Red panda

Some first attempt sample sketches of a red panda character. I wasn't quite sure what their fur pattern was like so I did a Google image search and let me tell you that was incredibly excruciating. Red pandas are excessively adorable to the point it's almost criminal. It's like their cuteness combines the best qualities of puppies and kittens.

This sketch is also a pretty good example of the design process I take when drawing a particular species for the first time. I rarely go in with the intention of designing a character for use. I begin first by simply just figuring out the basics of the way the animal looks. I usually don't think about how I want the particular character to look at this point so my first attempts are often a bit rubbish as I'm finding my feet in terms of basic appearance.

Once I believe I know what I'm doing I then go ahead to design something that looks a bit better. I focus a bit more on character build, eye shapes - essentially the 'look' of the character. I tend to start drawing a male character, then once that looks fine, I try drawing a female. This then usually results in me thinking the female looks amazing, much better than the male and instantly decide they need to be incorporated into my Dogs Of War series.

These sketches however, are an exception. Right from the start I wanted to design a female red panda. All the drawings before her design were merely a formality. The other thing is that while I like her design and feel it's one of the better looking characters I've ever drawn, I don't have a huge urge to place her in DoW. The problem is that I can't have her as a main character (already have too many) and don't want to relegate her to an extra or incidental character, as that would make her an established character, which could complicate things if I then wanted to incorporate her in a different role, or even use her in something that isn't Dogs Of War.

So as much as I like her and will keep drawing her, I have no intention (yet) to use her in anything. I haven't even come up with a name.