Emma-Fay

Blarg. So much school work.
My teachers are all in a sadistic mood, so I don't have a hell of a lot of free time.
Hence, not much art coming out.

To Do List:

1. Kelpie Commission
I actually feel bad about this one. I said I'd be done it back in April, buttt....yupp. I'll try to finish it up this week!

2. Altair Commission

3. Story Illustrations
These are actually due next Wednesday, for a Writer's Craft assignment. Hoorah, art for homework!

And that is the end of my boring update.

Also, the Avengers movie is badass to the extreme.

HOLY SHIT, SO MUCH EXCITEMENT.

Well folks, the time has come! After a month of extensions, my contest is finally over.
And first off, I'd love to thank everyone to entered. You guys did an AMAZING job! Actually, I kind of wish you hadn't.....it made it super hard to judge them D,:
I got seven awesome entries, and I love them all. But, there can only be one winner.

So, without further ado


The first place winner of my contest





and designer of my new fursona





is







(Drumroll)


....


First Place

AltairSky!

There are just so many things I like about this. AltairSky incorporated all my features and likes into one insanely gorgeous design and.....well god, just look at it! I especially love the turquoise accents on the wings, and the green iridescence. This beasty is going to be a hell of a lot of fun to paint

AltairSky, here are your prizes:
500 points
Full Digital Painting
OR Manipulation
Feature
Llama

Runners up

Second Place
RebeccaLongArt

I love this design. Simple, but beautiful!

RebeccaLongArt, here are your prizes:
250 points
Portrait Painting OR Manipulation
Feature
Llama

Third Place
FervidsHand

My favourite part about this design is the tail, melting away into butterflies.

FervidsHand, here are your prizes:
50 points
Portrait Painting OR Manipulation
Feature
Llama

Fourth Place

JPAkita

Check out the markings in this, and try to spot all the creatures they're taken from! It's actually quite fun :]

JPAkita, here is your prize:
Feature

Honourable Mentions

stray-thoughtdevstray-thought:
:thumb287540888:
It's a jackalope! With golden antlers! If that isn't cool, I don't know what is.

Tameless-Love
:thumb294768919:
Such a creative hyrbrid!

sakora2000

CHECK OUT THAT BLING! Acckk, it makes me smile every time I see it (:

------------

To Do List

1. Kelpie Painting Commission

2. Altair Manipulation Commission

First off, I'm going off to Montreal from Friday to Monday.
With no internet.
I'm gonna die.......
So yes.

Now, onto the contest. YOU GUYS. YOU NEED TO ENTER.
Here's all the info: emma-fay.deviantart.com/journa…

The deadline was April 1st, but since I've only got five entries, I've decided to extend it.

The new deadline is April 15
You see that? Ten more days to get your entries in! Use them wisely.
There are some drool-worthy prizes, so it'll be worth your while

To Do List

1. ShadowWolvesForever commission
2. AltairSky commission
3. Dove Headshot
4. Dragon Tattoo fanart

Alrighty, I've had some amazing entries into my contest so far.
But I could still use a few more :]

You can find the original contest journal here:
CONTEST TIME!Hot damn. This is exciting!
Alrighty, so I'm currently in the middle of working on exams/culminating projects/university portfolios.
I'M PRETTY DAMN BUSY.
Probably the busiest I've ever been in my life.
SO. Since I can't make art, I thought I'd start something that requires no effort from me whatsoever.
A contest.
But this ain't no ordinary contest. You'll be designing me a fursona.
:iconimseriousplz:
YES! A fursona, case you don't know, is a creature version of yourself. It can be a dog, a bat, a gryphon, a jackalope....whatever the hell you want.
I have posted a big congealed mass of selfies in my scraps for you to paw over:

Cause I'd like this thing to look like me.
MAH PHYSICAL FEATURES
- I'm pretty damn tall (6'1)
- I've got large grey-blue eyes
- My nose is straight, and wide-ish at the base
- Big lips
- Wierd looking crescent scar beside my left eye
- Long, light brown #$*#!@ THIN hair
- Huge hobbit feet (size 10.5 Canadian)
- Creepil
But the short of it is that I'm looking for a fursona x] And DA, I want YOU to design it.

Here are some designs I've already received:
:thumb287540888:

So far, there is no solid deadline. At first the end date was March 18, but I'm thinking that's a bit too soon.
The new deadline is April 1
After that, I'll judge the entries and announce the first, second and third place winners.

PRIZES
First Place
500 points
Full Digital Painting (background, multiple charries, whatever)
OR Manipulation
Feature
Llama

Second Place
250 points
Portrait Painting OR Manipulation
Feature
Llama

Third Place
50 points
Feature
Llama


When you have your entry finished, just send me a note or comment with the link. Any medium is welcome, from a written description to a manip, to a painting. Also, any skill level has a shot at winning....what I'm looking for is just a good design :]

Right, so I'm reading "The Book of Deadly Animals" by Gordon Grice. First few pages, pure awesome. And theennnn, it came to the section on dogs.

..........such total bullshit. He starts off by saying "the dog is the most dangerous large animal except for the human being." How does he rationalize this, you might ask? Well, he goes on to say that tons of people are bitten by dogs every year, while relatively few people are bitten by animals like tigers. Therefore, dogs are more dangerous.

