As you might recall, I have been trying to document Izaak’s swagger for a while now.
Yesterday, when we took the cats outside for a walk, I think I finally managed to get it.
You can really see his bum swing in this series of photos.
Compare the way Zak walks compared to the way Alfred walks. Freddy’s back stays straight and he bends his wrists and ankles more.
Here’s a short video showing Zak’s Singa swagger on YouTube.
When Emma was visiting, we watched Raya and the Last Dragon again, and this time I was reminded of the Serlots from the region of Fang. Their name is apparently a portmanteau of “Serval” and “Ocelot,” but they look more like Caracals. Watching the movie for the third time, I thought that Dashiell would make an excellent Serlot.
So I started with the sketch and the ink layers.
Then I needed a break from detail work, so I switched to creating the background. I played around with different textures to create the landscape.
After the background, I went back to the undercolour later, which I also did a bit differently than the way I usually do it; I used fur brushes rather than airbrushes.
I didn’t spend as much time on the fur layer as usual, probably because of my using fur brushes for the undercolour.
And here’s the finished Dasherlot. It’s different from some of my other works, but I kind of like it.
As usual, here’s the Procreate video in Flickr. It’s a little different from the other videos, because I exported it after two different drawing sessions and then edited it back together, but you get the idea.
Today I found a silly old video I made back in 2017 when we only had three cats.
We were all in the kitchen, preparing salmon for dinner.
Angel, Jacoby and Pyret.
I don’t even know why I was taking photos. I mean, it was just an ordinary, everyday thing.
But sometimes, those little bits of random normality are nice to look back.
And I really don’t know what possessed me to make a video…but again, here we are.
Today we took the cats out with us to take out the recycling. Emma got to handle Lorelai’s leash.
It’s been raining most of the week, so the cats haven’t been outside in a while.
While we usually let Izaak and Alfred follow us at their own pace, Emma wanted to try and keep them all with us.
When we first saw this little Yorkie, I was afraid it was going to start yapping and being annoying, but it actually seemed curious about the cats.
Rory was curious, too. We let them say hello.
Rory and I continued to the garbage bin whilst Björn and Emma tried to get Zak to follow us (he had been spooked by the neighbour boys and was hiding from them). On the way we passed one of the rug racks being used for its actual purpose.
In the end, Björn and decided Zak would be fine until we got back, and finally made it to the bins. When we got there, we met an adult Vallhund!
At first, the dog was a little too eager for Rory’s liking.
But don’t worry. Although she be small, Rory is mighty fierce. She can hold her own.
Eventually, the Vallhund settled down, and they and Rory had a nice little meeting.
Freddy got to meet the Vallhund, too.
When Björn went to Stockholm yesterday to collect Emma, he’d left his bicycle next to the bus stop. It was very convenient to fetch it on the way back from the bins. As Björn was wheeling it up the path, Rory did something surprising: she jumped up on the chain guard!
The thing is…she didn’t jump off even when Björn continued to move the bike!
She rode on that chain guard for a while, too.
Long enough, in fact, that I was able to make a little video. Click on the image to watch it in a new window on Flickr.
Last week, I posted my latest NEMO art project, Marlin eating a fabulous spread of BBQ. Last week, I had gotten as far as the sketch. This week, I finished it, starting, of course, with the ink.
Then, underneath the ink, I laid down the undercolour.
Over the ink, I painted the fur.
Here are the undercolour and fur layers together.
And here’s the completed Marlin.
That was as far as I could get in Procreate. But I almo needed to create a pattern for the bib. I found an image of a New England-style lobster/clam bake bib. It had anchors on it, but I replaced them with Nemo fish. I know, subtle, and I was probably overthinking it, but it’s the little details that make good art.
Then, also in Photoshop, I added details to Marlin’s eyes, silverware, whiskers, and the creases on his bib. You can see them in this close-up.
And here’s the completed Marlin! I am pretty pleased about how it turned out…even though it’s probably going to be printed in greyscale on the catalog cover.
Of course, I also save the video of the inking and colouring in Procreate. Click the image to watch it in a separate windo on Flickr.
Yesterday, Iris asked me for a Marlin drawing for the cover of the catalog for our show next year. I didn’t want to do yet another version of Marlin grilling; I wanted to do something new.
I thought about it a little bit, and, because the big theme this year is the outdoor barbecue dinner on Saturday night. So, I got the idea to do a sort of 1950’s-style guy eating at a table laden with barbecued meat, holding up a knife and fork with a napkin ties around his neck-
This is Marlin with the table of meat I found; it’s from an early 60’s Andy Griffith’s BBQ Sauce ad. I modified it in Photoshop and I may do more with it. Marlin’s feet won’t be in the final drawing; it will cut off at the bottom edge of the table, but I wanted to draw a complete Marlin in case I want to use some of the layers in another project later on. I also have a really fun idea of something to put on the bib. Stay tuned.
