About my avatar

Someone suggested I write about my avatar. I originally created this for a MySpace account which I never used, except to look for other catfight fans there.

My design challenge was to create something that conveyed what I did without being offensive or violating MySpace's standards, such as they were.

Also, since I'm trying to keep my catfight fan and civilian identities separate, I couldn't show my face.

Even though I work entirely in digital media, I drew myself back at my old drawing board, illuminated by an overhead desk lamp. I did this because I knew if I drew myself using a Wacom tablet, ninety-nine out of a hundred people who saw it would have no idea what it was. But everybody gets pencil and paper.

So there I am with a sheet of paper at the table, with a couple of Conte crayons and a vinyl eraser – stuff I haven't used in decades, but at least the casual viewer will have some notion of what's going on.

As for what I was drawing: well, I knew it was a catfight, but I couldn't remember specifics. The original art is missing in action, but I went back to MySpace, looking for a version as large as possible.

I blew that one up, using onOne Perfect Resize, which is the best thing I've found for getting usable results from tiny jpegs. Click on the picture at right for the enlarged version.

If you look carefully, you'll see the face of a masked superheroine, and a gloved fist connecting with her breast. Her own clenched fist is visible below it. Again, I wanted to draw something that conveyed catfight art, without getting myself in trouble.

Since then, I've used this avatar everywhere I've gone on the web as Cameroon Wildebeest, Jr.

Looking back on it now, I wish I had been a little more careful with the left hand. The fingers look flat. Just a touch of shading to add roundness would have helped.