For the Totem Cards Project (http://community.livejournal.com/totemcards), here's the Leopards Card: leopard (Panthera pardus), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and snow leopard (Uncia uncia).

For this card, I wanted to try using acrylic paint (which I haven't used full-scale in years), in a different style than my usual (LOTS of hairs) - but I struggled with this a lot (apparently my acrylics are too heavy-bodied for fine detail work, plus I need practice), so this needed a LOT of retouching. Suffice it to say, it was quite a learning experience (and there are many things I would change if I re-did it), though still an enjoyable one (leopards are among my favorite animals of all)!

There are many variations in the various spotting patterns and coat colors of these cats, though I tried to go with more typical colorations for these.

Acrylic, Micron pen, gold ink, graphite, on cold-press illustration board. Touchups in Photoshop CS.