expecting the CG version to do that, but at least it could have been done with the main cast. Yeah I know it’s the “spot the protagonist” cliché that we joke about all the time with anime, but it really needed to be here. Lion King is a very character driven story. It’s not a documentary. You could have cheated with the colors just a little and no one would have been upset about it. Even in the Broadway version where the characters were represented by robes and masks instead of four footed fursuits, no one complained. And there is also the expressions. You really needed clear expression for this film and funnily enough there have been videos rising up showing the kind of expressions that animals can make. I get that Favreau thought the Jungle Book models were too human; but you would have gotten away with that in Jungle Book-but not for the Lion King. 80% of this film relies heavily on emotion and it would have been perfectly okay so cheat here. I want to bring up another realistic animal movie here for comparison: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. And I admit the film isn’t perfect either but it hits a lot of similar beats and moods of the Lion King; minus the sing of course. The movie has owls that are very close to their realistic counterparts save for maybe the eyes and the flexibility of their beaks for dialog. But it is very clear when Sorren is feeling fear, joy, hope, or anger. It is clear from the expression alone of Nyra’s royal and cunning nature. Also the designs of the birds are distinct from one another. Like from a glance there are marked differences between Sorren, Kludd, and Nyra and they’re all barn owls. The environments have unique color tones to them despite being more naturalistic environments like the Pride Lands. Even the Aladdin remake understood this with its costume designs and settings. Though Disney seems to have issues of late properly lighting dark locations of late making it very hard to see what’s going on. Guys, it’s okay to cheat a little with the lighting. You don’t have to be 100% natural.

Unfortunately the voice acting isn’t that stellar either. And it’s not to say that the cast can’t act. A lot of the people in the cast list are stellar performers in their own right, but here it feels like they were just reading the script without additional takes. It’s not the worst voice acting I’ve seen for a professional piece, but it is something that is another nail in the coffin. Honestly a much more improved voice reading would have at least helped in somewhat making up for the lack of facial animation. True sometimes in the original the acting fell flat, but it was quick enough that you wouldn’t really have noticed it unless you were looking for it. The best actors for the film would be Billy Eichner (Timon), Seth Rogan (Pumbaa), and John Oliver (Zazu). For the most part they did what the restricted animation did not and sounded like they actually were giving it their best for this movie even if they weren’t the stars of the story. Even Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Scar could have worked if they had done a few more takes. While not as deviously snide or royally condensing as Jeremy Irons but it was clear they were going for someone who was not happy with his lower position and could play act the caring uncle while still feeling superior if they pushed that a little more. Also they were the best part of the movie. The only musical number save for Circle of Life that I liked was their version of the Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Then we get to the cutting of some of the best scenes in the movie. I can forgive the hyena bickering scene before Be Prepared since they kinda do that already with Shenzei pointing out Scar isn’t king and can’t give them what they desire for. I’ll give a pass to Zazu not singing he coconuts song and the hyena’s showing dissent at the lack of food. But I will not overlook the Rafiki hitting Simba with a stick scene OR Mufasa’s ghost. Why didn’t you form the clouds into Mufasa, huh? It’s a scene that just about everyone knows more than anything out of the movie and you barely do anything? Just some vague lightning strikes that resemble him? No! I can overlook so much else, but I will NOT forgive THAT. Remember when I said about the other films messing with the timeline even worse than Endgame? Well you could have easily used those to give the film it’s own unique edge. Why not have Zira be a character in the film and show there is a split of alliance between the pride? She doesn’t even have to be a major player, but just enough to show rifts among the lionesses as the situation of the pride lands worsens. Or since they brought up the long war between hyenas and lions and how the elephant graveyard was once a lush environment until the hyenas ate it to the ground and play a little more on that like Serabi trying to get through to Scar this is why they kept the hyenas out. Or even have one or two hyenas such as Kamari and Azizi start rethinking their situation though they still turn on Scar when he sells them out. Heck even in the original they were aware of the problem; just not that THEY were the cause. Or even the scenes from the Broadway show I mentioned earlier.

Overall, it’s not a fun experience though it is not the worst I’ve been through. It’s still down there with films like Where the Wild Things Are and Digimon Tri-but doesn’t have my full visceral hatred. Save for one movie that is a rare feeling for me. But it made lots of money because we’re stupid about that and is going to keep on coming. For me there is only one other film currently that they could make worse, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m Noctina Noir, and was so not prepared for this.

#n'pressions #lion king #lion king 2019 #noctina noir