Saarlooswolfhound's custom repaints: 3/23/24 Special update!

Next 3 are finished! Here is the before photo of the next batch:
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This is another model that I have had for some time but just couldn't get quite right. Several tries, now I am satisfied with the job. A gray fox:
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This was a copy of the Schleich bernese mt dog pup, painted poorly. I have turned it into a shepherding variety ovcharka pup for my custom pair!
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The proud parents
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And lastly, a south rim Grand Canyon squirrel from an old Schleich

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These are really nice, the fox is my favourite. I'm enjoying getting to know people's painting styles as I get familiar with who's who on the forum, I like yours a lot :)

Wonderful work

Three beautiful, beautiful repaints! The markings on the fox are so accurate, and the darling squirrel has so much detail!
But the little Ovcharka pup, ohhh this puppy has been painted so well!!
I love how you have painted his little markings, it gives him such a sweet expression which really fits well with the tilted head! And now you have completed the family, and what a wonderful family they are! And I see them settling in perfectly with the beautiful Papo Pyrenees!
Interesting that you chose the shepherding variety- I've never heard of this type, but knew that there were variants depending on the area they were bred, with many having become breeds in their own right like the Kars Dog.. I'd love to know more about this variety- maybe it has a separate more common name? I tried to do some research and there seems to be varying sources on the number of varieties there are, but I couldn't find the shepherding variety! I'd love to know more about this variety, as your repainted model is beautiful!

Thank you very much George, Andreas, Adam, and Bonnie! Your words of encouragement mean a lot for an insecure artist.

Bonnie, this ovcharka breed doesn't have a lot of widespread info on it. But my understanding is that generally speaking there are gaurding types (with the more wolfish looking coats, sometimes cropped ears) and shepherding/working types (usually white with patches of color, often docked tails). I will do some brush up research and share some breed history here when I have time.

Great repaints!!
The Ovcharkas are really great.They look similar to the Central Asian Shepherd dog.Like Bonnie says Ovcharkas are an umbrella breed with many sub varieties. A few have become popular here in the UK such as the Caucasian Shepherd dog and the above mentioned Central Asian Shepherd.

Really interesting, thank you so much Taylor and Paige!
Yes, I agree, it definitely seems to be a variable breed without much researched information- probably because lots I'm sure are still working bred!

very beautiful repaint Paige, I didn't know this kind of dog nor this species of squirrel but they are very convaincing and I love the new Schleich grey fox!

Thanks again friends! Its been a good hobby to pick back up.

As for Ovcharkas... it seems to me that this ancient breed has remained fairly dormant in the dog world in terms of development. Various sources (inconsistent with each other) claim to have developed the original breed into X, Y, or Z but they can't all claim the "original". So it seems to me that there are lots of sub breeds or varieties (each based on regional origin and breed intention) but they all are roughly the same dog still (much like the gray wolf actually. Arctic, red, Canadian, Eastern, etc. are all the same thing, just genetic populations with some slight differences and different names). But I hold on to my general statement of before that the overarching concept is this type of mastiff breed was largely developed into working (shepherding) or gaurding physique, and while both can be used for either purpose their looks reflect the intent of breeding. 

This was an interesting website to read.
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Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thanks again friends! Its been a good hobby to pick back up.

As for Ovcharkas... it seems to me that this ancient breed has remained fairly dormant in the dog world in terms of development. Various sources (inconsistent with each other) claim to have developed the original breed into X, Y, or Z but they can't all claim the "original". So it seems to me that there are lots of sub breeds or varieties (each based on regional origin and breed intention) but they all are roughly the same dog still (much like the gray wolf actually. Arctic, red, Canadian, Eastern, etc. are all the same thing, just genetic populations with some slight differences and different names). But I hold on to my general statement of before that the overarching concept is this type of mastiff breed was largely developed into working (shepherding) or gaurding physique, and while both can be used for either purpose their looks reflect the intent of breeding. 

This was an interesting website to read.
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Really interesting, thank you! Yes I definitely agree with you, it seems now that there are many sub-types like you said with the Grey Wolf. And interesting that you would say they are overall divided into Shepherding and Guarding, I'd never heard this before and it's always so useful to learn new things about dogs, especially obscure breeds like these! And the website was a fantastic read too!