Here’s the video of my preliminary sketches in Procreate; click on the image to watch it in a new tab on Flickr.
We finally got to see Raya and the Last Dragon on Disney+, and I was absolutely mesmerised by the dragon Sisu, voiced by Awkwafina. She reminded me so much of Lorelai that I had to draw her as the dragon. Here is my first sketch.
Followed up by the ink outline.
I did colour layers both underneath and over the ink outline, and then covered up some of the black lines with matching colours.
This is the finished Procreate drawing, sans background, before shifting to Photoshop.
Add a background and some outer glow on some of the layers…and here is the finished piece.
As always, here’s the video of the Procreate drawing process. Click on the image to watch the video in Flickr.
With Lorelai going in and out of heat, sometimes she needs to be on her leash when we go out.
Today was one of those days.
It was a really nice, summerlike day today: 20°C (70°F). Even though we still aren’t 100%, we couldn’t let this day pass without taking the cats out. So we took out some recycling.
Strangely, Izaak did not want to go with us today. So it was just Alfred and Rory.
But she is so good on her leash! I made a little video to show how fast she walks alongside me – I can actually walk at a normal pace most of the time. Keep an eye out for Freddy’s cameo!
This was today. Izaak wedged himself into Angel’s bed…again.
Although, she seems to be getting kind of used to it.
She might even, dare I say it…actually like having the little guy around?
Zak seems to really love cuddling with her. It’s funny, but they don’t really ever associate apart from the afternoon cudddle sheshes.
Maybe she just enjoys the free grooming in the spot she can’t reach.
Here’s a short video of them together…what do you think? Friends?
When we were outside yesterday, I noticed that Izaak’s tree was looking pretty darn picturesque with all the snow and everything. Zak loves to pose in that tree, so I thought we’d have a little photo session.
I was right.
Since I lost Jacoby, Zak is pretty much my best poser. I can put him in his tree, and he’ll stay there and let me snap photos.
He really likes this tree. It’s just the right height, and it has a little spot between the branches that he feels quite comfortable in.
People were sledding down the hill, and Zak watched them from his vantage point.
For being an engineered purebred cat, he looks really natural in a snowy tree. I love the snow flakes frosting his fur.
I also love that I am reflected in his eyes.
After he got down from his tree. I made a little video of him walking back to our front door.
We went outside with the cats today. Lorelai was the most eager, as usual…
She has zero fat and thin, sleek fur, but she doesn’t seem to feel the cold at all.
The boys, on the other hand, kind of hovered by the door.
Finally, Alfred decided to explore. Seeing as he’s got the most insulation, he should do…
Our upstairs neighbours were outside sledding. Oksana is always happy to see Freddy.
He and Rory explored their sleds.
Eventually, everyone decided they had had enough snow and wanted to go back inside.
I also made a little video of our outing. Enjoy!
It’s finished! I finally finished Dashiell Hamilton! It was a real process, too. But as I mentioned last week, I got a new Paperlike screen protector for my iPad, and it makes drawing on the screen so much more natural and organic. In fact, I did most of this in Procreate. Only the last few bits were done in Photoshop.
And the very first bit. I started with a photo of the suit and a photo of Dash in Photoshop. Then I went to Procreate and did the sketches.
Getting the suit just right was my biggest challenge. It took five layers to make it look the way I wanted it to. I did two base colour layers in Procreate, and a low-opacity layer of the actual suit (done in Photoshop) to add the sheen and texture. Then the ink layer was moved above the colour layers. Finally, I discovered a lace brush in Procreate, which was perfect for his sleeves and cravat.
Dash himself was a little easier, because…well, I’ve done more ruddy Abyssinians than I’ve done 18th century emerald-green silk suits. All layers except the top fur texture layer were done on the iPad.
Put all the layers together, along with the whiskers and a little shadow, and put him onstage…and, finally, history has its eyes on Dash!
And, just because I can, I saved the video of the whole Procreate process for anyone who’s interested. Click on the above image to watch the magic happen in Flickr.
Just an idea that popped into my head this morning…Izaak as Pixie, and Joe Biden’s Shepherd Major as Brutus. I used a Pixie and Brutus fan art by DiviantArt user Space Meme Stardust as my reference for the first rough sketch.
Because my new MacBook Pro hasn’t arrived yet, and because I hated the hand-drawn speech bubbles, I turned on my laptop for a few minutes just to add them (and my signature) in Photoshop.
I also saved the video of my drawing process, just for fun (ie, because Procreate lets me). Click on the image to watch it on Flickr.
Admittedly, these are not the best photos. The iPhone 11 Pro’s night setting is great for photographing stationary objects…but cats, not so much. But I wanted to see how well it did at night videos. So what we have here are screenshots from the video.
