So yes, I have been meaning to update my OC with a true hybrid form for the longest time. But as everyone who's ever made a fursona knows, it's very hard to settle on the perfect design! Thus we have the first art of 2013- Riley the CanineHybrid :>>

Before everyone freaks out, old, normal, German Shepherd Dog Riley isn't going away- she's just my natural form. As much as I love her as she is, I wanted an alternate form that not only matched my username but also represented a little more "me" and my interests. In this case it's my love of reptiles, specifically dinosaurs. I was considering all sorts of things- making her more of a raptordog, a proto-mammal, a fuzzy lizard... but it's not the easiest task combing mammal and reptiles together to be aesthetically pleasing so that's the biggest reason I struggled so long to do it.

Also I have a thing for stripes. I've always wanted to make a more tribal inspired character design before but also really prefer more natural colored/designed characters at the same time. I also dislike how... normal Riley is? There's a few little unique markings, sure, but she doesn't stand out among other GSDs. I feel like I needed a design that was a little more out there but hesitated to do it because I did not want my character to be all about "the cool factor" and be overly or unnecessarily unique. So I've made a lot of adjustments and compromises to finally get something I'm finally really happy with.

Shoutout thanks to CalicoCougar, dachindae, and verlis for aiding me in some design ideas!

Riley is specifically a German shepherd dog crossed with a theropod dinosaur (an allosaurus or something related). Though most of it is rather short, she is completely covered in fur and has scales on her hands/feet. She has four fingers and a thumb on her front paws and five toes on her back paws (four on the ground, large dew claw near her heel). Her tail is the same length as her body (nose to butt) and is normally held above the ground, though it is also more on the flexible side. Her head is still much like a German shepherd with a more bulky muzzle and a more s-curved theropod neck. Her teeth and tongue are still dog-like but she's got a few more fang shaped teeth. She has longer fur, almost mane or mohawk-like on the back of her neck, between her shoulder blades, and near the top of her tail that is more coarse/stiff so it stands up in little spikes. The dot by her eye,the three on her upper arm, and the triangle mark on her flank are asymmetrical and do not appear on the other side (these are spots I have in real life, save for the triangle mark- my dog Charlie had it and is has always been a tribute to him).

Feel free to ask if you have any questions! I'll make a more detailed ref sheet for her eventually but if you want to draw Riley, you can choose between her natural or hybrid forms now :3

Riley the CanineHybrid © 2013 caninehybrid