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Description
Sorry in advance for shoddy quality. iPhones, need I say more? (And yep, that's a cheeky cross-process filter right there).
I decided to start my realistic interpretation for Arcanine today, but when I opened Photoshop, my mind went blank. This is a very popular Pokémon that is surprisingly hard to capture correctly in a realistic sense, for it is neither fully canine or feline and is often depicted as so.
I started playing around on paper, researching into Arcanine's origins. I looked at tonnes of references of wolves and other canids, felines, hyenas, Tasmanian tigers, and of course, Fu Dogs (or Shisas). On top of that, I even looked at pre-existing artworks of Arcanine and even the 3D model supplied on the Pokédex in my phone.
Arcanine, to me, is mostly canid. But full wolf interpretations throw me off, because there's feline in there as well. When people go all out Liger though, that, once again, just doesn't feel right. The problem with Arcanine was finding the right balance and of course, making it anatomically plausible.
I did several sketches of the face first, but it wasn't turning out right. I decided to go for a wolf like face and nose with a much shorter snout and the lower jaw of a lion. I gave it the pointy ears of a dear and a large mane like a lion as well. The body was difficult; I made it essentially like a wolve's but shorter. The first parts of the fore and hind legs were wolf based, but the rest of the leg was thickened and shortened significantly to be like a tiger's, with the paws of a tiger as well. Obviously we know where the stripes came from.
I could imagine the tail is bushy like a wolves, but has a similar range of flexibility compared to a tiger's (just with a kink at the end). I also suspected that the main parts of the mane, tail, wrist and ankle fur was supported by strong quills that stopped the fur from going flaccid.
Anyway, this is my general idea for Arcanine that I will be referencing. When I do the digital version, it will be in a more dramatic pose so it can look FABULOUUUS! I thought I'd share it with you because once again Arcanine is a very popular Pokémon, and although this is how I'd generally depict it, I have quite a few expectations that I don't want to let down.
This sketch was done in an hour with black ballpoint. If you have any ideas for a realistic Arcanine please feel free to suggest them, as I may try to incorporate it into this concept. I will scrap this later when I upload the proper version.

Description
Sorry in advance for shoddy quality. iPhones, need I say more? (And yep, that's a cheeky cross-process filter right there).
I decided to start my realistic interpretation for Arcanine today, but when I opened Photoshop, my mind went blank. This is a very popular Pokémon that is surprisingly hard to capture correctly in a realistic sense, for it is neither fully canine or feline and is often depicted as so.
I started playing around on paper, researching into Arcanine's origins. I looked at tonnes of references of wolves and other canids, felines, hyenas, Tasmanian tigers, and of course, Fu Dogs (or Shisas). On top of that, I even looked at pre-existing artworks of Arcanine and even the 3D model supplied on the Pokédex in my phone.
Arcanine, to me, is mostly canid. But full wolf interpretations throw me off, because there's feline in there as well. When people go all out Liger though, that, once again, just doesn't feel right. The problem with Arcanine was finding the right balance and of course, making it anatomically plausible.
I did several sketches of the face first, but it wasn't turning out right. I decided to go for a wolf like face and nose with a much shorter snout and the lower jaw of a lion. I gave it the pointy ears of a dear and a large mane like a lion as well. The body was difficult; I made it essentially like a wolve's but shorter. The first parts of the fore and hind legs were wolf based, but the rest of the leg was thickened and shortened significantly to be like a tiger's, with the paws of a tiger as well. Obviously we know where the stripes came from.
I could imagine the tail is bushy like a wolves, but has a similar range of flexibility compared to a tiger's (just with a kink at the end). I also suspected that the main parts of the mane, tail, wrist and ankle fur was supported by strong quills that stopped the fur from going flaccid.
Anyway, this is my general idea for Arcanine that I will be referencing. When I do the digital version, it will be in a more dramatic pose so it can look FABULOUUUS! I thought I'd share it with you because once again Arcanine is a very popular Pokémon, and although this is how I'd generally depict it, I have quite a few expectations that I don't want to let down.
This sketch was done in an hour with black ballpoint. If you have any ideas for a realistic Arcanine please feel free to suggest them, as I may try to incorporate it into this concept. I will scrap this later when I upload the proper version.