I've been wondering how to enter this thread. I'm sure a few of the guys wondered when I'd finally post.
I've been intrigued with anthropomorphic characters, particularly "cat-girls" (the fur covered variety as opposed to the anime/manga "neko-chan" style) since 1982 and I've doodled such designs since March 1985, years before I knew the notion had a name or even a sizable collection of fans.
Whereas a notable percentage of fans were "bitten" after seeing a particular character in one cartoon or another (say, Gadget Hackwrench from "Rescue Rangers" or Renamon from "Digimon Tamers"), I "caught the bug" after seeing a live action horror film of all things, "Cat People", a 1982 lurid remake of a 1942 noir thriller. In brief, a young woman is cursed to transform into a leopard should she have, ahem, "relations" with anyone "not of her kind". A fascinating concept with heavy handed Freudian overtones, but the film was definitely a "downer". But it reminded me of someone I saw almost a decade earlier, a "resident" felinoid alien in the animated Star Trek, Lt. M'Ress.
Though little more than a "background extra", at least M'Ress was a more positive role model than Irena in "Cat People" who was driven to kill in order to turn human again. I tried drawing her a couple of times, but I didn't yet have a handle upon anatomy basics. Jump forward from 1982 to 84. This was the decade of numerous syndicated cartoons playing on local markets, most designed to promote toy lines. One which was not based upon an action figure set, but upon an existing comic strip property, "HeathCliff", aired backup shorts called "Catillac Cats". Among the cast was a "girlfriend" named Cleo. Whereas M'Ress was a "serious" character (though undeveloped), Cleo was the comedic counterpart with a more fanciful, "relaxed" design, "toony" but still femininely attractive.
Jump forward another year. I had purchased a small collection of art instruction books, including one of the earliest focused upon action oriented comics, "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way". To pass the time while my grandmother repeatedly visited her bed bound, catatonic older sister, I studied the books in my great aunt's countryside kitchen. The aromas from the lunch leftovers would attract the barnyard cats, enticing some of the kittens to boldly climb the screen door. Amused by the antics, I felt compelled to doodle a girl with toon style feline features leaping dynamically at the viewer. I had just drawn my first "furry" character. (Imagine "Krystal" with her original "Dinosaur Planet" look, when she was meant to be a cat, but dressed somewhat like her first StarFox outing and you'll have a decent idea how my drawing looked. But remember this was several years before the video-game vixen debuted.)
When I finally attended my first weekend long sci-fi convention in the early 90s, Dragon*Con (years before it grew into the "monster" it is now), I discovered others had explored this concept, "funny animal" talking characters who could be serious and/or alluring, not just or necessarily comical. There was no dedicated "scheduling" on the subject, but I encountered an attendee with an impressive collection of drawings (photocopies so to not risk the originals) from the likes of people like Terrie Smith, Ken "Coug'r" Sample and Eric Schwartz. Of course, those names meant nothing to me then, but in the years to come, I realized they were pioneering "giants" within the fandom. Wait? Other people like and create material in this venue?
But that was nothing compared to what I found in 1997 once I logged onto the recently "booming" internet. There were certainly hundreds, probably thousands of people with similar interests! It also helped to quell any delusions I had about "making a living" drawing and selling "enticing" funny animal "art". There were plenty of illustrators far more skilled and they were all competing within a niche market. So I satisfied myself with keeping it a "hobby" rather than a possible vocation which would have likely drained it of the "fun".
Anyway, that's my anecdote, probably a classic example of TL;DR.
Sincerely,
Bill