You see, Winter Time in Europe starts a week before it starts in North America, so we set the clocks back last Sunday. Which means that where we live, the sun sets around 4pm. Which makes running the ordinary chores we have to do get done in the dark. We needed to take out some garbage and recycling, and, as usual, Lorelai, Izaak and Alfred came with us. However, ever since the Runaway Rory adventure, she has to stay on a leash.
But Zak and Freddy are still free to run.
Hopefully, next year, we’ll be on permanent Summer Time, and winters will be a little less dark.
Here’s the video of the cats walking back after we dumped all the rubbish.
Facebook has been reminding me a lot about Alfred and Logan lately. This one came up today.
Look at little Logan, sleeping peacefully on the IKEA cat bed.
Suddenly, a wild Freddy appears!
Freddy uses licking.
It’s super effective!
Although, to his credit, Logan did get a pretty good chomp in on Freddy’s ear.
I also made a little video of the encounter; click on the image to watch it on Flickr.
So, remember what I said about Singapuras sharing, and the other cats just letting them get away with it?
It doesn’t always go down that way.
You know that IKEA cat bed we have? Well, Alfred was sleeping on it.
And Izaak wanted to be sleeping on it.
So, he pulled his usual “Well, I’ll cuddle on in here trick.”
Freddy wasn’t having it.
He showed Zak the meaning of the word “smackdown.”
At first, I thought Zak was going to give up.
Never underestimate the determination of a Singapura.
After the tussle, Freddy let Zak cuddle in, and they slept together peacefully after that.
Here’s a video of the whole interaction. It’s a bit long, but it’s fun to watch their interaction.
We took the cardboard to the recycling area today, and of course we had help.
We’re fortunate to have two recycling stations right in our Område. We used to have to go about half a mile to get rid of plastic, metal, and glass…which was a bitch in winter. Now, we just go a few yards.
Izaak and Alfred were particularly buddy-buddy today.
I love watching Zak run.
“What?”
I love it so much when one cat jumps over another…
Of course, Lorelai was with us too.
And, as always, she was so joyful when she was running.
Rory loves to run. She practically flies when she runs. It’s joy personified.
Here’s a little video of the three of them having fun outside.
Whilst Alfred was busy recording yesterday’s post, everyone else was busy outside, too…even if Freddy didn’t capture any of it.
In the shady areas of our område, right now there are a lot of house flies in the shady areas. And Lorelai was hunting them.
She is an excellent fly-hunter inside, as well.
Probably better than outside, since there are no birds to distract her in the house.
Angel was watching everything from the balcony…lately, she’s been happy to join us via the balcony instead of going outside with the rest of us. But hey, she’s participating; who am I to complain?
Meanwhile, Izaak was busy in the front of the building.
He found a crane fly and had a lot of fun hunting it.
Speaking of hunting, here’s a video of Rory and Zak hunting flies, with some additional footage of Freddy with the GoPro.
Tomorrow will be the eleventh anniversary of the day Sherry brought us Jacoby
He basically walked in, said, “Okay, this is home?” and that was that. He was completely unfazed by Kylie, Tessie and Angel.
Typical Jake. Bulletproof from the start.
And, as a bonus, here are two videos my ex took that I never even watched before. Look at him go! Click on the images to view the videos in another tab on Flickr.
He really did just walk in and take over our apartment.
Yesterday, we drove back to Överum to collect Lorelai from her sleepover with Io. When we got there, everyone was outside; Rory in her car cage and Io on his leash.
Look at how handome Io is in the sunshine!
We aren’t sure if they actually mated during the past week
As soon as we got there, we put her harness and leash on so she could say farewell to her beau.
They weren’t unfriendly towards each other…
…But Rory wasn’t all googly-eyes over Io, either.
Rory was super happy to see us again. I wonder if she thought we’d left her and gone forever?
Rory was VERY happy to go for a little walk around Karin’s yard.
Rory said her goodbyes to Io and we were back on the road. If Rory hasn’t gotten pregnant from this visit, we’ll make the trip again in a few weeks. I hope she is knocked up, though; we didn’t get home til after 10pm, which is why this is another two-day post!
On the way back, we stopped at Björn’s brother Örjan’s house.
Looks like someone really missed her daddy!
When we got home, we brought Rory into the apartment still in her car carrier. Izaak and Alfred were the first to greet her. I think Zak missed her!
After her evening chicken neck, Rory was acting like she hadn’t been away for a week. We just need to wait and see if anything developed between her and Io.
I guess the LivePhoto function on my iPhone got switched on again, because all the photos I took of Rory’s journey were also saved as LivePhotos. I compiled them into one video, so take a look at what just might be the origin story of Rory’s kittens.
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 