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0laffson — Feast of Fools
#adorable #anthro #bard #caracal #cat #clapping #cute #dancer #dancing #dwarf #eating #fantasy #feast #feline #female #food #furry #happy #human #instrument #jester #lizard #lute #lync #male #man #medieval #music #oud #party #reptile #scalie #tent #traditional #varan #watercolor #watercolour #woman #middleages #originalcharacter #originalcharacters
Published: 2018-06-19 21:44:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 19592; Favourites: 615; Downloads: 108
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Description
The Feast of Fools, a day when all social norms are subverted, when people of all social classes and species can join together in the streets to dance, eat and drink until dawn. Nothing is sacred during this day. Kings, religions and nobles can be mocked without fear of punishment, and for just one day it really feels like the lowest members of society rule the world.It's all an illusion of course, the dream of a bunch of fools that will vanish at sunrise, and then everything will be back as it was.
Shadi had no intention to take an active role in this madness, but her friends and the members of the local community managed to coax her into it. After all, she was one of the best oud players of the district, especially now that she had left her thieving career at her back and started to actively practice.
The area was a part of the slums that was reconstructed and was now inhabited by a thriving community of humans and other species living side by side, and everyone had been nothing but kind to her since she migrated in this new city. They gave her a job, shelter and trust, without asking anything in return, so refusing to play at the feast would had been terribly selfish of her.
The fear started to dissipate as her fingers kept running on the cords of her instrument, and her singing voice grew more and more confident. People were dancing all around her, cheering and laughing. She kept singing all sorts of funny gibberish until the sun went down, and she loved the feeling of being the craziest person among this bunch of fools. Finally, after quite a long time, Shadi felt really happy.
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Aaaalright, I think this was one of the most ambitious and challenging drawings I've ever made! I never managed to cram so many characters in a single drawing, and even if the scanner messed up the colors quite badly I'm very glad about the final result.
It was also fun to draw Shadi in a more happy scenario, after she started putting her life back together. Don't worry, she's still the little rascal we all know and love.
Anyways, I hope you liked it, and if you have any feedback I'll be more than happy to hear it!
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Comments: 175
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To be completely honest, this is one of your most terrific artworks yet! You perfectly capture the excitement and joy that comes with the event! the colors are spot on (for your style), the expressions are all amazing, and the absolute variety on this one masterpiece makes it not only pure eye candy, but also adds to the ability to view this over and over and still be impressed by just how much you managed to fit into this work. My over all summary is that this a spectacular work, its got serious gravity, catches attention really easily, and is just gorgeous! My only true criticism is that in the image, there is a distinctive lack of brighter colors. While the reds, yellows and oranges look amazing, I feel you could really enhance the image with some deeper blues and greens. Now, I'm no water color expert, so if certain colors are more difficult to do, I completely apologize for my lack of knowledge on the matter.
As always, this is a really great piece, and I would absolutely love to see more similar to this in the future. Take care and I hope to see more from you soon! e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s… " width="15" height="15" alt="
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Jesus Christ on his holy motorbike! I simply can't think of anything remotely negative to say about this piece, it just oozes with gallons of personality, and with every little detail I find, it just adds more on to the already enormous pile. The colors invoke this real nice tapestry/storybook-like feel to it and that makes it look so charmingly old. Like something you'd see on display in a museum after having been restored.
God Damn, I wish there was something negative to say about this pic, so I'd be able to say something of actual worth, but there just simply isn't anything remotely wrong with it.
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Everybody doing the things they deplore on the other three-hundred and sixty-four, I see... Great job on this, dude! This has got to be one of your best posts yet!
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This reverie is amazing. I enjoy the happiness you made! It's a shame that this festival is only an illusion.
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If only we still had the feast of fools. People might learn something . . .
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It would be so much fun!
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Amazing. Your art is getting bater and better.
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Thank you so much!
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Haha, for a moment I thought that there is an anthro cow in the crowd! 
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Haha you were fooled too!
Indeed!
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A very confused cow LOL
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Heh, that's one heck of a festival!
Great job on those characters and their fancy costumes.
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It sure is!
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Indeed, she deserves it!
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She had tried everything to avoid it. Even as the costume slowly appeared, piece by piece. Even as she they restrung her oud. Even as the chaos had descended upon the streets. Yet it was inevitable, inescapable, something she could no more avoid than the scents and sounds that slipped through the walls of her apartment. A rapping, tapping played at her door. Grinning mad, they begged, borrowed and pleaded, presenting the costume as they invaded her home. In the end she had given in—in the end it had been the right decision. Donning the mismatched madness of cloth and color she had ascended the stage to the wild madness that had gripped the city.
Flesh, fur and scale mingled, unafraid. Rich and poor, noble and peasant. Here, in the madness of the day, those things dissolved. They were people, for but a moment. Nothing more and nothing less. Here and there Ashjar would cling closer to Humans, and Humans to Ashjar in return. Bells would sing as some walked, their songs lost beneath the laughter and excitement of the crowd. Outrageous costumes of all sorts erupted from the crowd. As she ascended the stage Shadi could only gawk.
Swirling, swimming, a cascade of coruscating colors—a chaos of scent and sound swallowed the city center. Of sizzling sausages and mouthwatering stew, a feast unfathomable mere years ago to the young Ashjar. The crowd roared, with her ascent. A flicker of fear found her breast, only falling still as her fingers found the familiar chords. Cheers followed, their feet finding the measure of her beat. This—she could do this, surely. This was what she was best at. All she needed to do was become lost in it. A ragged, unsteady breath fought free from the caracal's lips. Each chord became easier—she could imagine what sort of song might fit an occasion. Wild and carefree, a goofy ditty that lacked reason but possessed all the rhyme and fluidity that flowed through her mind. In a way it was easier. Wildly her fingers danced, finding the chords with a thoughtless swiftness.
