Thesis concepts

Since I am into the storyteller line of business I suppose it's a good idea I get a better grip on how to express my arguments in my story.  Up till now I have mostly been focusing on the skeleton of the visual novel project (organizing the scenes, the minute details, final character designs, studying sighthounds and other desert animals, Ancient Egyptian culture the best I can, etc).

But what I am arguing about is how dogs and people interact, PETA stands against coexistence between animals and people but they're highly necessary!  But people need to know how a dog thinks and acts and while some know better than to adopt a pet for 'just because I want a pretty Pomeranian' there are those who treat dogs like humans and the animals miss out on valuable lessons like DON'T JUMP ON THE PERSON WHO RANG THE DOORBELL.  There is also some morality issues I wanted to bring up on breeding.  Stray animals, like Zahra, breed because 1) they are not fixed and I can't find evidence spaying/neutering existed some thousand years ago. 2) They are feral and do it populate their species.  This is a problem since feral domesticated dogs threaten the ecosystem and take food that jackals, snakes, and other predators need.  Dogs such as Ori, Sazul, etc are the ancestors of the pedigrees we know of today, but those breeds were pretty well founded back then according to mummy evidence.  So certain breeds were put together to increase performance, for the sighthound it was speed and sight.  Naturally the most agile and the fastest with the best eyesight were paired together to create better quality dogs.  This may seem unnatural, but selective breeding can help get rid of diseases and genetic ailments.

I have never felt a dog needs to be 'useful' in terms of working, since a dog is our companion animal.  Cats are popular too, but most cats don't greet you at the door when you return from work and dogs wag their tails at you no matter how tired you are of them for the day.  Dogs love unconditionally while the cat thinks of you as the staff.  I am tired of always seeing how 'badly' humans treat animals when there is just as many positive things happened between them as there are negative.  It's a special relationship that teaches a dog tricks beyond the basics (sit, stand, stay) and there comes a point in time you understand one another through a conscious level even if we don't speak the same language.
I want to express how uncomprehensive human speech is to dogs and how people should understand how the view of a dog works (body language, pitch, rewarding, etc).

Mythology has always played a big part in my stories no matter how fictional or nonfictional the tale is.  I want there to be a balance as Ancient Egyptians relied heavily on magic and what power was invested in words.  Yet the food they left for the ka of the bodies they embalmed and left in tombs was actually eaten by animals overnight, so when the priests would return the next day they believed it was the Ka that ate the food.  Animals have a higher sense that can see/smell the dark monsters of Ancient Egypt and those monsters can symbolize anything I want them to.  Perhaps incorporate powers that can separate the dogs from their beloved masters? 

WIP Photo of work

(Above is some work in progress of Zahra's expression sheets which will be turned into PNG files for the visual novel project).

Technically the story line is about a bunch of dogs that either fight against the mythology (mut) of Ancient Egypt to keep their gods (humans) safe or live their lives alongside the gods (humans).  The story has already been determined to be about natural dog behavior, various dog-human interactions and the consequences, and on Ancient Egyptian mythology.

However, as I am doing more and more work for this project, I am absolutely astonished this genre of work has not been fully embraced by other storytellers.  It is a great way of combining art and the written word without the constant re-drawing of graphic novels.

Questions: Who/what does Zahra represent?  How many protagonists will there be?  What are their views on life and how will that affect the storyline?  Is the image of 'hero' and 'villain' clear?  If they are, should they be and if they are not, should they be clear?  Will this story be a reality check?

Sketches of Zahra's facials

1.  Default
2. Pleased
3. Incredulous
4. Morose (deep thought)
5. Howling (possibly mourning)
6. Irritated
7. Vexed

Eye varieties

"Eye variety"

Shape & size = attitude; nature; windows to the soul

Zahra = slightly slanted and narrowed (world weary; survivalist)

Sazul = semi-large and round (shy; naive; maybe obnoxious)

Ori = Half-lidded and shadowy (mysterious)

Kuwan = Heavily spherical and wide (All-seeing; creepy)

Tasm = Narrow and slanted at the bottom (Bereft; quiet)

Tal = Large and round (Cute; sweet)

 

Red

 "Red"
Featuring Zahra

September 2012

Is Zahra friend or foe?

Dog collars

Anubis with linen wrapped around his neck, or at least I'm inferring it is linen or a flexible strap of animal skin.  Depending on the information source, Anubis was either referred to being associated with the 'jackal' or the 'desert dog' or dogs in general or perhaps all canine kind.  Tsm dogs were the norm for Egyptian breeds (referring to slim builds, near straight head profile structures, long muzzles, etc).  Sometimes Anubis is more related to the tsm dogs because he is sometimes shown with a tapered tail and large, bat-like ears, jackals are heavier set and have more fur.  However, the black color used for Anubis refers to 'rotting flesh' as he is the god of embalming.  

To add on to the jackal association, jackals were often seen wandering around cemeteries and thus, associated them with the canine god.  Zahra and Trick Wit refer to him as the Dog God, gods are beings that walk on their hind legs with vertical standing.  Anubis is shown both as a quadrupedal and bipedal (human).

Ancient Egyptian Dogs

(High collar - Tsm dog)

(Low collar - Saluki)

(Low collar - Pharaoh Hound)

Collars worn by dogs could be intricate and worn around the neck at varying heights, sometimes the collars had the names of the dogs on them (ex. "the fast one" or "the useless one")

Beaded dog collar

Above might not be an accurate depiction of an Ancient Egyptian collar, but if Disney can exaggerate, so can I.  However, tassels and the golden embroidery might scream too 'Arabic'.  The thickness of the collar and where it is on the neck can help emphasize the Egyptian illustrations.

Zahra

Full body Final.

Color Palette: Sand (main fur color), rich brown (nose, claws, paw pads), deep brown, orange, and amber (eyes).

Has coarser fur than the Saluki in her genepool, a shorter tail, and a sturdier body, lives outdoors.

Research

(Egypt: The Dogs of Ancient Egypt by Jimmy Dunn)

  The dogs of Ancient Egypt highly represent dogs we know of today such as the Saluki, Sloughi, and other sighthounds.  Sighthounds hunt mainly on speed and sight, so they appear much slimmer and were used by Egyptians for hunting agile animals such as gazelle.

Saluki Mummy

  Both dogs and cats were mummified by mourning Ancient Egyptians.  The one above is claimed to be a Saluki.

  My main protagonist, Zahra, has Saluki heritage.

Considering this story takes place three-four thousand years ago, it's safe to assume my cast of canine characters are the ancestors of pedigree sighthounds today and since today's breeds so closely resemble breeds from back then, there is very little difference between Naos and Din and the dogs in the show ring today.  (The differences could include muzzle length and shape and body build).

More of Zahra using various photo stock from DA.

Concepts 01

Zahra is the main character of the tale, at 2 years of age she is the equivalent of an 18-year-old.