Cats often times have a tounge that hangs out slightly, whereas a dog's tounge would hang out much further. (Trust me, I'm a cat fanatic and know them well.) Aslaran come in many forms. Some are lithe with stripes like a cheetah. This one is based on a lion, which is a bulkier cat. I like the mane since it is to cliche to have "tigerpeople". (Thundercats!) The face is not based on a housecat. Take a good look at real lion faces. They are very different than the feline look we expect from a housecat.

Fantastic, looks kinda like my cat...

I'm going to agree with the masses and say that it looks too much like a dog however it is still an awesome pic!

Edit: bleh didn't see Roark's post, I will let him win this one. Now I know where all those darn cats in Celest came from

Odd. His face first struck me as a babboon face...

I'm weird like that.

kind of reminds me of a dog, actually...like a collie or something.

Personally, I saw it as a lion-based aslaran at first moment. The hair and the form of the face are lion-like. I tend to imagine aslaran tiger/pantera like anyway, but it's just that I love that kind of cats.

Not at all how I thought they were supposed to look like.

This is a lion type Aslaran from the Grey Moors, who is just about to pounce upon a unsuspecting prey... Most probably a cow, or YOU!

Great picture, Lobo vs. Aslaran would be a very nice fight.

It looks like the cowardly lion from the wizard of oz. Either way, it's great artwork.

Keep in mind that there are numerous types of aslaran, of which this is only one example. These pics should not limit your imagination, just as seeing a photo of a siamese house cat should not limit your conceptualization of a house cat to exclude persians, russian blues, bengals, etc. Some of you may have the same sort of reaction to the tae'dae, but recall that a tae'dae can be brown, black, all white, white with black markings, etc. Thus if it is not the variety of tae'dae that you commonly cognize, that does not mean that the variety you were thinking of is excluded from the realm of possibilities.

HELP tae'dae explicily says they can be pandas or grizzly's. Dagnev is a Spectacled bear, because I just think thats funny! (note, my avatar and sig are grizzlies not spectacled bears)

Ah, good point. Unless my RP changes, and I decide against going aslaran, I'll still stick with my black panther version. I do like the dreads though.

-purr-

We need a :pet: emoticon.

Looks very catish to me, not in the typical domestic style, rather in a lion or tiger sense. I really don't see dog myself.

The reason why everyone sees a dog is becaue of FF7

I like the picture a lot, though my favourite Aslarans will always be the three that Larry Elmore painted.

Oh my...that one is awesome!!! Kitty's RULE (don't fuss Gwylifar, that's an affectionate kitty not a derogatory kitty *grin*)

Oh, it's only in-game that Gwylifar will have a fit about "kitty". And rightly so -- if you had that looking down at you, I doubt you'd be thinking about snuggles, which is the point. But I don't really mind myself. Gwylifar is just a very proud member of a very regal race.