Cat 3D model WIP. I've been working on this guy the last days and nights, and decided to share some of the process. He has no textures yet, but the skin-like material makes him look lively even without them. I already love him <3
It's very challenging, as it's my second real animal model and I want it to look realistic and detailed. I use crazy amount of references, trying to get everything right. Before this I only made my creatures, but I'm glad I dared to try a real cat too ~
It's an oriental cat (or rather a peterbald - they are similar but have little or no fur), these cats were a huge inspiration for me in my own fantasy creatures.
Yesterday morning, on the 27th of March 2024 my dear cat Neo passed away at an age of almost 17 years. He was the last of our Oriental cats and his passing marks the end of an era for me. Our first Oriental Longhair was Jayto, born November 27th 2003 who later got company of Nintu, a black Oriental Shorthair born August 26th 2006. Sadly, Jayto got sick and died at an age of only 3 years old, not long after Nintu came. Nintu needed another Oriental cat friend because our ‘regular’ cat Joey, who had been with us since early 1995, was not interested in Oriental cat style stickiness. And so Neo came; a black Oriental Longhair born on May 9th 2007. Neo and Nintu have been best buddies for over 13 years. They played together, slept together and went on adventures together- including our family holidays. Their personalities were polar opposites and that made them such a good match.
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When Nintu died on May 7th 2020 at an age of almost 14, Neo missed his buddy so much that we adopted Yuka, a red ‘regular’ cat. He gave Neo some proper distraction with his naughtiness - hence his nickname “Geboefte” , which means criminal in Dutch.
Neo was one of the loveliest, social and most easy going cats whom I’ve known. He was timid and careful but also the most talkative and intimate. Cuddles were almost always welcome and most led to roll and belly-rub session. He had the peculiar habit to do ‘stairs sticky’ as we called it: he stood on the first or 2nd floor while you had to stand a few steps lower on the stairs with your face was at his level and cuddle him.
We often gently joked about his funny look and mannerisms. He was exceptionally small (3.5 kg at max) for a tomcat, always had a bony butt, a pronounced sternum bone that stuck out and a lean but well filled ‘sack of organs’ along with a slightly kinked tail tip. Despite his small size, his paws were proportionally huge, which was not a desired trait for the breed - but I didn’t care; I love big paws. He had a very typical quiet, calm and elegant gait with small steps and an elevated head. Quite the opposite of Nintu’s big steps and -always-in-a-rush- pace. Neo and the other Oriental cats have left us so many precious memories. These will always remain.
Neo was also the last Feline with whom I had an intimate bond. Since I moved out of my parents’ house in 2012. I was not physically living with him anymore but I came back regularly and Neo was always there to be ‘sticky’ again. Until now. The next time I’m going back, he won’t be there anymore.
Some of my early access Astarion art since I don't have any time to even play :')
BTW, while his name translates like "loyal son", his surname looks like a developer's joke because it's very close to "curved fangs" :}
He got UVs and textures. I chose the color with black paw pads - I had several photo refs like this and they are lovely. But I will probably add more different colors. I also need to add some fur and whiskers ~