Currently in Canada, there are about 5.9 million dogs. Globally, there are around 4,000 wild tigers. So yeah, more people will be bitten by dogs then tigers. However, I think any sane person would rather be locked in a room with a dog, even a feral one, then a tiger. Seriously, dude? Dogs are more dangerous then tigers?
Yeah, nice try.

So, Gordon, why exactly are dogs so dangerous?
"The dog, despite the remarkable diversity of its body types, is simply a kind of wolf. Wolf packs are structured partly according to a dominance hierarchy, with stronger, more intimidating animals taking roles of privilege and leadership."
A swing and a miss.

Dogs are not simple "a kind of wolf". Dogs have been shaped over thousands of years into what they are now: creatures dependent on humans. In Budapest, an experiment took place to prove this. Scientists first hand reared dogs, to study their development and their interactions with humans. After this, thirteen wolves were taken from a conservation park, and raised in the same way. They were treated the same way as the dogs, and received the same training. Despite this, it was clear that even highly socialized wolves showed some major differences.
The dogs followed the scientists around their houses, wanting to be a part of their daily activities. If scolded, the dogs would stand down, wanting to please their owners.
The wolves were different. They were very independent, and lived their own lives rather then trailing after the scientists. The wolves didn't show much response to scolding, either. They would continue to shred books and pillows regardless of how their human companions reacted. Eventually, they had to be taken out of the houses and put back in the reserve.

Dogs have been molded through the years to read human emotions and gestures, and respond accordingly. An experiment was done to test this, with the hand reared dogs and wolves. Two cups were places before them, one concealing food and the other one empty. The wolves had no clue which contained the treat, and, once realized, would choose one at random. They didn't seem to care that the human standing in front of them was pointing at the food cup....this gesture was totally meaningless to them.
The dogs, on the other hand, passed this test with flying colours. Not only were they able to understand pointing, they could even follow the direction of the human's gaze to pick out the right cup. This is nature, not nurture. Even the dog puppies they brought in were able to pass this test.
What's more, it's been proven that dogs read facial expressions in the same way that we do. Human expressions are unsymmetrical, so we have a wired in tenancy to look at the left side of faces. This behavior is unique to both us and dogs.

Wolves are simply unable to decipher facial expressions in the same way that dogs are.

That's why this line pissed me off so much: "It is the eyes that provoke them; a direct gaze is a claim of social superiority, and the dog may challenge that claim from the weakest member of a human pack."
It's just so ignorant! It's a proven facts that dogs will seek out eye contact, to better read a human's mood.
And all this pack business is crap. Feral dogs will NOT form packs. In Romania, homeless dogs have unwittingly debunked that myth. Feral dogs are EVERYWHERE, but none of them show the same complex social structure and hierarchy as a wolf pack. "Their associations with one another are brief and casual: a couple of dogs may hang out together temporarily and then part company.  Dogs are often drawn together by a scarce resource like a food source or estrous female but once this magnet is gone, they go their separate ways." - Jean Donaldson

The majority of the time, a dog biting a human is not a result of "dominance". A well socialized and trained dog will not bite. A fearful, abused dog, however, will bite.
"Sometimes dogs well past puppyhood try to rise socially by hurting children....I have known badly trained puppies to constantly rough up the youngest child in a house. The puppy is trying to improve his rank by establishing his dominance over a child"
Oh dear GAWD, so much bullshit.  A badly trained puppy will bite because it's badly trained. And it might target children because kids love to run around and screw with stuff. They see a puppy and instantly run to pick it up. If that puppy has been brought up to think biting is acceptable, it will bite to say "HOLY SHIT CHILD, PUT ME DOWN." The only unprovoked bite a puppy would give would be a play bite. A close friend of mine has a Newfoundland dog, who she never bothered to train. When he was a pup, he would constantly be jumping up on people and trying to nibble them. It was cute when he was little, so they didn't stop him, but as he became a larger and bigger pup the biting became serious.
So, there we have it. Badly trained pup biting children. Why? Not to establish dominance, but to play. His bites were never meant to hurt, he simply didn't know his own strength. He was never taught that biting could hurt people.

GORDAN GRICE, DO YOUR RESEARCH. You are teaching people, through your book, that dogs need to be dominated. They need to be "put in their place", and made to feel inferior. Otherwise, they'll make you their bitch.
......nope. Dogs have been molded through artificial selection to act exactly how we intend them to: as our loyal companions. As I said before, an abused dog may show aggressive tenancies, but so would an abused child. It is not okay to "dominate" your dog. Train them, yes, but treat them more like friends. That's exactly what I did with my massive Leonberger, Bailey, and she has turned out to be the sweetest creature on Earth. She brings "gentle giant" to a whole new level. It's actually pretty funny.....she will just sit there quietly as small children jump on her and pull her ears, and the only action she'll take is to give me and my family imploring "HELP ME" looks.

So, in conclusion, Gordon Grice is an idiot.
Sorry, bro.

If you're interested, here are some interesting articles on the differences between dogs and wolves:
www.everythingwolf.com/news/re…
www.jeandonaldson.com/jeans-bl…
scienceblogs.com/thoughtfulani…