Whirling, dancing, the crowd shifted as the tide. A hodgepodge of clothing, a rainbow cast to the earth. A hundred smiles greeted her, laughing, shouting. She knew only half of them. The rest would know her by nightfall. Even the nobles smiled and smirked, mingling and laughing as fingers asserted themselves from behind the young Ashjar. About her ears it rested, the final piece to her costume. A crowd, lovingly crafted and scribbled a color in the facsimile of gold.
The wind leaped, sweeping pinions upwards. Against her back the fine thread of dancer's cloth played. Familiar frills flicked, finding the tips of Shadi's ears as the length danced in time with the crowd about them. Faintly, Shadi turned. Transfixed, she couldn't look away, even as her fingers moved of their own accord. Graceful elegance guided the dancer's every motion. Powerful, confidant, Shadi's eyes wandered for a moment. There was no fear to be found in the dancer: not of crowd—leering as they were—not of the disdain the surly elder noble—who surely saw her as little better than a streetwalker.
The dancer did not care, and Shadi found it infectious. This...was not what she knew—not the world she had so long lurked in. This place, these people, they were different. The whooping shout of cheers chased her ears, a fiery flush finding the Ashjar's whiskers as the dancer spared a wink—her gaze had lingered mere moments too long. Yet the crowd did not care. Through the flame of embarrassment the Ashjar redoubled her efforts. If they did not care, how could she?
Louder they gained and the caracal lent her voice to theirs. Nonsense, foolishness, the words hardly mattered so long as the conviction found them. How many times had she sang? How many times in front of others?
“A measure of mead,
Is all you'll need,
To make a kitten purr and knead,
In leisure,
Or in pleasure,
Just a minor measure,
To seize an evening's treasure,”
No longer did she tremble—the terrible rotting terror that had gripped her heart retreated with each note. They didn't hate her. They didn't look down on her. These were her people. If for the moment, if for the day. Raising a leg, the Ashjar propped her paw atop the wooden throne, tapping in time with the measure of the crowd.
“Swiftly now, out of the gutter,
Unless you've terrible thoughts of butter,”
Laughs, sputters—her fingers fluttered—these were the sorts of songs no one dared sing before a noble, did they? Bawdy, low-brow, backwards, a grin found the Ashjar's whiskers.
“I see you now, all aflutter,
Softly grousing as you mutter,
'How crude; how could she utter',
'Such a joke about the butter',
'I'll have you know, there is no man',
'Self-respecting in this land,
'Who'd dare to use his own drip-pan,'
'To bring himself to expand'!”
“Of course milord, I surely jest,
After all, you must know best,
I'm sure your wife will attest,
For surely she is most impressed.”
Sincere, their laughs came, widening her grin ever more. There were many more things to say, and she would have many more hours to address them each in turn. Just because it was nonsense didn't mean it couldn't be clever after all, right? With a laugh of her own Shadi wondered what they would say about her tomorrow. More importantly, the young Ashjar wondered if this is what it meant to finally be at home.
-
I do not write poetry, let alone lyrical poetry, so this was pretty hard. I wanted to try my hand at it as its very rarely something I get to do in the process of noveling—suffice to say I've a better appreciation of it now! All the same, with this newest novel done, I finally have some time to get myself involved in writing for some of the mind-blowingly amazing pieces of artwork you've done! So, bwuahahaha,
All the same, I hope you like it! ^.^
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Gah! I forgot to reply to this one!
As always, an amazing work!
Agan, thank you SO much for this!
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I write them because you like them~
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A different Style-maybe, but I still feel a cross between 'Jerome Bosch' and 'Peter Brueghel'-here, in Feel.
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You just listed my two all time favourite artists of the period, that's quite amazing!
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Oh-no. The honour's all MINE! It's what I saw-at FIRST glance and...If this is 'Traditional Art', then this is great stuff! ...and I thought I've-already 'faved' this. I must have been distracted. I'll give another 'crack' at it-right now.
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Well what should i say, This is just amazingly well drawn.
The whole drawing has such a nice atmosphere of celebrating and relaxing.
Even tho you say the colours didn't come out so good it still looks outstandingly great.
I believe you immediately, it must have taken quite some time to create this drawing. But i'm sure this challenge did improve your skills.
Shadi looks so happy what is this! She's so cool.
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Thank you a lot!
Indeed, she deserves to be happy too, poor fluff! ^^
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Most welcoming, liked it, I still like it a lot, this inspires to go an make a somewhat more full drawing hope it works out just as well.
Aawh poor floof.
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I really like this piece. A lot of happy faces here. I really enjoyed seeing this.
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Happy to hear it!
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Good work! You can really see the effort that's gone into this piece. A lot of time to mill over the details. I surely HOPE the cow is a mask...
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Thank you SO much!
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Cleric in gray does not approve of this foolishness
But I do
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haha indeed!
Aw, thanks!
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Amazing work!
It's great to see Shadi so happy - if anyone deserves a bit of happiness, she does!
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Thank you a lot!
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Out of everything going on, I simple love the old at the stand xD
He looks so confused yet intrigued!
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Haha glad to hear!
He seems to have a thing for Shadi's paws.
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Incredible scene. So many details it will take me time to examine everything. Tremendous job !
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Beautiful piece, start to finish. Proportions and perspective are top notch. Colors and shading look natural. Scrumptious piece is scrumptious.
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Thank you a lot!
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very much so. Thank you for sharing it.
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