Disclaimer:
All artwork, site content and site layout are © Lara Ryan. DO NOT take, redistribute,
alter or claim the characters as your own. Ask permission if you would like
to use my images and always give me credit if you do. Lack of imagination
is not an excuse, plagiarism is a crime.
Ribble is © Lara Ryan 2001-2008.
Everyone's
favourite Sniff on his own Homepage!
I
created Ribble the Sniff back in 2001, when it seems I created all my strongest
and most memorable characters. He was loosely based on a creature from a
game I played. Since then I've drawn him non-stop and developed him into
a proper character. I'm not sure what I'm going to use him for (Meo is in
comics, Felieons are a future animation etc...) but he's in a lot of the
stories I write about my imaginary mad life. Often mistaken for a dog, he
is in fact a Sniff (called that due to his big whiffly nose), a creature
which acts more like a cat than a dog. He hates the rain and getting wet
and loves playing with his ultra bouncey ball. He's about the size of a
large cat and his back legs are longer than his front ones, giving him a
pose that always seems to have his butt stuck in the air!
He can be cool and wears shades sometimes in the summer, he has a coat he
wears in the winter too and when he speaks he makes sort of grunting sounds.
I chose the name Ribble, thinking it was pretty cool and later found out
there is a type of cheese from the Ribble Valley called Ribble, which makes
it even cooler, given the cheese theme that Meo n' Co. have. Its always
nice to have some sort of connection between different characters.
My
first pictures of Ribble, back in 2001. I drew him in a few poses and his design
has never changed, aside from the orange blotches on his shoulder. The small
ones are supposed to be under the big ones but it changed a few times.
Created with Berol Broad felt tips
I've
always been particularly proud of this one, Ribble drawn in flash with a funky
background. The full size version of this makes a good computer wallpaper. I
used two tone shading and found out the more tones of shading you use the better
the picture looks drawn in Flash.
Another
computer drawn Ribble. This one I drew with the mouse, since then I got a tablet,
which requires a lot less practise and talent to use. The lazy way out! This
picture makes a good avatar or logo and I used three tone shading on this one,
to give the impression he's touching the screen with his paw.
Drawn in Paint Shop Pro.
A
sparkly looking Ribble running along. Perhaps it is snowing, it looks a bit
frosty! I coloured Ribble with a gradient fill and the background as well. The
sparkles I added with a semi transparent fill pattern over the top to give and
interesting effect.
Coloured in Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop.
My
favourite image from the RibbleSurf surfwear design range I did back in 2004.
I did a whole bunch of these with various funky Ribble type logos on and this
is the one so far I have painted on a shirt. This was gradient coloured again
in Paint Shop Pro. The original image and the one on the t-shirt aren't though.
Ribble
having a relaxing drink on a deckchair in the summer on my Gran's old patio.
Ribble was two tone shaded again and the rare sight of a background I drew myself
can also be seen in this piece. I used my usual technique of inking the main
character and doing the background in pencils so the character stands out.
Created in Crayola coloured pencils.
A
needle felted Ribble. This was published in a magazine along with a Spyke that
I did. Needle felting is the process of getting a wad of cleaned sheep's wool
and poking a barbed needle into it over and over. Gradually it will knit together
and form a shape. Ribble's legs are thread jointed so they move and his head
turns.
And
here's the shirt with my RibbleSurf design on! The logo is on the front of the
shirt and my Psycho Sniff design on the back. I am very happy with this, it
turned out just how I wanted it to, even though it took me two years to get
round to it!
Painted with Dylon Colour Fun fabric paints.
Ribble
running amongst the Autumn leaves. I did the background on the computer with
a mix of gradient and texture fill and experimenting with the leaf shaped paintbrush
for the leaves. I think it turned out very well, it looks like he's running
through them and kicking them up as he goes.
Created in Crayola coloured pencils with a Paint Shop Pro/Photoshop background.
A
reference sheet for Ribble. This shows various poses, expressions and features
of his body that may be of interest when drawing him. He's actually not that
easy to draw because of his longer back legs and friends have had problems with
that. But I love doodling him everywhere!
Drawn in Crayola coloured pencils.