Last upload for a while as I am starting the base coat on a new batch of 6 models...

This zebra I bought for my nieces but found out they already it (and my other nieces/and nephews do as well). I wasn't planning on having another extra zebra amd it couldn't pass as another wild donkey species without some heavy modification (at least for my unskilled hands) so...

I present a melanistic zebra. Not my best work (stripes are infuriating, and my shading doesn't come through with all the striping but alas...). The super dark melanism is based off an old blurry photo taken in the 80s(?).
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Now, on to much smaller but better things! An emerald toucanet. I wanted to do the yellow browed species but I couldn't find good reference photos online so I had to switch up. A better choice anyway as I love blue. The weather outside is garish clouds between rain spells so you can't see the pink bit of the beak except in the last photo. Smaller models are much harder for me to do but I learned a LOT on this project about the smaller toucan species so it was worth it.
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And last, my only other wild canid body I had to paint. Originally a nayab raccoon, however it did not have hands like a raccoon but paws so... a tanuki immediately came to mind. And here we are! A raccoon to a raccoon dog! My proudest model so far I think, I was worried while layering my colors that it wasn't coming out right but as I pushed on it came together. I chose an intermediate coat color (not too black, not too pale bleached either).
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Very beautiful toucan and raccoon dog!

Was it really supposed to be a raccoon ?! I works way better as a Tanuki, well done !

Thank you both! Rtas, if you look at my blue group photo at the top of the page you can see the chubby raccoon on the right hand side. I thought about the paws and body shape and felt it was a raccoon dog in the wrong skin. I am glad I set him free.

That's a great idea with the zebra, such a good way to 'use up' the accidental extra model in an interesting way. There's so many strange and fascinating variations on the typical zebra pattern, I like the odd blotchy-looking ones as well as the spotting style you've done here, and the ones which have such little white pattern at all it's like they've rolled in a big puddle of black stuff

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This one is handsome in an un-pretty way!

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The blobs in stripes, I do some identifying species on conservation camera traps, and have seen a few zebras with markings like this, I wish I'd collected screenshots of them all, now!

Three beautiful models again, such an unusual idea for the zebra but perfect to give him a new lease of life! I just love the colours on the tiny toucanet, you have painted them so well for such a small model! And wow, the Raccoon Dog!!! This is definitely your best so far, so many beautiful shades of brown, and painted so realistically, whilst still bringing out the texture of the fur!

Thank you both! 

George, the first link you shared was very nearly the reference I went with. And I totally agree, handsome in an unpretty way! I decided to go with the darkest type because I thought it would contrast better with my other zebras but again this model ended up a bit different than I had hoped. It may be one I revisit later.

And Bonnie, thank you for your words as always! I truly do think the raccoon dog is my best work yet, but I am sad because it was my last wild canid to paint... but I do have several dogs to do so...

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thank you both! 

George, the first link you shared was very nearly the reference I went with. And I totally agree, handsome in an unpretty way! I decided to go with the darkest type because I thought it would contrast better with my other zebras but again this model ended up a bit different than I had hoped. It may be one I revisit later.

And Bonnie, thank you for your words as always! I truly do think the raccoon dog is my best work yet, but I am sad because it was my last wild canid to paint... but I do have several dogs to do so...

Oh no, the last wild canid, but a perfect one to end on! But knowing you, I'm sure there will be more in the future!
Several more dogs!! That definitely makes up for it, I'm sure these upcoming repaints will make us both very happy! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My favourite is the emerald toucan :)

Thank you Andreas.

Love the Raccoon dog and the Emerald Toucan,fantastic transformations!

Thank you Taylor! :)

I love this aspect of the hobby! As a kid I tried painting everything, but now I hesitate because I don't know enough about the models I'd be painting. So I'm really enjoying looking through these galleries.

That said, I love your species choices and your style is really lovely! Real attention to specific details, and what great upcycles of not very impressive models. Your equids were my favorite, I would loooove to have a wild ass/przewalski collection in my life, and you really did them justice.

I also think this is the cutest thing I have seen today, and that's saying a lot, because I work at a zoo, hahaha.

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Oh thank you Jill! Your comments, especially coming from a zoo keeper background, mean a lot!