peregrinefalconlady-art - Tumblr blog

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Commission for @/Manu_Koa (Twitter) of our characters at Montauk Point on Long Island! Sam is giving her red-crested cardinal friends visiting from abroad an amateur lesson on the geographical and historical significance of Long Island’s easternmost point

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A lil compilation of photos of the semi-leucistic/piebald mourning dove who has been visiting my backyard!

First two images are from this morning 💕

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Commission for Yksteldus (FA). Beware of the red-tailed hawk gryphon prowling the skies on this gloomy autumn day!

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Baby albino changyuraptor spooked by her own reflection, realizing that she's not like her other siblings.

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HEY Y’ALL my fullbodies and scenes are ON SALE this month!

Just fill out & submit the order form and the 20% discount will be applied to the total cost! ❤️

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What. is. that?

It’s The Unknown!

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New OC just dropped!!

This is Esmae, Jackson’s cousin! Though she doesn’t appear until later on in the story I have planned, I couldn’t wait that long to reveal her so here she is!

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My lil guy got a ref now!!!

Poor Jamie went 3.5 years without a proper ref! I kept putting off making one for him for some reason, but here it is at last!

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OOOH silly me forgot to post my Valentine’s Day art here! 💕

Arpeggio bein sweet and preening his beloved … me.

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I made this lil guide to demonstrate how I draw falcon heads!

Enjoy! 💕

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Creature Fantasy Writing Tips #1 Sentient and Sapient are Different Words (and You Probably Mean Sapient).

There aren't a lot of resources devoted to writing creature fantasy, animal fiction, xenofiction, or similar human-free works, and I thought I'd help out a little by offering a few tips. My goal here isn't to judge or tell you that you're doing it wrong, but instead, I'd like to help you avoid a few pitfalls or give you more options as a writer. I'm also writing these after my brain is fried from getting my novel work done for the day, so hopefully this'll be coherent and fairly typo-free. With that in mind, here's your first tip. Sentience implies an awareness of self as an organism, while sapience implies wisdom, creativity, and near-ish human levels of intelligence. I think what throws people here is all those scifi documentaries about the "search for sentient life" in the cosmos. That phrase doesn't mean they're searching for little grey men with UFOs, it means they're searching for life larger than single-celled organisms.

If you sit outside reading this, turn around, and see that a squirrel has stolen your lunch, it is accurate for you to say "my sandwich was stolen by sentient squirrels." But if the squirrel shouts insults at you, came up with an elaborate plan to steal your sandwich, and this is part of the squirrel's four-year-plan to control sandwiches in your city, the squirrel is sapient. (It's also sentient, but since all squirrels as we know them are sentient, it'd be redundant to mention that.)

"So how far down do you have to go before life stops being sentient?" I've seen studies on sentience in beetles, so I'd assume below insects.

"Wait, but then.... where is the line between sentience and sapience?" This is a little tougher. Are crows, dolphins, gorillas, or whales sapient? It's a topic for debate, and rather than give you an answer, you can use those as an example of what the line looks like in your own writing.

This distinction can feel a bit pedantic, especially when your favorite scifi and fantasy writers are probably getting it wrong all the time. The thing about creature fantasy fans, though, is that they're here for sapient non-human protagonists, and they know the distinction. You will get angry letters if you mix these up.

That said... if you are writing sentient xenofiction, that's okay! Your audience may be smaller, but a book like Raptor Red by Dr. Robert T. Bakker was immensely popular and influential despite having just a normal Utahraptor as the protagonist. Depending on how you write them, you may get some claims that you're anthropomorphizing your characters. Maybe you want that, maybe you don't. That's entirely up to you. We'll talk about anthropomorphism and disanthropomorphism later on.

That's it for tip #1 =] Just a simple pitfall that writers find themselves in. I apologize ahead of time as you're going to see a lot of non-creature scifi/fantasy fans and authors say sentient when they mean sapient, and it's going to start to irk you as you fix it in your own writing. Just remember to be kind =] Unless you're in a situation where the difference matters, it's probably best to let it slide if someone uses sentience where they mean sapience. If anyone has any questions about how creature fantasy, xenofiction, furry fiction, or animal fantasy differs from other genres, feel free to ask any questions, and I'll try to answer them.

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My first full illustration for 2024! Long overdue image of Jackson’s family all together, as I’ve previously introduced Abigail and Hadrian but never the whole fam in one pic til now!

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Heading out 2023 with another Art v. Artist meme! Here’s hoping 2024 will be kinder to us artists ❤️

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Hope y’all had a Merry Christmas and continue to enjoy this holiday season! ❤️

Here’s a Christmas gift art for my friend @alfafilly! Arpeggio seems to regret bringing along his two greatest admirers on a business trip to Nunavut Bay, but he’ll get over it 💕

I always liked to think about Arpeggio having different mobility devices for different terrain/environments, hence the Segway-tank perch he’s riding on LOL

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My art summary for 2023!

I think there was more notable improvement in my art last year, but this year I definitely experimented with poses and settings/backgrounds more and I’m satisfied with that!

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My rendition of a silly little piece of animation from Watership Down (1978) 💕

Recently watched this film with friends, so I drew this scene I always wanted to do myself as a “gift” for the watch party!

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Happy 3rd Hatchday Bambi!

Today (Dec 11th) is my sunman’s 3rd hatchday, and I made this lil art of him that I conceived while sketching random stuff. I rarely draw my actual pets for some reason, so here’s a rare art from me LOL